Preparing for a New School Year

As a kid I loved school. I wished we could have gone year round. My friends all thought I was crazy. As an only child, school satisfied my avid desire to learn and it also provided surrogate siblings to play with. During the school year there was always something fun to be a part of like sports, choir or drama and I wanted to experience it all.

As a single mother of four children, I gained a new appreciation for the stress the school year can place on families. My children were active in sports and musical activities. It wasn't always easy to get everyone where they needed to be on time. I found it was necessary to plan next year's activities at the end of the previous school year so there was time to organize and prepare.

As the new school year approached, these are some of the strategies my family utilized to have a successful year:

1. Communicate. Whether your child is starting their first year of school, is going to a new school or had difficulty the year before it is important to manage the transition. Do what you can to address fears or potential problems before they arise. Change can be unsettling in your child's life, helping him/her manage that change can make a positive impact on their attitude towards school.
2. Plan. Plan. Plan. Mid summer everyone would sit down as a family to discuss timing for practices and events. At times it was impossible for me to be in two places at one time, so this allowed plenty of time to arrange alternate transportation or to get time off from work to attend each child's events.
3. Time Management. Keep a master calendar of everyone's schedule in a central location. Having everyone's activities available at-a-glance made it easy to manage changes as they occurred. Be sure to use an erasable marker so it remains readable. If you have multiple children, color coding the calendar will assist with managing logistics especially if your children attend different schools.
4. Be Realistic. You may need to limit the number of act ivies each child can participate in due to time and distance. Cut down on stress by identifying possible pitfalls before they occur. Discuss options openly and honestly with each child to insure a happy school year for everyone.

As a parent you can affect your children's attitude toward school by staying involved and communicating with them each day to monitor how well they are adjusting to their new environment. Listen and be responsive to how they are handling the transition. Keep lines of communication open with your children's teachers so you can address concerns before they become problematic.