Getting Children Ready For A New School Year By: Anthony Pellegrino

August begins the flurry of backtoschool activities for families with children. New clothes, pencils, and other needed classroom supplies are purchased. For the children excitement is in the air. Moving up a grade, changing schools, making new friends are major transitions which can be quite challenging for children. As parents and relatives we must help them cope with the start of a new school year.

Start discussing with your children about making plans, setting goals, and feeling confident and enthusiastic about the new school year. Have them talk to you (and listen carefully) about their worries and apprehensions. Remind them that a new school year will be a time for new experiences and opportunities, and that you will be there to help them succeed. Show them the progress they have made as they add each school year to their life. Give them a measurement of their growth not only physically but also mentally. Put the new school year into a perspective they can understand.

For younger children help them set weekly goals. For older children have them make semester goals. The goals should be written down in a prominent place. Inform them that they and you will review the goals periodically. Unless you do this, the goals will soon be forgotten. Be sure the goals set up are as much theirs as they are yours. Don’t dictate your goals. Tell children it’s important that goals be accomplished, and that you’re their ally and coach.

Assist your children in setting realistic goals. Don’t let them say, “I’m going to make all A’s.” This is not a goal; it’s a result of an effort. Instead help them to set down the activities needed to getting better grades such as: better study habits, handing in assignments on time, perfect attendance, studying hard for tests.
Stress the importance of effort. Let them learn that hard work and persistence does pay off in school as in life.

Stress that when they do their best, they can be proud of whatever grade they receive. Help them to believe that doing well in school depends on hard work. What students can controltheir own hard workis vastly more important than what they have no control over such as innate ability. Praise them and reward them when they show effort. We all need a bit of “sugar” in our daily life.

Many children think in terms of social goals, such as making new friends or having someone to eat lunch with. This is quite important to them, and the art of making friends is a skill we parents need to help children acquire. Remind them that to make a friend, you need to be a friend.

Set up rules and time for viewing television. It is interesting to note that children attend about six hours of classroom instruction daily, but their television viewing time is about four hours daily. There are 81 television sets for every 100 Americans. In the typical household, the television is on six hours a day.