Back to School Tips for Families Your Child’s Teacher Wish You Knew!

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Back to school time is exciting and nerve-wracking for both educators and parents! We all know the excitement of getting new school supplies, knowing your letters and numbers, and packing your backpack. Families do all that they can to get their children ready for school come August, but some of the best ways to get them ready for school isn’t always curriculum based. Focus on these tips from the teachers who are spending half the day with your child!

WQED Education has spoken to local teachers and these are the things they wish parents and caregivers did to help back to school time be a little smoother for the learners in your life.

Here are 10 tips from local teachers on setting your child up for school readiness success:

  1. Getting Enough Sleep – Families should start their children on a back to school schedule a week prior to the start of school, with a scheduled bedtime so kids aren’t going to bed at 10pm when they should be in bed by 8pm to get the full recommended hours of sleep, and a scheduled wake up time that will coincide with what time they will need to be up for school.
  2. Labeling Clothes and Belongings – Kids lose things all the time like gloves, coats, lunch bags, and hats. Label these things with personalized clothing stamps or fabric marker (test on a small patch before use).
  3. Lunch Practice – Children should practice being able to open lunch items independently and finish eating within a 25 minute timeframe.
  4. Homework Area at Home – Get ready for back-to-school by setting up a quiet space for children to do their homework and not be distracted. This area should have items such as pencils, pens, markers and scissors to help children get started on and finish their work faster. Having a designated space with all of the supplies neatly organized prevents children from having to search all around the house for them. Here’s an article from PBS Parents to help you get your homework center set up.
  5. Morning/Afterschool/Bedtime Routine – Have a snack prepared after school, let kids decompress and play a little before homework time to avoid tantrums from being tired or hungry. Establishing consistent routines provide predictability to young children. Following a schedule and knowing what happens next helps children feel safe, which can help YOU with better behavior and cooperation with your child. When they know what to expect and what they are supposed to do they feel more comfortable and confident about their day. Try this Lyla in the Loop Routine Chart as a helpful visual schedule. Use a family calendar so they know when something changes or will be different. It can also help them be excited about an upcoming field trip, know when meal prep day is coming, and more.
  6. Read Together – Read 20 minutes a day together to build literacy skills and family bonding time. Need reading resources? Here are stories you can watch and read alongside your child:
  7. Menu Prep Together – Pick a day of the week and figure out what you’ll eat or what options you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plan healthy snacks, avoiding scrambling for breakfast options, and reduce headaches over what to eat.
  8. Kindness is Key – Reminding children to be kind to others even classmates who aren’t their friends. Encourage your child to include others and not to be a bully.
  9. Road Safety Rules – Practice and talk through with your child what their commute will be like i.e. being dropped off/walked to school/picked up by the school bus. Practice crossing the street safely by looking both ways for oncoming cars, waiting for cars to stop before crossing, greeting the crossing guard, holding grown-up’s hands when crossing the road.
  10. Practicing Emergency Information – Have your child practice reciting their home address, at least 1 or 2 phone numbers, and know the names of their parents/caregivers!

Additional Tips:

  1. Lessen anxiety by visiting the school including building and playground.
  2. Get supplies organized! Come up with a back to school budget for buying school supplies, take the kids shopping with you so they get excited. If you don’t have a big budget, look for local school supply giveaways or see what you have at home that can be reused and talk about the importance of reduce, reuse, recycle to help the planet.
  3. Using a calendar to count down to school.
  4. Speak positivity about the upcoming school year while also reassuring that it can be a mix of nervous feelings, disappointment that summer is over, but also excitement for the opportunity to make new friends and learn new things.
  5. Look for everyday learning experiences to practice and review what they have learned in school.