As the long, lazy days of summer end, a new school year starts.  Students may hope for new friendships or rekindling old friendships and great teachers. Parents may hope to see academic growth, maturity and happy children who love to learn. How can you make the transition from summer vacation to the beginning of school smoother this year?

The transition can be easier for families if you start to plan during the summer.  A couple of weeks before school starts, slowly readjust your child’s bedtime, if he or she went to bed a little later over the summer.  School and after-school activities are especially tiring at the beginning of the year when everyone is adjusting to a new routine. It is often hot during the first autumn sports practices and games; this can cause fatigue.  Children need the proper amount of sleep to be at their best.  Lack of sleep creates less than optimal conditions for learning and can exacerbate symptoms of anxiety or ADHD.

Make sure that any summer math packets and reading assignments are completed at least a week ahead of time.  That last week before school starts can be hectic. Towards the end of the summer, you might play some fun math games or read a new book together to refresh your child’s skills.

Hanging a calendar where everyone can see it will keep your family organized.  With everyone running in different directions to scouts, sports practices, music lessons, tutoring etc., having a calendar in a prominent place can alleviate confusion. Backpacks should be ready to go after the homework is completed.  It may help to have a checklist with words or pictures depending on the child’s age of what he or she needs for the next day. Packing the backpack in the evening prevents running around in the morning looking for items and being late for school.  Children can be taught to lay out their clothes for the next morning too.

Ask your children what would make the transition to new school year easier or more fun for them.  You can give them some options like meeting the teacher before school starts or inviting a classmate(s) for a playdate.  If there is information about your child’s curriculum on the school website, you can mention new things they may learn or activities or field trips that will take place during the year. Children tend to be less anxious if they have someone they know on the first day of school and what to expect in their new class.  Usually, schools have an open house before class starts.  It is a terrific opportunity to visit the classroom and meet classmates and teachers.  Maybe there is time afterwards to play on the playground with their peers. Take a tour of the building if your child is new to the school.

With work and after school activities, family dinnertime could be hard to schedule.  Try to have at least a couple of family dinners together a week. Instead of having the typical questions (How was your day? What did you do in school?) Everyone could tell the funniest thing that happened or the most unexpected thing that happened, or something new they learned or someone they sat with at lunch or what they are looking forward to the following day.

One night a week, usually over the weekend, there should be a family activity.  It could be taking a walk or jog together, playing a family board or outside game, reading or telling a story around a firepit, baking something for a special dessert, going out for ice cream, building a structure, creating an art project, or even doing an easy science experiment. There are many other ideas.  You can try different activities depending on the children’s ages and your family’s interests.  Rotate who gets to choose the activity each week. That person can plan and make a list of what extra things that are needed for the activity, for example chocolate for making s’mores. The person in charge can also organize the materials for the activity.  This is a wonderful way to work on executive functioning skills.

Most importantly, take time to observe your child and listen to him or her, especially at the beginning of the school year. Is your child having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Does your child seem worried or more anxious?  Is your child having trouble getting started on homework? Does your child talk about any classmates as friends?  What does your child do at recess? You can tell your child about your favorite part of your day at work and then ask him or her what was the best part of their day.  You can ask what was easy and what was hard or what they wished could have been different.  Listen without making judgmental comments. If needed, you can problem solve together.  If you have concerns, contact your child’s teacher, don’t wait for that mid- autumn conference, stay ahead of any issues. If a particular subject is difficult, your child may need a tutor to build confidence and skills. If there seems to be deeper underlying problems, an inability to focus or an inability to master grade level skills for example, you may want to get your child evaluated. Be proactive and ahead of issues to ensure your child has the building blocks for a successful school year.

​During the pandemic, many children lost ground academically. Most students did not have access to a school or community library.  Book discussions during virtual learning were different from in person discussions. Although some children may have read more to pass the time when schools were online, others rarely read books.  How can we get our children to become avid readers or at least start to enjoy it more and not feel like it is a chore?
 
Parents should model reading books.  You might mention casually at dinner that you started a new book and cannot wait to see what will happen next. You could even have a block of time when everyone in the family is reading their own book.  For the youngest children it could be 15 minutes. (If the child is too young to read and wants to take part in the reding time, give him or her a couple of picture books or even let an older sibling read the book to him/her.) With older children reading time could be 30 minutes. Do what feels right for your family. It could be a different amount of time on different nights depending on everyone’s schedule. It could be every night or on a few nights each week.  Let your child tell you about a favorite part of the book or chapter.  Make sure the book is at the appropriate reading level; if it is too difficult the child will get frustrated.  Your child may want to keep a list of books he/she read.  For fun, your child could rate the book with 1-5 stars.  You can keep your own list with ratings too.
 
You could have Read Aloud Night. Everyone takes turns reading part of the book.  For the youngest readers it could just be a word or two.
 
Start reading and sharing books with your child from infancy.  They will love hearing your voice and cuddling.  Your child will start to associate books with pleasant times.  This will help develop language skills. Start with very short board books and increase the length when they are older.  Keep reading stories to your children, even when they can read on their own.  You can read more difficult books that they can understand but cannot read yet.  It also gives you a chance to ask questions: What did you like best?  What do you wish happened differently?  What surprised you?  What do you think will happen next?  Would you like the main character to be your friend, why or why not?  If you are on a business trip read a book on Zoom to your child.
           
Expose your child to several types of books to pique his/her interest. Children often like reading biographies of people working in a field they enjoy, for example sports or reading about people who are like them, for example a child with autism spectrum disorder may like reading about Temple Grandin. Some children like mysteries or scary books. Discuss the clues in a mystery book and take a poll of what everyone thinks is the solution to the mystery is and why.  Let your child read a ghost story in the dark with a flashlight or around a firepit.  Some children get hooked on reading after trying a graphic novel.  Some children would rather read non-fiction books about a topic of interest.  They might like histories or science or “how to” books.
 
If your child is having trouble reading words, you can make a game with the words that are often missed.  An easy game would be a match game.  There would be two cards with the same word.  Make several pairs, put them face down in rows.  Children turn over two cards and read them.  If they match, he/she keeps the pairs. The person with the most pairs at the end of the game wins. You can help make a fun obstacle course.  The child must read a word(s) and directions at each stop.  A direction could be:  Jump over two blocks and then stack five blocks before running to the next obstacle. You can make a treasure hunt for your child with detailed directions to read.  A small token, snack, or new book could be at the end of the hunt.
 
Let your child read the directions to bake cookies, make an art project or do a science experiment, then he/she can collect the equipment and ingredients and bake or do the experiment or project. Your child can be a director.  Act out part of a book or put on a puppet show of a chapter. You can even make costumes and a set.  Have your child read the shopping list and add items he/she needs
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Go to the library each week.  Many libraries have story hours or shows, especially during the summer. There are often summer programs to read a certain number of books for a certificate or prize.  Make a Free Little Library.  Your child can read books and add his/her own books to share. It is fun to see what new books appear in the Free Little Library.
 
Host a book exchange.  Everyone brings books to exchange.  These books can be to lend or to trade for keeps depending on what the group wants.  This is a great activity before vacations.  It can be just for children, or it can have an adult exchange table and a child exchange table.
 
Make a special reading place.  It could be a cozy nook in a playroom or a reading tent or a windowsill.  A bookshelf   with room for library books should be nearby. Let your children help design this area and redo it when they have new ideas.  They can hang drawings or quotes from a book they enjoyed.
 
If you are going on a long ride your children can listen to a book in the car. Let them choose the books for the drive from the library, bookstore or online with your help. Before vacation let your children read about the place before sightseeing, for example if you are going to a beach, the children could read about sea creatures.
 
Start a small parent child book club with a few friends.  You could have a monthly meeting.  Everyone takes a turn to host and chooses the book. There could be activities and discussions over snacks.
 
Have your child email or mail a letter to a grandparent, other relative, or family friend about a book they enjoyed.  Make sure the relative or friend will write back and ask a question or two or suggest a book for both of them to read.
 
Give your child a special book for each birthday.  He/she will treasure it and may share it with their own children.
 
If you make reading enjoyable and part of routine, your children should become lifelong book lovers.  Make sure to switch or add new activities to keep an element of surprise to your repertoire.  Happy reading!
 

This admission season will be  different than every other year.  With a few exceptions, schools are only holding virtual open houses and interviews.  The testing requirements have changed.  Most schools will not hold student shadow days.  I have been an educational consultant for over 21 years and have never experienced  a year like this before.

It could be a much more competitive year than usual. Many families are unhappy with the way the public schools are handling education during the pandemic and will want different options. There are families trying for mid-year placements. This could take available space away from the 2021/2022 candidates. Some parents will apply  this year to avoid some of the usual testing requirements. There will be new families moving the area after the election interested in independent schools.

How will you find the best school for your child this year?  It is difficult to assess a school from a virtual event.  I have visited area schools often before the pandemic.  I have been in contact with admission offices to keep up with all the changes this year. If you want to know more about a school than what you learn on the website and through a virtual open house, I can help.

How will the school  admission officers get to know your child?  Usually they  become acquainted with students through in person interviews, visits,  testing and teacher recommendations.  If your child has been involved with distance learning, the teacher(s) may not know enough about him/her to write a substantial recommendation.  Admission committees will not have the information about your child’s strengths that testing usually provides.  How will your child stand out among his/her peers in this competitive year?  I work hard to get to know my clients and make sure the admission committees get to know them and their families through my communication.

You want your child to be successful, happy, confident and to love learning. Attending the right school to maximize his/her potential is important.  I am ready to help you find  school where your child can thrive.

This has been a year unlike any other. In March 2020, most of the schools in the U.S. transitioned to distance learning.  The majority of them had very little time to plan.  Six months later schools have had time to make some improvements in distance learning.   Some schools are having  hybrid models where there is a mixture of distance learning and in person learning.  Some schools are trying to return to in person learning with precautions in place; these schools may have to return to distance learning if positive cases of Covid increase.  The situation is difficult for every family.  Most children have not been able to attend summer camp or go on  family vacations and now they are still stuck at home  starting zoom classes without in person contact with their friends or teachers.  Most extra- curricular activities like music lessons or sports teams are cancelled for this fall.  No one knows exactly when things will return to pre-pandemic life.  This is taking a toll on our nation’s families.

Distance learning is difficult. Most students learn best in person.  Children should not be sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time. There are some things you can do to make the best of this situation for your child. 

First stick to a schedule.  Your children should go to bed early enough on school nights to get enough rest for his/her age group. This should be the same time each night. They should get up at the same time on school mornings with enough time to get dressed ( no pajamas in school)and eat a healthy breakfast.  School supplies should be organized in the child’s virtual school area.  If there is a daily schedule for classes, it should be posted just like most teachers do each day.  Your child can check off classes/ assignments as they are completed.

The virtual school area should have a charged computer or IPAD, a desk, shelves and/or a bookcase ( this can be labeled) to keep supplies, paper,  a filled water bottle, text books, the day’s schedule, writing utensils (pencils, pens, crayons- depending on the age of the student), a comfortable chair and also a big ball to sit on if possible. A white board and/or a bulletin board is a nice touch.  Your child could help design the area.  When it is completely ready to use, take a photo of it.  The photo can be taped to the desk or hung up nearby so at the end of the day the child has a model of how to stay organized.

Before distance school starts, make sure your child does some exercise for 30 minutes.  It can be an activity like walking the dog, riding a bike, jumping jacks, family jogging, kicking a soccer ball, shooting hoops etc.  It is especially nice if the whole family participates.  It can be the same activity each day or a different activity for each day of the week or try an activity for a week and then switch.  Before class starts make sure your child is hydrated and fed and that the internet connection works.

Once the child is successfully connected to the class you can start your work schedule. Check in during breaks.  Have your child get up and move during breaks.  Keep in contact with the teacher.  Have your child explain what was being taught each day during dinner when family members discuss their days.  If a child can successfully explain a new concept, then he/she understands it. If there is independent work to complete, your child should write it down in a daily planner and check off assignments as they are completed. You child can also use a calendar on the laptop or IPAD.

After classes are over for the day, make sure your child gets some fresh air and time to play outside ( weather permitting) before starting independent work.  Your child should have a healthy snack also.  He/she can help prepare it.  Once he/she is ready to start the independent work, ask if there are any questions.  If there is an assignment that is confusing, the child may need to contact the teacher, or review the lesson if it was recorded. If the child has a multi- day assignment, ask him/her to write down what will be completed each day until it is due. Breaking down a larger task makes it less overwhelming and does not allow last minute procrastination.
 
When school is over if there are other activities such a musical instrument lesson or practice time, make sure your child is ready for the lesson or  blocks off time in the schedule to practice the instrument.  There should be some down time (about 30 minutes) outside or drawing or playing a board game. If there is  a friend your child is social distancing with, they might play together. They could have a short zoom playdate. After the short break, your child can start on any homework.  Your child might also have some chores or could help with dinner. 
        
After dinner, there is time to shower and read and then it is time for bed.  After being on a screen for school each day, TV watching and computer You Tubes should be kept to a minimum. The last 90 minutes before bed  should be screen free.  The whole family could choose a book to read together in lieu of TV.
       
Weekends  should be for family chores and fun time. This could be a trip to a hiking trail, bike riding and board games. Some children’s sports teams may be starting and would keep everyone busy. If there is homework, make sure your child has a plan of when to compete it. On Sundays, your child will need to  organize the distance learning school classroom to be ready for the new week.

Distance learning during the Covid 19 pandemic is not optimum.  If you stay positive, keep to a schedule and stay organized, your child will learn.  

It is mid- afternoon and Sam has just come home from school.  He  might be excited, exhausted, worried, happy or sad.  First give Sam a few minutes to decompose.  We all need that time after a hard day of work.  Then you might sit at the table and have a snack together; this is especially important for children during a growth spurt or if they have an early lunch at school and/or will be eating a late dinner. The snack should be appealing and healthy with some protein. This snack time should be a technology free time, just to catch up and listen.  Don’t pry with too many questions.  If Sam is not ready to talk about his day, you might discuss your day in the hope that he will then share what happened at school. Listen carefully and make comments like I think you said… did I understand that correctly? What would be some good ways to solve that problem?

If this is a day where there is a soccer practice or scout meeting or other activity, have Sam get ready.  If this is free afternoon, make sure that he gets to run around outside.  You can go to a nearby park or for a jog together. Sam can ride his bike or walk the dog or shoot hoops with a pal or sibling. The days are getting shorter, eventually there will be very little  daytime after school.  Being outside is invigorating. Getting physical exercise is shown to help one’s focus.  Depending on  the amount of homework, time of year and other commitments, the outside time should be 30 minutes or a little longer.  Then Sam can sit down look at his assignments and start his homework. 

Have him organize which assignment he will tackle first.  He might want to explain it to you. This will help him clarify the directions in his own mind.  While he is working you can be available to answer questions. Make sure he has a clean, quiet, distraction free area with the needed supplies for his homework.  Let him plan this area with some guidance before the school year starts.  When his homework is complete, have him put it in an organized binder or folder     (depending on what his teacher requires) and into his backpack for the next morning.  There will be less running around and looking for homework and books in the morning.

Dinner should be family time if possible. The after dinner hour can be used to complete homework, get ready for bed, maybe a quick game or 15-20 minutes of screen time (depending on your rules and Sam’s age).  Before bed, Sam can have a time to read with you and then on his own. Even older children love to hear stories.  You can discuss the book together.  It also gives Sam a chance to enjoy a story that may be too difficult to read alone.

This type of schedule keeps some of the hustle and bustle to a minimum.  Outside activities like sports and music lessons are wonderful, but every child should have some days where he or she is free to explore, make up and negotiate the rules of a  game with a sibling or neighbor, or  pick up autumn leaves for an art project.  The hurried pace  of the children in the DC area coupled with the overuse of electronics is taking a toll on our children.  They feel more anxious.  As the school year starts think about what you can do to keep your child healthy and happy.

As the summer winds down, many families are considering applying to schools for the 2016 school year. The best time to plan for the process is now, before everyone is bogged down with homework, sport practice, piano lessons, pre-school carpools and Back to School Nights.

First start to browse websites of schools that are of interest to you.  Determine when open houses and tours are given, what is needed for completed applications and when the applications are due.  Then you can start to look at your calendar and your child’s calendar to plot out the process.  Your child will visit and complete assessments for the schools.  When should these assessments be done and how many applications are enough or too many?  This is very individualized and depends upon many factors, including back-up plans if the child is not admitted to the schools he/she applied, and age, strengths, talents and needs of the child. 
    
Starting the process early is a good choice.  Independent schools are expensive.  Working with an Educational Consultant can help make sure you are making the best choice for your child.  An Educational Consultant can help you apply to the right schools to fit your unique child, help plan the process, determine the right time for testing and mange the stress that is involved with the process. ​