Search Results for: blog how teachers can help with the transition to school

Ready, Set, School

Ready or not, the new school year is here. Whether you choose to celebrate by doing a happy dance at the bus stop or by ordering a double caramel macchiato on the way home from drop-off, don’t forget that the first week of school can take some getting used to, especially for young kids. To help ease the transition from freewheeling summer to pencils, books and teachers’ strict looks, consider the following: Free Movie Friday: In honor of surviving the first week of the new academic year, treat your kids to a fun-filled movie night. Turn your basement or family … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Transition to High School

How is it that dropping my daughter off for her first day of high school almost felt like the first day of kindergarten? How is it that I spent more time awake in the middle of the night than she probably did…worrying about the transition? I was doing pretty okay about all of this until we attended her Open House the night before. All of my kids brought their supplies to put them into their lockers. No one had any trouble opening their locks. We then took their schedules and went to each class, meeting the teachers. But with my … Continue reading →

Back To School Jitters

The end of summer signifies the beginning of a new school year. Some children become bored over the summer months and love the additional socialization that a new school year brings. Many children have had a wonderful summer filled with all kinds of things to do and dread this time of the year. It brings a great deal of anxiety for them. Here are some things that you can do to help children make the back to school transition a bit easier: *Talk to your child about his fears or concerns. Let him know that his concern is important even … Continue reading →

Reasons to Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

As a parent of a child with a special health need, I have often considered homeschooling her for a variety of reasons. First, it limits her to the exposure of germs that could land her in the hospital. Second, when she does get sick even with just a cold, she could be missing school for a full two weeks and need tutoring anyway. Third, the amount of time her treatments take mean a long day for a kid if most of it is spent in school. Being at home would mean no bus ride, no transitional time between classes, no … Continue reading →

Adopted Kids’ Transition to School

It’s a big transition for parents and an even bigger step for children when a child enters “real grown-up school”. Adoptive families can anticipate the common issues this entry brings up, and often a few different ones as well. In her book Real Parents, Real Children, Holly van Gulden writes that even for children who have been in school, first grade can be a difficult time for children as they deal with being away from home all day long and coping with a day that is no longer primarily about play. (Gulden wrote nearly fifteen years ago. I believe that … Continue reading →

New Homeschool Curriculum for Writing: Time4Writing

It is no secret that Time4Learning has been one of my favorite online curriculums for elementary school students. I liked it because it is interactive and teaches language arts, math, science, and social studies to pre-kindergarten through middle school children. The program fully prepared my kids to be able to hit the ground running when they transitioned into taking local co-op type classes. It also made the learning process fun. Time4Learning now had a new sister online curriculum called Time4Writing which focuses of teaching students writing skills. Time4writing was created in response to parental requests for writing tutorials. There are … Continue reading →

Quick Tips For The New School Year

The first few weeks of the new school year are always very hectic for all parties involved, from the teacher, to the student and home again to the parent. There are forms to fill out, supplies to get and events to attend. Here are a few quick tips to make your first few weeks of school much easier. Everything Needs a Place Clutter is almost a guarantee as the school year begins and papers start coming home. Setting up a homework station that is stocked with sharpened pencils, pens and erasers, paper and other supplies is a great way to … Continue reading →

Quick Tips to Have a Smooth Back to School Transition

It’s that time of year again, and in most parts of the world, school is looming before us. It is time for sharpened pencils, creaky textbooks and the smell of the cafeteria. The transition time between summer and back to school is extremely difficult for both children and adults. Here are a few quick trips to help you get back into the swing of things with the smoothest transition possible. Start Early About a week or two before school resumes, start going to bed a bit earlier and waking up closer to the time you would need to get up. … Continue reading →

Preparing the Very Shy Child for School

The last thing you may want to do here in the middle of summer is think about school, but if you have a child who is very shy and/or timid, you might be worrying a bit about how to introduce him or her to another school year. If this will be your child’s first foray into the world of school, it can be tough knowing how he or she will react and knowing what you can do to make the transition smoother. Even if your child has been in a school for a while, if he or she is very … Continue reading →

Getting Involved With Your Teen’s School Without Causing Embarrassment

The other night, I attended yet another parent open house. I have been to so many of these over the years that I’ve lost count. Now my children are older teenagers and nearly done with public school–my years of volunteering in the classroom, draped with my proud child-student are long gone. When I was at the open house, several teachers invited the parents to come and visit and sit in on their child’s class or even volunteer. I couldn’t help but think how I would have felt at seventeen if my mom came in to sit in class–it would have … Continue reading →