How to prepare your child for the academic school year 2020-2021.
This school year is going to be unlike any school year we’ve ever seen.
Everyone is trying to adjust to this new way of life and schools have the hard task of figuring out ways to keep everyone involved happy and healthy.
Which of course, you can’t make everyone happy. But we can prepare ourselves and set expectations for our kids on what to expect.
This post may contain affiliate links, all that means is that within this post I recommend products and if you purchase them , I earn a commission at no cost to you.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Are you wrestling with the decision about how to handle the school?
As the new school year gets closer, I found myself wrestling with the decision on what we should do with our daughter who is entering first grade.
It seems as though, every school and district is doing something differently.
Have an honest discussion
It’s important that we consider our kids in this situation and what they must be feeling.
Open the conversation and Be honest and talk to your kids about the situation going on with the schools this year. Depending on the age of your child, remember to keep the talk age appropriate, so they understand what the discussion is about.
Their feelings are important, ask them questions like; “how are you feeling about going back to school. How will you feel wearing a mask?”.
If you have the option, ask them if they would like to learn from home or go back to school.
Ask them if they have any questions for you. Take turns talking about it.
Which learning format you will do?
There has never been a more diverse time in history for schooling. Depending on your state and district you have the option to send your child to school, part time school, online school, or you can homeschool.
I think this is really neat, and I hope that some of these options continue to exist in the future, so that families may have more flexibility.
BUT, It’s not feasible for every family. There are many dual working families, or single families who are trying to figure out what to do.
IF POSSIBLE, and only if you do have other options, bring your child into this conversation, because after all, it is their learning environment. Get their feedback.
Set Expectations
To prepare you kid for the new school year try and set expectations of what can happen during the school day.
What will your classroom look like (socially distancing, what your teacher maybe wearing (a mask/shield)).
Practice scenarios that may occur at school. “What should you do if you have to sneeze? How about, if someone tries to hug you or tries to touch your face? What will you do?”.
Do you have expectations at home? Will kids be ‘decontaminating’ by taking off their school clothes, shoes, will there be separate laundry bins for school clothes?
Practice Face masks
This one is especially important for the younger children who haven’t had to wear them, or maybe without assistance yet. If you have decided to have your child in a school setting, they will most likely have to wear a mask at some point in their school day, if not the entire time. At home, practice having them put on their mask by themselves and taking it off. Make sure to discuss proper storage, and what to do with their mask once it’s off.
Practice washing hands:
Have a discussion about germs, about touching their faces, and how germs spread. For little kids start having them practice how to properly wash their hands at home if they just like to dip their hands in water and then dry them. Singing the “Happy birthday” song is usually what is recommended.
RELATED POSTS:
- The ULTIMATE chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- Avocado banana pancake recipe
- Sneaking healthy meals for your toddler
Get your family on a routine
Its always great to have a routine in place, but with all the craziness in the world it’s even more important for your family to stay a well-working team. Create a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule.
Prepare you kid for school by getting them on a bedtime. Getting your day, week, monthly routine down will help you and your family succeed in accomplishing your goals and help give you a little peace.
One less thing you have to worry about.
Online learning
If you plan to have your child go through the virtual learning route, start NOW with setting aside sometime in the day for them to do some sort of educational activities on the computer, iPad, or whatever device they will be using.
During my kindergarteners online learning we purchased headphones for her so that she can have peace and quiet from her screaming baby brother.
Buy headphones for your child and practice having your child wear the headphones everyday while on their device to get use to the feeling.
Immunity boosting supplements
Whether you child is virtual schooling or face to face instruction immunity boosting vitamins and supplements are always great.
In our house my daughter takes elderberry during flu season, and whenever she gets a cold. We really love the Genius Elderberry brand because it includes, Echinacea and vitamin C.
She recently started taking this super greens for kids a few times a week. Its great since she’s my picky eater so it’s really hard to get the vegetables in her.
She also takes a daily does of the OLLY kids multivitamin + Probiotic to keep her gut in good condition.
Practice grace
Practice grace on yourself, with your kids, on the school, and those around you.
Be patient with yourself, these last few months have been a learning curve and the learning curve is going to continue with the reopening of schools.
Give grace to your children, they might be anxious about going back to school, talk with them, prepare them, and encourage them that will be ok.
Give grace to the schools, they are just as frustrated and stressed out with the reopening as us parents are. Teaching during a pandemic isn’t exactly something that teachers learn in the College of Education program (former teacher here).
Extend grace as they work diligently on figuring out the best way to keep our kids safe.
By practicing and extending grace to those around you, you are showing your children with your actions how to react to situations they may come across.
Throw grace around like confetti, because times are hard
Like what you read? Subscribe below for the latest posts!
I am so glad that I do not have to worry about this. My little one is only a year old. I feel for the parents, students, and teachers for this situation with the pandemic.
Setting expectations I feel is so important to helping our kids have a successful school year. They tend to reach the expectations that we set for them , so be realistic and reflect on what it is exactly you want to be accomplished.
I agree that practicing wearing masks is so important. They are becoming part of our regular day and we need to normalize them for our kids and get them used to them before taking them out into the wild. There are so many different kind of coverings too, best to try a few to see which one will work for your child.
Great advice for parents who are dealing with the uncertainty of the upcoming school year. Praying for all of the students, parents, and teachers. This is not an easy time for any of them! I wholeheartedly agree– throw grace around like confetti!