Getting your Child Ready for School-It's More than New Clothes and Supplies

Every child wants the newest fashion and the most up-to-date school supplies to show off to their friends and to make them stand out in the classroom. While school supplies are certainly necessary since funding for extras just isn't in the budget and teachers can't pay for anything missing, there are other things parents must do to prepare their children for school.  In reality, when it comes to getting your child ready to go back to school, there's more to it than just the new clothes and supplies that deal with reading, sleep and reviewing content learned the previous year.

The first step to prepare for school is getting back onto a regular sleep schedule. Click To Tweet

Over the summer, students get out of the habit of going to bed at a regular time. Staying up late becomes the new normal and sleeping in is the habit. The first step to prepare for school is getting back onto a regular sleep schedule. Even high school students should have some sort of plan so that they're not overloaded with work and starting from a lack of sleep. The practice should start at least a week before the first day of school, earlier than that if at all possible. Getting the new schedule online and in place makes it the basis of a great school year.

Students also have a tendency to forget what they've learned over the summer. Hopefully, the parent has at least attempted to get their child to read, possibly even practice some math, while they were out. Likely, though, they've done neither and the student will have forgotten more than you realize. A good start is to get a jump on the reading section. Schools put out reading lists for kids at the beginning of summer. If you haven't followed through with it, go ahead and have your child pick a book and start reading every day until school starts. Playing math games on sites like multiplication.com, mathisfun.com, khanacademy.com is a great way to review what they've learned and even give them a head start on what is coming. Starting late is better than never starting in this case.

“But my child hates school”, “Mom, do I have to?” and the ever successful guilt trip that “summer's not over yet!” are reactions that you as the parent will have to workaround. YOU are the parent, YOU direct your child and their behaviors. Hopefully, you can make the work fun for your child. If not, try a reward system. If they complete 15 minutes of reading and 15 minutes of math each day before school starts, offer them a reward that you feel appropriate for them. A popsicle, piece of candy, trip to the park at the end of the week, even a sticker system, all can work.

Work the math and reading into the schedule you've started for sleep. Start working the math in for the 15-30 minutes before dinner, while dinner is cooking. Your child will be occupied and possibly even have fun while practicing. For the 15-30 minutes before they sleep, have them relax in bed and do their reading. Not only will it help settle them down before bed, but it is also a great habit to start. Getting your child into a schedule, this one or any other, ahead of time will help get them ready for school. The routines you establish now will help them as they get older as well.

What do you do to get your child ready for the school year?