7 Tips to Prepare Your Child to Return to School During Covid

Returning to school after the summer is never easy. Thanks to the covid pandemic, most kids haven’t been to school since March. That is close to six months since they have stepped inside of a school. How do we prepare them for back to school during these difficult times.

Every child loves summer vacation when they’re free from schoolwork, they can wake up as late as they want to and, they are free to hang out with their friends on weekdays. And then reality hits, summer vacation must come to an end. Thankfully, we have a few tips so you can avoid an abrupt ending and a house full of cranky children if you start the back-to-school preparation process a few weeks before class starts. With August here – now is the time to start planning.

Whether returning to school full-time, remotely or a combination of the two the below tips will help to minimize the sting of going back to school.

• Adjust your child’s sleep schedule – Wean your kids into a school-ready sleeping schedule by making them fall asleep an hour earlier each week. Continue cutting back their bedtime until their sleeping patterns match those they’ll maintain throughout the school year.
• Assign homework – It’s true that kids dislike homework. But it’s important to keep their minds sharp. Try to assign fun homework assignments and be lenient in deadlines. After all, it is summer vacation and your kids deserve to spend some of their time relaxing. One assignment per subject that is due at the end of the week is plenty.

• Worksheets – On the Internet, you can find many places that offer free downloadable worksheets for children of all ages to complete outside of school. Websites like www.academyworksheets.com provide some great worksheets.

• Tighten curfews – If you’re like most parents, you likely extend your children’s curfews throughout the summer. A few weeks before classes begin, be stricter about the time your children need to be home and which days they can go out with their friends.
• Curfew – Allow your children to keep their summer curfew active on Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday through Thursday, implement a “school-ready” curfew. This will mentally prepare your children for the new set of rules that will be in effect during the school year.
• Make the change exciting – To your children, August is just the beginning of another boring school year. However, as a parent, you can’t help but marvel at the speed your babies are maturing! Help remind them of all of the opportunities that will soon be available to them in the new school year.
• Masks – With Covid rampant and masks a MUST – prepare your younger children by having them wear a mask throughout the day. Ease into by having them start of a few minutes at a time and work it up so they will be able to wear the mask throughout the day at school.

Be firm about your decisions when preparing your kids for the change of going back to school. Most children are resistant when you first begin to implement these changes. However, after about a week or so, most children begin to accept the new routines.

Remember to take your children’s feelings and desires into account when designing your routine for getting ready to return to school. Kids have unique needs, and it’s important to let them know that their opinions are valuable. Be willing to give in a little and you’ll often receive a great deal of cooperation in return.

By implementing these changes, you’ll prepare your children well for going back to school. When school begins, it will be less of a shock to your children and the transition to a new daily routine will be an easier one for all.

Prepare your child’s return to school during COVID and enjoy the school year.