The transition from the relaxed summer schedule to the more structured school schedule can be tough for everyone involved. Here are some tips for making the transition back to school, a little easier.
Add Structure Back Into The Schedule
As the long days of summer start to wind down, slowly adding more scheduled events into the daily schedule will make the transition into a fully scheduled school day much easier. This could be as simple as a set time for breakfast or adding in a scheduled chore time during the day. Try using SchKidules to make a daily visual schedule. The easy to use magnetic schedule lets you slowly add in more and more structured activities to the daily lineup and it is in a similar format most kids will see in their classrooms. Once the school year gets going a weekly schedule will be a great way to keep track of school activities and extra curriculars.
Practice Important Self Help Skills
Kids will be expected to do many of their daily self care activities independently or with minimal assistance once they return to the classroom. Lots of practice at home will help kids be ready for this! The resource Self Care With Flair is a great way to teach children important skills like handwashing, putting on coats, and managing their clothing in the bathroom. The Busy Bee Sensory Activity Plush is helpful for practicing the fine motor skills needed for these tasks like lacing, tying, zipping and buttoning. Pro Tip for kids who have not yet mastered shoe tying, replace standard laces with elastic shoe laces for a slip on and go option.
Get In Tune With Sensory Needs
Every sensory system is different, figuring out the particular needs for each system will help kids start off the school year on the right foot! Riding the bus may be hard for kids who have difficulty with loud noises or who struggle with motion sickness. These students may benefit from sensory tools for the eyes and ears. The cafeteria may be especially difficult for students with aversion to certain smells; these students may benefit from fidgets that calm and organize an over responsive sensory system. Students who are not use to early mornings or who are use to afternoon naps may benefit from fidgets that help alert or wake up the under responsive sensory system. Sensory based activities such as playing with floof, scented dough, or any of the activities found in Sensational Fun will help give insight into sensory needs.
Refresh Academic Skills
The summer slide happens but there are many ways to keep academic skills sharp. For a fun refresher try learning games. Novenops offers a quick refresh on sentence structure, Letter Treasure Hunt is great for a review of letter concepts, and Colorama offers a crash course on colors!
Planning ahead for the first day of school can help students make a smoother transition back into the academic year!