Woo hoo! It is time to go back to school.

Time for your children to resume their normal school routines, easy right? ….or is it?

While this may seem like a cause for celebration, there are a few things to consider before you go popping that cork.

You and your child have been through a lot of changes over the past 6 weeks or so. There have been many times of great success where things have gone as planned, and no doubt, times of great distress where it seemed nothing went right. Even though we have waited for this time to transition back, there will still be hurdles ahead for many little people and for some big people.

There is still a lot of uncertainty around

Many people will be experiencing some hesitancy of getting back out into the world with the threat of CoVid19 still hovering. These fears and anxieties are very normal and not to be dismissed, however returning to a ‘new normal’ is a great result of the actions we have taken as individuals and as a country.

But what are the problems you may encounter as you venture back out into the world? How will your little one feel and react to going back to school?

Some children will be very eager to get back to school. Back to their friends, their teacher and their learning, while others may have actually enjoyed the physical and social distancing remote learning has created. They may now be cautious about venturing out and it is up to us as parents to help make this transition easier.

There have been many adjustments made

Let’s look at what adjustments you and your child have been making and will need to make again as they return to the classroom.

• Regular rise times – these may have been a bit more inconsistent with parents and children working from home.
• Getting out of the house – something we haven’t needed to do for a while, let alone to a timetable, so cooperation and planning here may be tested.
• Focusing and concentrating for a whole day, without being able to walk away or change focus when they want to.
• Learning in a more informal setting where they may have been the only child around, or only with their siblings.  Now they will have to sit and learn to a timetable with other children and distractions around, with a teacher, who they may not know very well or who may not be their regular teacher.
• Playing in the yard with some unexpected restrictions on movement or play areas.  Plus many schools have taken this opportunity to take on building works which may or may not be completed.
• Continuing CoVid19 health and safety measures. Children will be required to have strict sanitary processes as they move in, out and around the school.
• Perhaps a new winter uniform that they haven’t worn or even tried on yet!
• New drop-off or pick-up zones and times may also be in place
• Eating times, activity times and screen times have probably been fairly fluid and responsive to their needs at home.
• Some families will now need to negotiate one or more children returning with one or more staying at home, this could create tension between siblings and with you.

Making changes easier can really make for a more successful transition for all

You can make these changes a little easier by putting a couple  of things into place now and also on return to school.

Below is my checklist for you to think about and put into place to make these transitions easier for your little one returning to school.

Go gently, remember you are doing something that other generations have not had to do, but …. you’ve got this!

Click here for checklist!