Prep for a new school year:
Summer is almost over and that means that a new school year is almost upon us- yikes! That thought, I hope is allowing some butterflies in, yet is laced with anticipation and excitement.
We should look forward to new beginnings, however that is not the case with many of us, why? There are numerous reasons ranging from feeling unprepared, nervousness, worry, sad to see the freedom of summer go etc. However were we to capture those feeling and deal with each one, we can make the start of the school year a new beginning in more ways than one.
In order to make the school year a smooth start and transition for all, we have to prepare for it. Would we go on a vacation without any plans and expect to be relaxed and enjoy? So too, we should not enter the year without any prior planning.
How to be fully prepared and relaxed for the start of the school year:
- Find out what emotion you are experiencing and understand where that is coming from. Once you understand that will you be able to address that emotion and take it to the next level. example: you are nervous
- Address the feeling-now that you understand that you are nervous ask yourself why you are feeling that emotion. example: now that you know you are nervous, ask yourself why? It might be that is coming from stress that you would not have enough time to prepare for the school year.
- Deal with the feeling-What can you to help you minimize that emotion?
Many times it is the discovering the feeling, sorting and addressing the emotion that makes you feel validated and able to move on to the next step to ensure that you do not experience the negative emotion again.
Now that you know what you are feeling and why, how can you make that go away? Ask yourself what would make you feel better?
Many times preparation is the key to your answer. Should you prepare beforehand and not wait until the last minute, everything is ready for the school year to start can minimize the sinking in your stomach feeling.
Easy tips to ensure a successful start to the school year:
- take the quiet time during the summer to reflect on your past school year, what worked what didn’t and what needs tweaking and allow that to be your focus
- take time for yourself- was there a professional development you wanted to attend or something you want to learn more about to give you additional tools and make you feel better prepared?
- write a to do list in order of importance and cross off an important task and and enjoyable task everyday
- try not to leave anything for the last minute, prepare your mailings, your signs, name tags you name it, start early when you do not feel so rushed.
Although these are great tips they may not work for anyone. You must know yourself to help yourself. If you are nervous that you will have a difficult class always ask yourself what is there that you can do that will make you feel better and calmer. You cannot ask yourself this the day before school is about to begin, ask yourself the last day of the prior school year. Preparation is key to a smooth beginning. If attending behavior management classes will make you feel better armed then do so. If having all your copies neatly stacked up will make you feel less worried then get it done.
How to prepare yourself as a parent for the first day of school for your child:
As a parent you may also feel various emotions at the start of the school year. The answer is the same, address and deal with the emotion. Are you worried that your child will not be in the same class as her best friend? Ask yourself what can you do to make yourself feel better about it and do something about it! Perhaps your child is not that concerned and therefore you do not need to be. Discuss it and address it. Do not wake up last minute!
Did your child have a difficult year last year and you are afraid for that to repeat? Ask yourself what you can do about it and address the situation.
Always remember- “Being nervous won’t help you, addressing the emotion would.”
How do you deal with the first days of school?