Best Year Ahead
Deal With Dread
Equally important to discovering what excites your child this year is to find out what he or she is dreading. The reason why it's good to ask early is that the answer may surprise you, so it's good to have on your radar in case your child is showing signs of frustration out of the blue. Ask what they find difficult about what they're dreading and then help them look at it as a challenge and figure out creative solutions.
Scale Back Bedtime
Sleep-deprived children — or parents, for that matter — can rarely perform at their optimal potential. Since sleep patterns rarely change overnight, make it a gradual process by going to sleep and waking up 10 to 15 minutes earlier each night, says Crystal Horton, parent strategist and author of Stretch Marks. How soon you should start will depend on your own individual schedule. For example, if the kids have been waking up at 9 a.m. but need to now wake up at 6 a.m., it's ideal to start waking up 10 minutes earlier at least two weeks before school begins.
Homework Station
Creating a work space that your child enjoys being in will serve as good motivation to spend time there throughout the year, says Korenfeld. Have your kids decorate their learning space to their liking with homemade creations, such as with hand-drawn pictures or collages. And use it as an opportunity to get their space organized. Create a "homework basket" with sharpened pencils, pens, crayons, a ruler, dictionary and thesaurus so they won't have to waste time hunting down supplies every day.
Dressed for Success
In keeping with the creativity, let your kids showcase their personal style by picking out a back-to-school outfit, backpack and lunch box on their own. In addition to ramping up their anticipation for the first day of school, it's also bound to give them a boost of confidence. And when you lay out that outfit the night before, go ahead and pick out outfits for the rest of the week too (including any accessories) so that there's no question or arguing in the morning over what to wear. The same goes for getting that backpack and lunchbox ready to go the night before, too.
Review The Year's Material
If you already have the books for this school year, Korenfeld recommends having your kids take a look at them and come up with ten questions about the material. Hang onto the list and have your kids review it from time to time to time and mark them off as they begin to answer them. It serves as a great visual of how they're overcoming challenges as the year goes on. If they don't have access to their books yet, you can always go to CoreStandards.org, which provides an overview of key concepts by grade level.
Reflect on Each Day
Building on your successes and learning from failures is one key component for success in general. In order to do that, it's important to reflect on each day. "Help the kids make reflecting over the day a habit before going to sleep," says Korenfeld. "What went well? Teach them to give themselves an imaginary pat on the back for those successes. What went wrong? How can they be more organized tomorrow?"
