HOW TO SEAMLESSLY TRANSITION CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL
By Marissa Poggio
Heading back to school can be a very stressful time for students. They have a lot on their plate with shopping for new school supplies, meeting a new teacher, mingling with new classmates, and adapting to a new schedule.
Home life can become tough if students don’t have the coping skills they need to handle challenging situations. Believe it or not, transitioning back to school doesn’t have to be a stressful time.
Using the following techniques can boost your child’s confidence about returning to school and even leave them excited about what’s to come!
Establish a Summer Routine
Research shows that individuals who grow up with predictable, daily routines are less likely to have time management or attention problems as adults. This means that routines help students excel in life. A daily schedule helps develop executive functioning skills so that they don’t feel overwhelmed. Here are two ways to help your child adapt to their new school schedule:
Start by waking up at the same time each day or eating breakfast at the same hour every morning.
Create a visual calendar with your child - Your child needs to be able to physically see what’s on the calendar for the day, as a result, your student will be a pro at managing their planner on the first day of school!
Discuss Academic Goals Together
Get your child excited for the new school year by helping them create academic goals. This will give them something to look forward to as challenges arise. Ask your child what they would like to accomplish this year academically. Make sure their goals are realistic and reachable. Some examples of tangible goals are participating more in class, handing in assignments on time, and prioritizing assignments based on due dates.
Furthermore, to help make these goals reachable, you can lay them out in a clear concise manner to set your student up for success. Keep a notebook for smart goals and track their progress. Have fun with goal setting, and reward your child whenever they get closer to reaching a goal.
Be a Good Role Model
It’s normal for students to feel anxious about going back to school. Parents and teachers are a great support system for students in these instances. Children tend to copy their parent’s way of handling challenging situations. Be a good role model by teaching your student how to cope when they are distressed. Some healthy ways of coping during a stressful time include speaking truthfully about your feelings, seeking support from a loved one, and coming up with a plan to help overcome the situation.
Your child will observe that these are healthy mechanisms and seek your help when needed. Consequently, these skills will aid in stressful moments during the school year.
Communicate With Your Child
It’s important to remember that whatever your child is feeling, it’s real and should be validated. If they come to you to talk about their feelings, they’re already on the road to success. Being an outlet for them helps ease some anxiety about going back to school.
Simply asking your child what they are nervous about or just having a conversation about the change in routine will make the transition seamless. Once you are aware of their concerns you can work together on how to overcome those anxieties.
Extra Tools and Resources
Following these tips along with using some executive functioning skills will help transition your child back to school this year. Even though you may be doing everything right at home, some children need a little extra help developing executive functioning skills.
Illuminos is dedicated to teaching capable students how to improve their executive functioning skills. Check out the outstanding services Illuminos offers to give your student the extra push they need to excel in school.
Back to School Tips
Written by: Coach Nathaniel Jenkins
Summer is just ending and school is back in session. For some, there are feelings of joy that there is another opportunity to further their education, but for others there is a lack of motivation. Back to school anxiety is typical for all students, but the nerves can be heightened in students with executive functioning difficulties or ADHD. A student with ADHD in their daily life may feel like they’re struggling with school, whether it is a small homework assignment or a large project, more than their peers and that is NORMAL. Every new school year allows for a clean state for all students, but sometimes that isn’t enough. ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may negatively impact a student’s life and outlook on a new school year. While it’s understandable to feel a sense of struggle, it doesn’t have to be that way. According to the Child Mind Institute https://childmind.org/article/back-to-school-tips-for-kids-who-are-struggling/, there are a few key points to understand when working with a student who feels like they are struggling or falling behind because of diagnosed, or even undiagnosed ADHD.
1. Make organization a priority
2. Address how to handle situations if things don’t go according to plan
3. Set up morale boosters
4. Don’t surprise students with questions about school
5. Allow space for trying, failure, and trying again
Firstly, it is highly important to approach the struggle head on and create strategies for how to move forward with an approach that works for the student: instilling organizational skills in the student will promote a sense of achievement. Next, developing a support system for the student will go a long way in academics and life in general, but this is something the student must be willing to ask for and accept when offered; unfortunately, a lot of students are afraid to ask for help. Knowing how to help the student through these times with morale boosters, or ways of boosting the students’ outlook, will help the student stay on track and keep from becoming defeated. It is important to keep in mind as a parent, teacher, coach, etc. that school is meant to be challenging for students. The goal of receiving an education is so a student can form educated opinions, learn problem solving, and communication skills, but asking about the progress in all of these unexpectedly can be overwhelming for a student. Setting up a schedule for times to discuss questions and concerns with the student about school is very beneficial for both parties. By doing this, the student doesn’t feel like they are receiving criticism and it will allow for the student to start becoming independent and confident in their own abilities. Allowing the student to try one method, potentially not succeed, then try a new method will be far more valuable for handling obstacles in the way during life and academics.
Students with ADHD have incredible opportunities for success. ADHD or not, there is more to life than school, but sometimes it may not feel that way for the student. School is very important and understanding how to coach the student to handle struggles and obstacles is priceless. Nerves before the start of the new school year are completely normal, but nerves and potential struggles don’t define the outcome, the amount of work and willingness to succeed are what define the student. As a coach, understanding the student is imperative to help them succeed in life and academics. The best tip for those who feel they struggle with school in general is to approach the new year with the mindset that they will succeed and do whatever it takes to do so.