Parental Guidance
Last year was anything but smooth for Lynette Bates and her five children. The family moved to California from their home in University Heights for a new job, then returned to Ohio a few months later.
In California, Bates got the kids, ages 6 to 15, involved on summer sports teams. Her oldest son, an avid swimmer, joined a water polo team, an opportunity to learn about a new sport and make new friends before school began in the fall.
In addition, the family moved to a neighborhood near the elementary school and joined the community pool, both being ways to get acquainted with other parents and kids. "One family we met at the pool invited us to their home for a barbecue on the day we met them," Lynette says.
Those strategies made the transition from summer to school easier. In fact, on the first day of high school, Charlie's water polo teammates all met beforehand to go to freshman seminar together.
"Everyone did really well starting school in California," Lynette says.
But there was a lot they missed about Ohio, moving back to Shaker Heights in March to be closer to family and friends.
Back home, Lynette met with the elementary school principal and a high school guidance counselor. The principal even arranged for Lynette and her youngest, Jane, to meet a mom and her daughter at the library before school so the 6-year-old would know one person in her class.
"But Jane, who was in kindergarten, had trouble making the transition when we moved in the middle of the year to Shaker Heights," she recalls.
Lynette attributes the struggle to Jane always being taught by women in preschool and kindergarten, but having a male teacher in her new school. It created anxiety in Jane that her mother didn't expect.
"The first day is the hardest," Lynette says. "But you have to listen to your kids because sometimes they develop anxiety for reasons that you wouldn't think about."
That's why experts suggest you start preparing now for transitions with sleep patterns, a harder curriculum and evolving social circles by getting your children on a schedule that makes things easier when the first day of school rolls around.
Rise and shine
"The thing that gets totally turned around in the summer is the sleep cycle, because they've been up all night and sleeping all day," says Howard Hall, a psychologist with Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
Begin several weeks before school starts by waking children up consistently when they'll need to get up for school. Bed times will follow, as children get tired from waking up early.
"It is so critical," he says. "Otherwise, they won't be able to function, they won't concentrate, they'll tend to be hyper."
Sally Phillips, a clinical dietician at Akron Children's Hospital, cites another reason children need consistent, quality sleep: Studies suggest that kids who don't get enough sleep have a tendency to be overweight.
Several studies point to different reasons. One, from the Mayo Clinic, showed participants who slept less, ate more. Another, from the University of Washington Sleep Center, showed that the less one sleeps, the greater role genes play in weight, causing some with a genetic predisposition for weight gain to be heavier.
"The ones who get the least sleep tend to gain weight faster and are more likely to be obese," she says.
Keep learning
Ideally, learning doesn't end when summer begins. Studies have repeatedly shown that kids can lose a month or more of grade-level equivalency during the long vacation. But that doesn't mean you have to sit inside doing math problems on a nice day.
Puzzles are one way to sharpen children's thinking skills and engage their minds, says Hall. This can include word searches or crossword puzzles that can be taken to the pool or jigsaw puzzles that can be done on a rainy day. In fact, consider working on a jigsaw puzzle as a family to spend quality time together and learn collaborative skills.
Another option, which works well with older kids, is to keep up with world events. With the Summer Olympics in London running through Aug. 12, there are daily opportunities for all ages to learn about sports, foreign countries and cultures or use math to figure out scores or event times.
Several websites offer learning suggestions for Olympic educational activities, including projectbritain.com. It suggests everything from having your child design a new Olympic logo to writing her own gold medal acceptance speech to tracking and comparing the weather in London to the local weather.
With just a little extra planning, the beginning of school should just flow, says Dennis Kowalski, director of the Greater Cleveland Educational Development Center at Cleveland State University.
Though students may feel like they're always in school, formal classroom learning actually occurs only 9 percent of a student's time during a typical year, he points out. That's why parents are the key to getting their children to learn, problem solve and use critical thinking skills outside of school.
"There's so many teachable moments that we don't take advantage of," says Kowalski. "You can go into the grocery store with a 4-year-old and think of how many opportunities there are in the produce department: color, shape, texture."
Still, Kowalski says, some formal learning over the summer is a good idea. He encourages parents to get a curriculum guide for the next grade level so they can make connections over the summer to areas that will be covered in the next school year.
Above all, children should read during the summer, even if their school doesn't have a formal summer reading requirement. Younger children — before they're reading chapter books — should read at least a book a week, Kowalski advises.
Giving kids choice in their reading material, with trips to the library or splurging on a book to own at a bookstore, can make reading more fun.
Older students might want to choose a book that will help them navigate through difficult choices in life.
Terrence Robinson, an associate strategy and implementation officer of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, says that at-risk boys in the Closing the Achievement Gap Summer Bridge program read The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. The book looks at the lives of two people with the same name who lived near each other but wind up in vastly different places in life because of the choices each made along the way.
Robinson's program targets boys entering high school who are most at risk for dropping out of school, but the book is well suited for boys or girls, urban or suburban, because it deals with choices that may confront many teenagers.
Robinson says the boys in the program also spend time working on self-confidence and navigating the social scene, from friendships to bullying — all issues that cross grades, gender and geographic location.
"They're going from an eighth-grade system where you're treated as a child to the teenager level of responsibility," Robinson says. "You're given more freedom, because now you're in high school."
Social anxiety
Social pressures can arouse more fear in some children at the start of school than worrying about a harder curriculum, so keep communication open with your child.
Vanessa Diffenbacher, head of Lawrence School's lower school, suggests a summer play date with a school friend to ease the transition back to school.
Teachers and administrators can be helpful as well. "A parent might want to call the school in mid-August and see if it is possible for the child to visit the classroom and set a time to meet their new teacher," Diffenbacher says. "This is always a very good stress reliever for our children at Lawrence."
Once school starts, it's a good idea to ask your child every day for one high and one low of the school day. "You're balancing out the day," Diffenbacher says. "If you're constantly only talking about the negative things that your child wants to bring up, then psychologically they're not seeing the positive aspects of their day."
On the flip side, focusing exclusively on positives could hide issues that might be happening at school with other students.
Diffenbacher says this high-low strategy works especially well for a child who is struggling or anxious at the beginning of the school year, although it is a strategy that parents can use all year to try to understand what's going on in their child's classroom.
For that reason, it's important to maintain strong lines of communication with the teachers too. Diffenbacher also insists her teachers call parents with positives as well as issues the child may be having.
Strengthening the connection with the school is one of the reasons Lynette Bates volunteered every Thursday in Jane's kindergarten classroom and went on school field trips with the class after Jane's rough start.
The kindergarten teacher used parents to break the students into small work groups, and Lynette says it was a great way to get to know the other children in the class to help foster friendships for Jane.
Although her children now have friends from last school year and from before the move, Lynette is using a lot of the same strategies she did in California to ease the transition to school.
The family goes to the pool where they can play with school friends. And Lynette's arranged get-togethers with classmates, especially for Jane, to keep friendships going over the summer.
And with children in all levels of school — from first grade to high school — anything that makes life easier is a bonus.
Family Time
One of the best ways to ease the transition from summer to school is to squeeze learning back into your child's day.
But don't sit them down with a workbook or quiz them with flashcards while they can hear their friends playing outside the window. Instead, work on a project together, such as tracking down your family history, says Howard Hall, a psychologist at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
"Explore your family history and then connect it with regular history or geography," Hall says. "The key for education is putting things in a context."
Therefore, if your ancestors come from Ireland or Africa, help your children connect that country with your family's background. In addition to studying a region, Hall suggests finding out about the occupations of your ancestors and learning more about that as well.
The more experiential a parent can make learning about family history, the more a child will remember, says Sunny McClellan Morton, a Euclid-based author of the book My Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories.
"My sons were interested in trains when they were very young," McClellan Morton says. "I took them for a ride on a vintage steam train. As we watched the brakeman in action, I told them their great-great-grandaddy was a brakeman on a coal train. They don't remember that grandaddy's first name, but they can describe how dangerous and exciting his job was."
For younger kids, McClellan Morton suggests putting together a photo album of relatives and telling stories about their lives. Older, tech-savvy kids can make a video-documentary of their home or neighborhood or can interview relatives. The important thing, Hall says, is to keep it fun so it doesn't feel to the child like school in the summer.
Place Makers
First Confession: I have a box of my son's stuff from kindergarten in the basement that I haven't sorted through yet. Second confession: This fall, my son will be a sophomore in college. Third confession: The rest of his years of schoolwork are down there somewhere, too. And so are boxes loaded with papers and artwork from my two younger daughters.
So that no one else has to go through the same chaos, here's advice from Muffy Kaesberg, co-owner of Organizing 4 U, and Vanessa Diffenbacher, head of Lawrence School's lower school, which serves students with learning differences, including executive functioning challenges that create organizing issues.
Buy supplies as you go. Get your child's supply list early. "Set up a school supply center in your home and start to buy supplies when you see them on sale," Kaesberg says. Even without the list, she says, you know the basics: paper, pens, glue sticks, and a box of Kleenex. Diffenbacher suggests buying double or triple of items such as folders and binders that wear out during the year, so you don't go on a frantic hunt midyear for a matching item.
Create a color-coding system. Choose colors and code items based on subject areas, Diffenbacher suggests. "Pick a color and stick with it, year to year to year." If green is for science, then everything for that subject should be that color: folder, binder, note cards. "It makes life so much easier for kids," she says.
Get an envelope or designate a drawer for schoolwork. "I keep a select group of papers and tests that are representative of that school year, generally their successes," Kaesberg says. "Try to contain yourself to a manila folder for each year for a memory box." And live by the acronym OHIO: Only Handle It Once. Decide if you're going to save it or pitch it and then put it in its right place, not a random pile.
Get your child a planner/agenda. Children as young as middle school need physical agendas to work with, even if their school puts assignments on the Internet. "You need to see how your time spaces out between now and when a longer-term project is due," says Kaesberg. Begin by filling in the entire year with set academic and extracurricular dates such as piano lessons on Wednesday and spelling tests on Friday, Diffenbacher suggests. When a large project is due, count backward from the due date and strategize about how much needs to be accomplished each evening to meet a goal. You might want to get yourself a planner, too.
Head Start
Expert advice for going back to school and keeping the pace.
It's a big jump from day care to preschool. But you can ease the transition with these tips, says Stella Moga Kennedy, founder and owner of Le Chaperon Rouge.
Teach them how to play. Children learn through play, so turn off the TV and video games. "Sit on the floor and teach your child how to play," she says. Simple board games such as Chutes & Ladders encourage taking turns, following rules and accepting setbacks.
Get involved. Teach kids the basics of friendship by exposing them to small groups where they can learn how to play, share and solve conflicts. School isn't just about academics, she says. Success in school means building positive relationships.
Pack a nutritious lunch. "Skip the Go-Gurt," she says. Obesity starts in preschool, so start out right with cut-up veggies, homemade cookies or a thermos of soup rather than prepackaged food.
Summer offers the opportunity for learning beyond the standard curriculum, says Nathaniel McDonald, head of school at Montessori High School at University Circle. Here are three ways parents can keep their children's minds sharp.
Explore their talents. Whether it's a sport or technology, help them find ways to engage in their passions, says McDonald.
Get out of the house. Summer offers a time for travel and exploration, says McDonald. But it doesn't have to be far. A trip to grandma's house or the Cleveland Metroparks can be just as valuable. "The more they know about what's in their own environment, the better students are able to take advantage of it," says McDonald.
Read. Parents can share their favorites, such as The Great Gatsby or Stephen J. Gould's evolution and science essays, with their children. It could spark conversation and provide something parents and children can do together.
A healthy diet is a building block for learning. Here are three tips from Dr. Reema Gulati, director of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at MetroHealth, to get you started.
Turn it off. While TV and computers are becoming a part of children's lives at an earlier age, "there shouldn't be a reason that on a normal weekday a child should be doing any of these activities for more than an hour," says Gulati.
Pack lunches. "Even as more and more schools are adopting healthy food initiatives, at this point, they are not universally available," she says. Packing your child's lunch allows you to make sure she is eating the right things.
Be persistent and creative. While children can be picky eaters, parents should continue working healthy foods into their children's diet. Try new ways of presenting the food, such as carrots with a dip or cut into small pieces kids can easily handle.
Starting school is tough. But when your child has asthma, there's even more to consider, says Dr. Ross Myers, pediatric pulmonologist at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
Ensure they have a rescue inhaler. Some children are old enough to administer their own medicine, Myers says, but parents should make sure someone at school has access and knows how to use the inhaler.
Keep a medication bag ready. When school starts, sleepovers and school events can throw off a child's medication schedule. Put all asthma medication in a bag in a child's backpack just in case so they don't have to worry about skipping a dose.
Create an asthma action plan. Keep a list of medications and when they're supposed to take it — and have a plan in place in case of an emergency. "It's not just for families," Myers says. "When not at home, it's for others so they know what medicines are supposed to be given and when."
Childhood is short, and we all want our kids to make the most of it. Tanya Wood, art director at kids clothing retailer Hanna Andersson, shares her tips for raising independent, caring children.
Get creative at mealtime. Every parent knows how hard a picky eater can be, so Wood makes fun meals for her son. "We cut up foods in different way or put stuff on toothpicks," she says. "We'll do a picnic instead of eating at the table." She also takes him berry picking and gardening so he's invested in the food itself.
Get dirty. Encourage your child to explore the outdoors and play in the mud. "We're so concerned with keeping our kids clean," she says. "Kids get detached from the outdoors." The sterile, isolated world of technology won't reap the same benefits as the outdoors in terms of imagination development, she adds.
Involve your children. Wood puts stools around the house so her son can watch her do household tasks, like sorting laundry. "We want kids to be self-sufficient at an earlier age and do things without having to constantly ask permission," Wood says.
Reading is essential to a child's development, especially during summer months when school is out. Kathryn Purcell, director of admissions and financial aid at Laurel School, provides tips for making the most of your child's summer reading.
Read together. "Talking about what they're reading really helps increase their comprehension and increase what they remember about the story," says Purcell. "There is an academic achievement link to kids who have been read to a lot."
Make it engaging. Connect the reading to the outside world and to your child's individual interests, such as nature, science or art. "If the book is set in space, you can visit the Great Lakes Science Center," she recommends.
Pay attention. For required summer reading, be sure to check whether discussion questions are available to help guide the reading process. A book may be selected for a certain area of study, and knowing that could help your child succeed.
Preparing your children to go back to school can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Caroline A. Schaerfl, licensed clinical psychologist at The Attention Center, shares some tips with us.
Work year-round. While at school, kids aren't just learning what's in their textbooks. They're also working on other life skills such as following directions and working in groups. "Those are all skills they are going to need when they grow up," says Schaerfl. So they should be practiced all summer in fun ways such as planning activities for play dates.
Keep directions simple. "More than 10 words is too long," says Schaerfl. Also, parents should encourage kids to help plan the steps in doing a task, which helps them see it more as something they chose to do.
Be consistent. For most children, getting into the routine of waking up and going to bed early is the most difficult part of back-to-school. Help ease this transition by setting consistent times for waking, eating and sleeping over the summer that are similar to their school routine.
