Setting Your Child Up for a Successful Year - Helpful Hints for Parents

BY LAURA SPAULDING Staff Writer/Consultant & AMBER HARRIS Teacher

After hours of planning and preparation for the first day of school, Miss Harris can’t wait to welcome her new 2nd-grade class to RM 121. Amber Harris joined The Joy School’s teaching team last year with more than ten years of teaching experience both nationally and internationally. Whether it was her students living in Texas or Alabama, or those in Kuwait, the Dominican Republic, or Bahrain, year after year, her new students show up on the first day with the same basic need: assurance that this school and this classroom are places where safety and belonging are cultivated. Like the rest of the TJS faculty and staff, Miss Harris goes to great lengths to reassure her students and parents and set everyone up for success, even before the first day of school. This includes sending her parents a list of “Miss Harris’s Helpful Hints.” Here are some of those helpful hints meant to help parents thoughtfully prepare their children for a brand-new school year!

Miss Harris's Helpful Hints:

1. Have open conversations and discussions about transitioning to a new grade level. Moving onto a new grade level usually guarantees increased workloads and demands new skills. This also includes sharing information with your child about the new teacher while helping your child understand different teachers have different personalities, procedures, and expectations. Just acknowledging potential changes from one classroom or grade level to the next goes far in managing a child’s expectations, building flexibility and empathy, and eliminating potential disappointments.

2. Begin reestablishing school routines and schedules. Encourage kiddos to begin getting in bed as close to their normal school bedtime as possible and look for ways to build healthy sleep routines and patterns. That first day, and first week, of school will be so much smoother if students are not exhausted, lethargic, or running on fumes. *According to MoshiKids: 3-5-year-olds should go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 pm; 6-12-year-olds between 7:30 and 8:30 pm; and 13-18-year-olds around 10:00 pm. Healthy bedtime routines also include refraining from stimulating activities before bed like iPads, TV, computer games, video games, and even horseplay, and dimming lights and shutting down the kitchen an hour before sleep time. 

3. Set aside spaces at home where school belongings can be gathered, and homework can be completed. Lay out clothes in advance, pack backpacks the night before, and have lunches and reusable water bottles ready to go. You might even give the space a fun name like “Conor’s Corner” or “Sophie’s Spot,” creating a fun way to build organization and consistency and cut down on forgotten materials or supplies. 

4. Make intentional connections with your child that encourage them to process any excitement, expectations, or anxieties related to the new school year. Reading a book together or asking intentional questions are great ways to foster communication and connection with your child. Ask questions and encourage them to ask questions. Butterflies on the 1st Day of School by Justin Roberts, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneburg, and How to Survive the 6th Grade by J.R. Clark are great books that can help start conversations and address potential fears and concerns. 

5. Relieve anxieties and build excitement! Find practical ways to calm fears and get them excited about learning new things, exploring and creating, and making new friends. Some practical ways to do that might include role-playing how to introduce themselves to other students or involving them in choosing and buying school supplies. Even involving them in tasks like ordering uniforms or labeling their belongings can help get them excited. A great way to answer questions or calm fears is to explore pictures and videos on the school website or social media accounts. 

6. Show up to any scheduled back-to-school events and be on time for the first day. Showing up and being on time helps your child see you make their school a priority and sets family expectations for the year. It says to your child, “School is important,” and “YOU are important.” Not only does this help your teachers and administrators take care of necessary logistics, ensuring the first day of school runs as smoothly as possible, but allowing your child to reconnect with friends, meet new students, check out the decked-out hallways and classrooms, and be greeted by smiling teachers does so much to calm student anxieties and spark their excitement! 

On that note, don’t forget this year, “Pop into Joy” is on Monday, August 12th! This is the time for parents and students to come to campus to meet teachers and take care of last-minute business before the first day of school. This is not a drop-off event, and it is important for all students and their parents to attend. We can’t wait to see everyone then!

If you or a family you know has been impacted by a learning difference or disability, help spread hope by sharing this post, or join us for a campus tour.