Growing up, summer was always my favorite time of year, mostly because it meant freedom from school. Each May when the previous school year ended, the break seemed like it would last forever. Two months seems like a long time for a child. How fast summer ended was my first lesson on “time flies when you are having fun.”

Here we are in August. The freedom of summer will soon be replaced with classes, homework assignments, and school-related activities. Some individuals actively look forward to this, while many of us do not. Regardless of what we would like, the school year is coming. Adequate preparation can make this transition easier. In this post, I hope to make a few recommendations to improve your start to the school year. Even if you have heard some of this advice before, hopefully the rationales provided can inspire you to try it again this year.

Obtain Needed School Supplies

Having needed supplies can provide a level of security for the student. The specific items required may vary depending on the student and level, but you can’t go wrong with certain staples (e.g., a good backpack, paper, pencils). In my experience, college students tend not to prepare beforehand. While they may feel tempted to wait until the first class to see what textbooks they need, some classes require use of the textbook from the first day. Taking the chance and “losing” (i.e., having to return the book) can reduce stress and help students avoid falling behind.  

Ensure an Adequate Sleep Schedule

Getting adequate sleep can improve our mental health and academic achievement. This piece of advice is relatively easy to fix (barring sleep disorders), yet this advice is rarely followed. Parents and children would both stand to benefit from working on getting enough sleep, especially those who struggle to get up on time in the morning. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that you shift your bedtime gradually (e.g., 10-15 minutes per night) until you reach your ideal bedtime and waking time.  

Figure Out the Class Schedule and Location of the Classroom(s)

A very common concern I hear is navigating the school. Students particularly worry about this in higher grades with limited time between classes. In some cases, we have worked with patients on asking for directions with less anxiety. We teach self-calming skills, role-play the scenario, and address potential negative thoughts around asking for help.

Most schools in this area give out student schedules about a week before school starts. Also, many campuses allow students to walk their schedules and find their classrooms before school starts. I recommend you call the school in advance as sometimes they are more able/willing to accommodate this request than others. Some schools already offer opportunities to walk your schedule during new-student orientation meetings. If physically walking the schedule is not feasible, many schools have campus maps. I looked up the map for my child’s school to help her prepare for the school year. 

Attend School Orientation Meetings

As stated above, many schools offer orientation meetings. I highly recommend that you attend these, particularly if your child is new to the campus. This provides a great opportunity to meet key staff members, learn helpful information about the school (e.g., how to access the parent portal), and learn about key areas in the school building.

If you can’t attend any of these meetings before the school year starts, many schools host open house nights even a few weeks into the school year. Parent-teacher conferences can also help you get on the same page with your child’s teachers to help the school year begin well.

Consider Social Stories for Young Children

Younger children (e.g., preschool and kindergarten) may have a high level of anxiety about going to school. A major source of this anxiety is fear of the unknown. Social stories can help. A social story is a simple story in which the target child engages in the desired behavior successfully. In this case, having a good day at school.

Create a picture book. Ideally, use pictures of your child to make it more personalized. Some of my parents have gotten their teacher(s) to help. Model your picture book after simple board books. Include a picture with a relevant phrase or sentence. Start with your child waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast (if done at home), and going to school (using your planned mode of transportation). Include a picture of the school with the child smiling and walking inside on their own. If possible, try to get a picture of them sitting at their desk and with their teacher. After that, use stock photos to list some of the activities they may do, such as reading, recess, and lunch. Finally, include your student leaving the school building smiling and thinking about all the fun they had during the day.

Develop First-Day-of-School Traditions

I have learned a lot about traditions from past and current patients. Most cultures use traditions to cope with stressful situations and look forward to important life events. American society has several traditions surrounding the new school year. For me, we took a trip to the store for back-to-school clothes and school supplies. With my children, we take pictures on their first day of school.

Developing positive traditions can help children look forward to the start of the school year as an important rite of passage. I have seen other families create even more involved traditions. One or both parents could write a note to leave in a certain place (at the school, in the lunch box, in the backpack). Cook a special breakfast. Find some way to make the first day fun and encouraging rather than something to dread.

Plan Time for School Work & Extracurriculars

As children get older, the demands on their time increase. Their classes begin to require more homework, and they often engage in other activities as well. Participation in extracurricular activities is cited as improving school success factors including competence beliefs, valuing education, teacher engagement, and letter grades (Hee Im, Hughes, Cao, & Kwok, 2016). Paradoxically, these same extra activities can also make it more difficult to complete homework on time.

Establish a clear schedule with plans for when to complete homework. This can help in multiple ways. First, it can set up a child’s expectations more realistically. This may mean realizing that they need to give up some things for other things (e.g., video game time for an after-school activity). Secondly, it can help teach decision making when it is not possible to do every good option. For example, participating in marching band, football, and cross country would be extremely difficult because it would literally require being in multiple places at once. Sometimes a less rigorous course load could allow a student to do better with the classes and activities that matter the most while maintaining their mental health.

Monitor Learning and Intervene as Necessary

Looking back since I completed my PhD in 2008, I am beginning to understand an important truth that would have changed how I approached my formal schooling. I thought we only went to school to learn specific things. I felt angry when the specific things I was taught didn’t seem to have any value I could see at the time. We do need to learn a base level of knowledge, and that is a primary reason for attending school. However, an organized education can also provide the opportunity to learn four major skills: grades and work completion, behavior, emotional wellbeing, and social wellbeing.

Grades and Work Completion

The first major skill is learning to complete tasks someone else tells you to do in a timely manner. I support class work, and at later grades, some degree of homework. Homework provides an opportunity for students to learn to sacrifice some of their free time to work toward accomplishing a goal (e.g., earning passing grades). Successful adult life requires this skill. As adults, we have to clean the house, wash clothes, and stock essential supplies. We need to keep up with vehicle maintenance, refilling prescriptions, and filing taxes. This need for a high level of adult responsibility increases for the large percentage of the workforce who works from home or is self-employed.

Behavior  

Schools report back on behavior if it strays too far from acceptable levels. This makes it an easier aspect for parents to monitor. Sadly, schools are often faster to report difficulties with behavior than the other three skills. Learning to manage one’s behavior in a controlled setting is another essential life task. For many children, school is the first setting in which they are required to sit still and complete tasks for extended periods of time. They must learn and follow rules that can vary from class to class. Furthermore, they learn how to manage their behavior while also dealing with various personalities of peers and school staff.

Emotional Wellbeing

If you are old enough to read this blog, you probably have lived long enough to realize that life can be difficult at times. We need to know how to manage our emotional wellbeing to cope with life’s difficulties. Of these four skills, managing our emotions is the least commonly taught or monitored. In a school setting, individuals under emotional distress are easily overlooked. For example, people with anxiety or depression may naturally engage in behaviors that don’t make them stand out, such as staying quiet in class and keeping to themselves. Teachers can see these students who are compliant and quiet as their “good” students and miss seeing their emotional needs.

Social Wellbeing

Another key skill children learn in a school setting is navigating social relationships. First, students have relationships with their teachers. Learning how to have healthy relationships with authority figures is necessary for the entirety of one’s life. Positive student-teacher relationships lead to greater school engagement and achievement for the student. Second, students have relationships with their peers. Positive peer relationships can protect emotional wellbeing, help make good decisions, and improve academic achievement. At school, children can learn how to make new friends, show kindness to acquaintances, and navigate hostile encounters. Children are more likely to accomplish this, however, when given adequate support and opportunities.

How to Monitor

Parents, our children will better succeed in these areas if you adequately monitor their progress and provide timely intervention when necessary. Students, you can monitor and adjust as needed through personal check-ins. Monitoring could be its entire blog post, but I’ll list a few quick suggestions.

First, parents should create an environment that invites open communication with their children about how they feel. Regular family meals can provide a great time and place for this. Second, validate your child’s emotional experience so they feel heard. Third, be thoughtful in how you intervene based on these conversations. For example, storming the school to fight your child’s battles for them could make them more reluctant to talk to you in the future.

Monitor homework with additional steps. Regularly check the parent grade portal and go through your child’s backpack. Check for your child’s understanding of their homework assignments and help them know how to access appropriate assistance when needed.  

Considerations for Students with an IEP or 504 Plan

If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, you need to ensure they receive the agreed upon accommodations and services. There are so many students with IEPs and 504 plans it is safe to assume that few, if any, of your child’s teachers have reviewed their plan. Monitor signs that indicate whether your child’s plan is being followed. If it appears the school is not following the plan, I recommend you call a 504 (for 504 plans) or ARD (for IEPs) meeting. Tell the school that you understand the plan and that you know they are not following it. Ask what they will do to ensure the plan is followed and that your child receives the accommodations and services to which they are legally entitled. The squeaky wheel does often receive the grease. For additional information on advocating for your child, please refer to our previous blog post.

Starting School: Conclusion

A new school year can bring about an exciting time with many possibilities. I hope you can use these tips to have a smooth transition into the school year. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, the school year does not start smoothly or continue going well. If you or your child has difficulty adjusting to school, please contact us so we can work with you to address these issues.

If you found this post helpful, please share it with a friend! Thank you!

Post written by Dr. Gordon D. Lamb, Licensed Psychologist and Clinical Director

Please note posts are educational in nature and are not intended to replace psychological services when needed.

References

Hee Imm, M., Hughes, J. N., Cao, Q., Kwok, O. (2016). Effects of extracurricular participation during middle school on academic motivation and achievement at grade 9. American Education Research Journal 53(5), 1343-1375. DOI: 10.3102/0002831216667479.