With the December holidays coming to an end, your primary school child will be going back to school in a weeks’ time. If you are wondering how to help them start school smoothly, here are 5 back to school tips to help your child get off to a good start!
Tip #1: What to bring on the first day of school
A common struggle that parents often face is this: should I get my child to bring everything on their booklist or not? We get it. Young children shouldn’t be lugging heavy school bags! But you can’t help worrying if your child ends up leaving a bad impression on their teacher. Most teachers will spend the first day of school helping your child settle in and taking care of administrative work. Meaning your child only needs to bring part A of the books, along with any exercise books. As for stationery, give your child a simple plastic file so that they have a place to put all the forms/materials that they receive on the first day. This helps them stay organised and ensures that you’ll get the right information from their teachers. A handy checklist of what to bring on the first day:
- Books (Part A only) for every subject
- A couple of exercise books
- A personal notebook ( or use the school’s notebook if your child has one)
- Stationary (pencils/pen/eraser/ruler/stapler)
- A plastic file
- Water bottle
- Pocket money
- A snack (for snack time)
- Facial mask & hand sanitizer
Tip #2: Pencils? Books? Whose stationery is this?
Part of getting your child’s stationery ready involves labelling them too. Don’t forget that there’s going to be other children in your child’s class and young children can get confused easily when they see similar stationary. To avoid your child’s books from getting mixed up with another’s, make it a point to write their names on them beforehand. If you find that too time-consuming, try using name stickers instead. We’re sure your child will be more than happy to help you out with those!
Tip #3: Remembering what they’ve learnt
Regardless of what subjects your child will be studying, many new topics for the new year are going to be built on what your child has learnt the year before. As such, be sure to get your child to do some light revision of what they have learnt or review their weaker topics just before school starts. This will definitely get them more ready for what’s to come. Instead of relying on traditional assessment books or practice papers, you might want to try out a fun simple Math tool like Practicle to get your child get their engines started. This will not only help to strengthen your child’s foundation, it’ll also make it easier for your child to pick up new skills. Leading to an increase in their confidence in facing the challenges of the new year.
Tip #4: Start the first morning bright and cheery
We all know how hectic mornings can be when everyone is working against the clock to get dressed, fed, groomed and out the door for work and school. You’re not alone. If you want to start the morning calm and happy, prepare what you can on the night before. Some of the tasks that you can do may include things like deciding what to have for breakfast, getting your child’s school bag and uniform ready, placing them convenient spots etc. Remember that communication is key. On the night before school starts, talk to your child about what is to be expected and discuss what works best. Some children may like to have breakfast first to help them stay more alert while getting dressed while others might see breakfast as a reward after completing all their morning tasks.
Tip #5: Sleeping enough to keep everyone happy
Now that it’s time to go back to school, your child will need to adjust their sleeping routine. No more late nights or late mornings. Tired and grouchy children won’t function at their best. Ensure that your child gets a minimum of 8 hours of sleep so that they’ll have enough rest. Don’t do this just the night before school starts! Start building their sleeping routine one week in advance of school so that your child can adjust better.
Conclusion
That’s wraps up our back to school tips for 2023! Do you have any other good back to school tips to share? If you do, let us know in the comments below!