Tips for Back to School Success

Tips for Back to School Success

It’s that time of year again! Gotta get the kids ready to go back to school. There are many things you can do to get them ready for a successful year!

1.     Routine is key – A big thing is getting them back into a bedtime and wake up routine. That will help decrease the early morning rush to get out of the door! Even homeschoolers benefit from the routine of a schedule, and this is a great way to teach kids not only how to tell time, but if they are old enough, but how to manage their time as well.

2.     Practice makes perfect – Start practicing some handwriting at every level, from learning to print to taking notes. For good practice, have children write postcards to family members, have them write the shopping list or write out their chores for the week. Let’s face it, writing is a big part of school that kids don’t practice over the summer. You can even work to strengthen those little hand muscles by coloring, using sidewalk chalk or using squirt toys that the kids have to squeeze.

3.     Make it fun – You can get them ready for math by doing fun things like color-by-number or playing games like Monopoly Junior and Yahtzee where they have to keep track of a score. Some children may even enjoy playing school if you give them some worksheets and notebooks.

If your child has special needs, they may either already be in a summer routine or they may need extra time to get into a routine for the schoolyear. Drive by their school and the bus parking lot as well. Make up a short story about how they will ride the bus to and from school, be in the classroom, eat lunch and do their schoolwork. Review their teachers name with them for a week or two so they will become familiar with it. Start making them the kind of lunches they will have in school and see if they can open containers. Some children may need a special note to the teacher with some tips on how to engage or motivate your child.

Interactive Metronome^® is a wonderful way to help your child get ready for school. It has been shown to increase processing speed, which impacts many areas of school life–handwriting, attention, focus, processing speed, auditory comprehension and coordination to name a few! You can do IM through a certified Provider, in the clinic and also by getting an IM-Home unit. Whatever you do, help your child get started off on the right foot!