Parents Prepare for New School Year

You’ve got the school supplies, new clothes, maybe a new backpack.

But according to Deerwood Elementary Principal Miles Haugen, Dakota Hills Middle School Principal Trevor Johnson, and Eagan High School Principal Polly Riekowski, there are other important ways to prepare for the coming school year.

Here are their tips to get the year off to an A-plus start.

• Reschedule those zzzzzzzz’s. Changing your child’s sleep schedule gradually makes it easier to re-set their internal alarm clocks. This advice isn’t just for little kids. “By nature, a teen often isn’t tired until midnight,” said Riekowski, who added that if they don’t get to bed earlier, they’ll be exhausted by the third day of school.
• Chow down. For late summer sleepers, breakfast may be skipped for an early lunch. As you change the sleep schedule, make sure a healthy breakfast is added.
• Roam the halls. Take advantage of an opportunity offered to District 196 parents: walk through the school with your child. Spend an afternoon together learning locker combinations, or where coat hooks are. Knowing how to find the bathroom and where to turn left can make a hectic first day of school easier.
• Cut down on screen time. If summertime means more TV, computer games and net surfing, start cutting back to prepare for homework and school activities, suggested Dr. Trevor Johnson.
• Fill in the blanks. All the forms you need for everything from kindergarten lunches to high school soccer are online. The school district’s website, www.district196.org, has links to your child’s school.
• Hit the books. If you’ve let story time slip this summer, now is a great time to get back on track. If your child reads but seldom picks up a book, help them find a novel to dive into. If all else fails, there’s a magazine to suit every child’s interests. (You can skip this one if your child reads frequently!)
• Count your pennies. For little ones, counting pennies – or buttons, or just about anything – if groups of five or 10 is a good way to refresh skills. Adding with objects is a great way to help a child understand. Flash cards help an older child remember the equations they knew last spring.
• Toot your own horn. Drag out that dusty clarinet and have your child get re-acquainted. Their band teacher will thank you.
• Practice being on time. “If a child is late for school, they’re often embarrassed,” said Miles Haugen. He suggested planning ahead of time with your child: what time you get up, when breakfast is, what the child’s responsible for doing. “Being on time helps avoid being stressed and frazzled.”
• Talk it out. It’s common for a child to feel anxious about the unknown, and going back to school can be a big anxiety producer. Talk with your child about his hopes and fears. Most of all, be encouraging. Knowing you’ll be there with support and encouragement can help him relax and enjoy this new adventure.