How To Prepare Your Student To Go Back To School

Presented By Maggie Lage 

Article By Dr. Raymond J Huntington, Co-Founder of Huntington Learning Center

If your child could use a little help getting back into the school swing of things, there are a number of simple things you can do to make the transition easier. “Take steps these final few weeks of summer to help your student prepare mentally and otherwise for a new school year,” advises Eileen Huntington, co-founder of Huntington Learning Center. Huntington offers these tips to ready children for the first day and week of school:

Call up friends. If your child hasn’t seen classmates from last year all summer, now is a great time to arrange a few activities with school friends. If you know students who will be in your child’s class, encourage your child to reach out to them, too.

Make a school visit. Stop by the school at least once to let your child walk around and check out his or her new classroom, if possible. If your child has an opportunity to meet staff members and his or her new teacher (at back-to-school night or in another way), take advantage.

Go over the routine. If your summer routine has been relaxed, now is the time to remind your child how a typical school day will go. If needed, start enforcing a reasonable bedtime a few weeks before school starts. Hang a family schedule and/or calendar in a visible place.

Get the home organized. Keep hooks near the entry door to your home where your child can keep the backpack, jacket and other school gear. Have him or her organize his or her desk or homework area. Take your child shopping to restock school and organizational supplies for the home and the classroom. Don’t forget to buy a new planner for him or her to use to stay on top of all obligations and assignments.

Do some refresher work. The final few weeks of summer, incorporate a little school work into your child’s daily schedule, using workbooks or worksheets from last year to brush up on math, reading and other basics. To practice writing, have your child keep a daily journal on the things he or she did this summer. As you bump up bedtime, include reading in the nightly routine-letting your child choose books from the library.

Sit down to talk about goals.
Goal setting can be a powerful tool. Talk with your child about the things that he or she would like to accomplish or change this school year-academic or otherwise. If your child had any difficulties last year, let him or her know that
you are there to help and want to maintain
open communication about school.

When it comes to preparing for back to school, a little can go a long way. “Back to school preparation is largely about getting in the right mindset,” says Huntington. “Help your child prepare by talking positively about this coming school year and the good things to come. Remind your child of the best parts of school, and also let him or her know that you’re always there to help problem solve when issues arise.

Huntington Learning Center tutors are trained to address a variety of reading and math skills with their students based on readiness and developmental ability. Elementary reading skills range from basic letter and sound recognition to reading comprehension concepts such as drawing conclusions, following directions, and identifying main idea and details. Elementary math skills include number readiness and a vast array of math concepts. Middle school reading skills include increasing a student’s reading rate, making inferences, and integrating critical thinking skills. Math skills include basic concepts in Algebra and Geometry. Struggling high school students often receive instruction in applying reading skills to other subject areas, making connections between genres and individual texts, and discovering the plot, theme, and conflict of a narrative piece of work. High School mathematics delves deeper into Algebra and Geometry with the addition of Trigonometry and Calculus. Regardless of a child’s age or ability, Huntington Learning Center can help.

Huntington Learning Center in Newark

34 Liberty Plaza | Kirkwood Highway | Newark, DE 19711

For more information or to schedule a consultation at the Newark location

call 302-737-1150 or visit www.newark.huntingtonlearning.com