Back to School
It’s that time again…back to school. My boys are heading into grades 2, 5, and 7. We’ve pretty much hit everything on our summer bucket list at this point, and now my focus is turned to getting ready for school.
The back-to-school essentials are less stressful as the years go by, and I find that we can dig around the house to find most of what we need. This year, I wanted to focus more on what happens after school starts. It’s stressful to think about how we’re just scrambling to get back in a routine with school and after-school activities. One thing I want to get better at is the conversation around their individual school experiences, including how and what they are doing. I find that asking “How was your day?” or “What did you do at school today?” isn’t really a great way to ignite a meaningful conversation about school.
So, what is the plan? Ask the right questions at the right time.
Both teachers and students are exhausted at the beginning of the year from new routines, expectations, restrictions, learning, and socializing. The last thing anyone wants to do at the end of the day is answer a series of questions about what happened. My first rule of seeing my kids after school is to just tell them that I’m happy to see them — and of course offer a snack! If they are ready to talk, I let them, but I save my questions for later.
Here is a sample sheet of conversation starters to get your kids talking about their day in a meaningful way.
Summer Skills
I have three active boys at home with me this summer, and there is a lot of outside time. They love the freedom, and I love the sounds of laughter and baseball.
Unfortunately, during the summer months, academic skills decline with some students. Now, I’m not one to make the kids sit and do workbooks, but I do find ways to keep their skills sharp. It’s about finding ways to incorporate freedom, fun, and skills practice in less formal learning environments.
Even though it’s summer, kids still benefit from some structure. For instance, I make a small checklist of age-appropriate non-negotiables for them to complete before 1:00 PM each day. This includes things like picking up their bedroom, bringing laundry downstairs, and independently reading for 30 minutes. On the back of that checklist is a list of bonus activities that can earn them a little cash. You obviously know your kids best, so my suggestion would be to sit down with them to discuss what works for everyone.
One of the skills that is known to decline more than others during the summer is math. I’ve attached a link here to a product I created to chart math skills called Math Fact Fluency. There are many apps and games that help kids practice facts, or they can just practice with pencil and paper! Engagement increases when activities feel like a game. Add on the extra level of tracking progress, and kids will enjoy trying to beat their score. This can take as little as 5 minutes to complete each day.
To make sure I squeeze in some creative writing skills, I made the boys a summer journal to keep track of their adventures. Check out “My Summer Journal” as an affordable, easy to carry example with prompts, and space to write, draw, and doodle. My kids used this last year, and now they each have their memories saved in one location. They are already started on this year’s journal!
