11 Ways to Have a Great School Year
BY JENNIFER BONN
Parents pray for a great school year for their children — hoping for a teacher who will inspire their kids, friends who will bring them joy and activities that ignite a passion. Everyone knows each year comes with potential challenges as well, but we hope the positives outweigh the negatives. Here are 11 suggestions to ensure this happens.
• Make sure the school has your correct contact information. There are times during the year when the school
might need to contact you quickly, and you want to be easily reached, especially if your child is sick. Also, make sure you have the teacher’s email address.
• Read the handbook. Highlight important information, such as the procedure for checking out for doctors’ appointments.
• Create a clean, distraction-free work area. Your child will
work better if she or he has a clean area where it’s possible to focus.
• When important papers come home, pin them up in an easy-to-see spot.
• Keep a calendar with school dates. It’s easy to forget about early-release days, so listing them on a calendar you can check easily leads to fewer surprises.
• Guide younger children through their homework without doing it for them. It’s tempting to do their homework for them, especially if there’s a lot of it, but that teaches them it’s OK to use someone else’s work. Teach them study skills and guide them to the answers. Help older children, if needed, and check homework upon completion.
• Set a consistent bedtime. Children need consistent schedules, and they need plenty of rest even more.
• Eat dinner together. This will be the time when your child lets you know what happened at school.
• Communicate with teachers. It takes a team effort to ensure
your child’s success, so when you have information or questions for the teacher, let him or her know. Be reasonable about the frequency of communication, though. Expecting a daily email would be inappropriate. Teachers do not have a lot of downtime, so only communicate with them when necessary.
• Organize everything the night before for the next day.
Your morning will go much smoother if you do not have to run around preparing things. Frenetic mornings are no fun. Starting off on a calm note gives your child a good start to the day.
• Set aside some time for fun. Remember, this month is still
technically summer, so continue doing some of the fun activities you’ve been doing. Jennifer Bonn is a freelance writer in Kennesaw and a recently retired 40-year educator. Her book, “101 Tips to Lighten Your Burden,” was recently released and is available on Amazon.
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