7 Tips for Back-To-School Success

We are a two-teacher household, and we do not “work” in the summer. We keep busy with summer rehearsals for school-year ensembles, curriculum writing, prepping classrooms for the next school year, I’m taking courses towards my Master’s, blah blah blah…Oh yeah and we do have the kids. So yes, “It must be nice to have all summer off.” You know what? It truly is.  It’s reparative and rejuvenating.  Without summer, most teachers would burn out twice as fast, do half as good a job with their students, and quit. Everybody knows that, right? Good. 

In teacher world, the last week of summer means one thing: DO ALL THE THINGS.  It’s an understandably huge checklist of Must Do This Before September, so as to delay the inevitable transformation into a tired, crazy person once the year starts throwing its punches.

Being an immature and slightly irresponsible person (my husband patiently calls it “spontaneous”), I get a different urge that last week: Go places and do fun stuff, because life is for the living and the tired crazy person thing is gonna happen anyway.  It’s like Jekyll and Hyde for educators.  We rode the train and ate and drank in Philly, went to playgrounds, went out, had friends over, swam, slept in, did absolutely nothing, went on a pirate ship…

(Did you think I was kidding? This is my new mental happy place to go to when in-service meetings run long…)

So here we have this, From Parent Further, Back-to-School: A Parent’s Checklist. Isn’t it great?

“One month before school starts, do this…Three weeks before school starts, do this….”  Yeah. “Great”, as in, “Haaaaa, I laughed so hard, that was ‘great’!”

I have my own special check list for you, guaranteed to bring you back-to-school happiness. Feel free to print and post on the fridge for your own convenience, as we return to school this week in New Jersey. If you’re already back… my condolences.

• Children who watch a maximum of 2 hours of TV and eat a balanced diet including 5-7 fruits and vegetables a day do better in school. Encourage your child to sit near one of those kids.

 

• Enjoy a high protein, child-friendly lunch together, while they’re home: the classic peanut butter sandwich. Because tomorrow, it’s contraband. 

• ‘Help’ them with an early draft of the “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” essay. Edits should include many trips to museums and libraries. This will also improve your child’s skills in writing fiction. Example: “My family spent four hours on Independence Mall in Philadelphia this summer, soaking up history.” A lovely way to say “playing in the dirt, in the bocce court, in the beer garden across the street from the the Liberty Bell”.

• The week before school starts, maintain contact with your child’s teacher via regular emails and phone calls. Why delay her dislike of you and your child till September when she could start hating you now?

• Clear out an organized space in your home for optimum homework completion. Make sure there’s an extra chair there for your kid, too. 

• Check the school calendar for important dates, like “Back to School” night and Parent/Teacher conferences. Now schedule meetings at work that you’ll have to attend instead. To avoid all that unpleasantness. 

• Shop for school supplies early and pack up their backpacks ahead of time. Don’t forget a little present to make their teacher feel appreciated on that important first day.

 

Happy B2S week to all, and to all a quick good year!

Give us another one: What would you add? Other than ONE MORE WEEK. Comment below.