If you’ve been in any major retailer, then you know that it’s coming – back to school season. If your kids are still in the midst of their summer fun, you may find that you struggle to get them excited about the coming school year. Here are some ideas from the Swan Learning Center that you can use to get your child excited about what is coming in the fall.
1. Make Back-to-School Shopping Fun
It may be easier to grab pencils and paper without the kids, but shopping for folders and cute backpacks can be fun. If you can take your kids with you to do your back-to-school shopping, you just might find that they are more enthusiastic about the coming school year.
2. Have Friends Over
If your kids haven’t seen their school friends in a while, arrange some play dates. If you are going to be facing a new group of classmates, see if you can find out the names ahead of time and arrange a park meet up so they can at least have a familiar face when they head back. The social aspect of school is one of the strongest appeals, so give your children something to look forward to.
3. Get in the Routine Early
This may not encourage excitement, but it will make those first few days back a little easier. Take a week or two before school starts to get back into the routine. Get the kids up a little earlier, and put them to bed at the normal school hour a few weeks ahead, to avoid the exhaustion of the first few days back at school.
4. Make a Countdown
Anything you count down to has to be exciting, right? Whether you have a calendar you count down on, cut paper chains to count down or have a pile of books you read, one per night, before heading back to school, find a fun, engaging way to count down the days ahead.
5. Create a Tradition
Whether it’s baking fresh cookies as the after school snack, having a special breakfast or packing a special note in the backpack, create a back-to-school tradition this year that you can repeat in coming years. Again, having this to look forward to can make the transition from summer into school a little easier.
If your kids aren’t naturally excited about school, they aren’t alone. Many kids love the freedom of summer! Try a few of these ideas to turn the anxiety or frustration into excitement!
