Michelle Beck MS, OTR/L
Summer months allow for extra time to sleep in and longer days to fill with various leisure activities. This can be a hard routine to break once the school year is here. As August continues to fly by, the time to prepare for the upcoming school year is rapidly approaching. It’s time to trade in your flip-flops and bathing suits for notebooks and pencils! Continue reading to learn several quick tips to ease the transition from summer back into the school year.
Consider transitioning into a school wake up and bedtime schedule at least two weeks before school begins. Attempting to suddenly change a sleep routine and introduce the challenges of a new school year can place extra stress on the entire family.
If your child has dietary restrictions or allergies, check in with the school’s administration to ensure a balanced and safe meal or snack will be available during the school day.
Many children will feel apprehensive about starting a new school year, while also being disappointed that the summer is over. If possible, obtain a daily schedule from your child’s new teacher. Discussing what to expect from the new classroom can decrease anxiety.
Schools will often have an open campus day so that families can walk through the halls and classroom to become familiar with the new surroundings. Finding time to discuss specific points of stress or worry can assist your family with finding answers to questions and remedies for what may be making a child nervous.
If your child has been receiving therapy services over the summer, make sure to check in to see if your therapy schedule will work with the new school schedule. After-school sessions can be hard to come by.
Ideally, families, teachers, and therapists have an open line of communication with each other. Be sure to give your therapists and school written permission to share information about your child. Starting out the new school year knowing that a child has a strong support system can ease the transition for all parties. We recommend fostering collaboration whenever possible.
Remember to take time to be together as a family and bond. Transitioning into a new routine is stressful. The more quality time spent with family to decompress, the better. Take a simple walk in the park, go on a spontaneous ice cream date, or have a movie night.
Do you have any tips of your own for transitioning back into school? We would love to hear them! If you have any questions about how occupational or speech-language therapy can help your child succeed, contact us today!