How to have a great beginning during the first three months of school ?

It seems that summer has barely started, and yet it is time to prepare for a new school adventure. The days leading up to the school year and the first few weeks of school are important for setting the tone of the entire school year and so it is important to help you student get off on the right foot. Here are five tips for helping you get the school year started right and helping to avoid undue pressures in the future.

1. Establish a positive attitude.

   As you and your child discuss the new school year, try to establish a positive attitude. Some students approach a new teacher with fear and dread because they have heard negative comments about the teacher or don’t know the teacher at all. Help your student realize that a new school year is a clean slate and that establishing good relationships with a teacher early on can have benefits in the end. Students may also approach a subject with fear and trembling. If they had problems with math last year, they may expect the same in the future. As a parent, you can encourage them to realize that things may be different with a new teacher and new level of instruction. Students also progress and mature intellectually at different rates, so a subject that may be difficult one year, may seem easy the next. Whatever happens,  reassure the child know that you will be there to help find ways to fill in the gaps, whether it be by working with the teacher to find out ways to help at home, or by finding qualified tutors to assist.

2. Help them prepare for the tasks ahead.

   As much as possible, prepare for the coming year by providing necessary tools for instruction. As an adult, you know how hard it is to work at a job where you don’t have the proper tools for the task. School is your child’s job and it is difficult enough without the correct tools for the trade. If you can, provide some new supplies for the school year, such as notebooks, backpacks, computer supplies, and fresh packs of pens and pencils. Remember the thrill you got from new school supplies? Capitalize on that thrill in order to create excitement for the new school year and help your child feel armed for the future.

3. Focus on academics.

   If you watch most Disney and Nickelodeon Shows, you will think that school is all about the social aspects and that finding the right clothes and electronic gismos is far more important than preparing for classes. In some ways, this makes sense for a television show because human interaction makes for great drama. However, many kids are influenced by these images and focus on impressing their friends rather than achieving all that can. You can help by keeping the focus on academics while still remaining interested in the friends your child is making.

4. Set clear goals and priorities.

   Most children really do want to please their parents, but if they feel that the goals are not clear or are unrealistic, they may not know how to achieve them. Of course, we would all like to see our students make straight as, excel in sports, and stun the world with their musical and artistic abilities, but the reality is that all that is not possible for one child and demanding it only creates frustration. School is about discovering strengths and weaknesses and working to improve them both. If your child is an overachiever, encourage them to continue in excellence, but reassure them of your love and support even if they struggle in certain areas. If your child is more laid back, set goals for them to achieve more and reward them for extra effort.

5. Set up tutoring and other support instruction early.

   If your child’s past performance or test scores indicate areas where extra help is needed, it is better to get tutoring early than late.  This is for two reasons. One, it is easier to learn with the material as it is being taught than it is to constantly try to catch up when the class has outpaced you. Also, tutoring at the beginning of the school year seems more like support to a child, while adding tutoring later, after negative performance reports come in, smacks of failure. This may cause the student to resent the need for outside help instead of embracing it. We all want our children to succeed, and, as parents, it is our job to do everything we can to encourage success.