Shh. Don’t tell the kiddos, but the summer is winding down. There are certainly a few students out there who can hardly wait for school to start, but the vast majority may not even want to think about school before the alarm goes off on that first morning back. The former will be ready to go, but the latter will spend the first three weeks of school re-acclimating themselves to the speed and rigor of academic life. Fortunately, there are a few things parents can do to prepare students’ hearts and minds to return to school in the fall.

Wake up, sleepy head!

Growing children need adequate sleep. Nobody would argue against that. Some children, however, like to sleep more than they should and will allow themselves that luxury over the summer. Other children may adjust their schedule over the summer so that they get their adequate sleep between midnight and 10am instead of between 8pm and 6am. Either group is in for a rude awakening (quite literally!) when school starts back. Rather than allowing that to happen, go ahead and get back on the school schedule a couple of weeks ahead of time. That way, when the alarm goes off on that first morning back, there will likely be fewer tears.

Write right!

At a classical school like Trinitas, students do a lot of writing. Those who haven’t written much more all summer than a note telling mom they went biking with the neighbor-kid will suffer from hand cramps for the first couple weeks of school until they get those muscles back in shape. The best medicine to prevent that painful experience is having your students write letters over the summer. Grandma, Uncle Joe, Cousin Lizzie, and Mr. Cowart all enjoy getting letters. Furthermore, there are probably older folks in your church or even sick people your family knows who would be encouraged by a sweet letter from your student. The side benefit is keeping those hand and finger muscles in shape for school!

Read on!

Some students have told me they read nothing all summer long except their mandatory summer boni libri. This won’t do! I know summer movies are a lot of fun, but offset that passive entertainment with a few good books. This is the time to read all the stuff there wasn’t time for during the school year. Remember that history lesson your student wanted to know more about? Find a good book that allows him to do a deeper dive into that topic. What about that Literature book she loved so much? Find other books by that same author. Movies are okay, but passive consumption doesn’t do much to exercise the brain, and it robs a child’s imagination. Keep them reading!

Work harder, not smarter!

Summer vacation can have a way of spoiling a student’s work ethic. Parents, don’t let that happen. Give your students a few daily chores to keep them sharp, and don’t be too concerned about their protests because few young students will choose the hard things they need to do without your guidance. Sweating through a difficult task is as good for them as it is for us, and it will help maintain a good edge on their appetite for hard work so that they are undaunted by that first set of Math problems when school starts.

Set goals!

One way to ease your student back into the school mode of thought is to help them think about goals for the upcoming year. Now, don’t call a formal family meeting to spend two hours hammering out hard and fast goals with your student that you frame and hang on the wall for easy reference throughout the school year. If you’re that family, let’s get coffee soon. Instead, look for opportunities for casual, short conversations in the couple weeks leading up to school starting. What you are going for is setting the stage for the possibilities that lie ahead for your student. One way to get into the conversation is by asking about successes and disappointments from the previous year. Allow them to bask for a while in the things that went well, and praise them for that good work. But also, let them talk about their disappointments, and lead them to see those past disappointments as opportunities to improve in the coming year. Again, the object is not to make an actual list of goals, but to start your child thinking about the school year positively, with an eye toward its possibilities.

These five exercises may not magically transform every student into one who is champing at the bit for school to start, but they will help ease students back into the routine of school life without too much shock. Perhaps something here will spark your imagination to come up with even more ways to help your students with the transition. Go for it! And share your ideas with friends. One thing is certain, though: to do nothing is a sure way to secure a miserable first few weeks of school.