It’s Back To School Time | Mum In The Madhouse

It’s Back To School Time

It’s time to get organised and make sure you get the new school year off to as good a start as possible. The return back to school after the fun-filled weeks of the summer holiday can be a struggle for the whole family, but with careful planning and emotional awareness the transition can be smooth for everyone. Think about buying everything you need now and start preparing for the year ahead.

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Buying New Kit

It’s time to buy new school uniforms, sports kit and shoes. How did they grow so much since last term? Take time to visit the school outfitters with your child and get them measured up properly. You may not have as much time for this during the term so it’s better to buy what you need now, if possible. Don’t forget to sew on name tags. Everyone else will have the same items of clothing so you don’t want all those new clothes to get lost straight away.

Children will not necessarily need new notepads, pens and pencils but who can resist new stationery? Bright, shiny pencils, protractors, rulers and rubbers are tempting and may even help reluctant children get more excited about a return to school. Often a new bag will be required to carry sports kit or a lunch box. Some items may be specified by the school, such as a calculator, so check any lists the school has provided you with and make sure you purchase the required equipment.

Mental Preparation

It’s a good idea to start preparing your child mentally for going back to school especially if they are moving up to ‘big school’ or have changed schools. Talk to them about the routine they can expect, who their new teacher is and which friends they’ll see again or the new friends they will make. Discuss all the fun things they will do at school and be enthusiastic about lessons. If your child has a positive attitude going into the new school year it will be good for their levels of confidence and may even influence their performance.

Start getting the family back into a good routine with a sensible bedtime and wake up time. These often slip during the holidays when a routine may not be so important but it’s now time to make sure everyone is well rested before the start of each busy day.

Extracurricular Activities and Private Tuition

Start planning which after-school clubs your child will be attending and whether you’ll need to organise childcare. It is also a good time to think about private tuition. Work out what your tutoring requirements will be for the year ahead and start looking for an appropriate tutor. Fleet Tutors will match your child with a tutor who will suit their needs and bring out the best in their abilities. Will your child be tackling the 11+ or GCSEs this year? Or is it A-levels they need extra help with? It may be the case that your child just needs a bit of confidence-boosting in a particular subject.

There is a lot for the whole family to think about in the run up to going back to school. But if everyone plays their part in getting prepared beforehand the transition should be smooth. Back to school can be an exciting time not a stressful one.

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