Every September, families enter the school year with the mystery of not knowing who their child’s teacher will be. As both a parent and an elementary educator, I understand this can be unnerving and (sometimes) a difficult transition. There are a variety of ways administrators and teachers work to facilitate the connection between home and school, but you as a parent can also play a big role in building this new relationship, and in turn, set your child up for success throughout the school year.
I adjusted my off-the-shoulder sweatshirt covered in splatter paint. Inspired by the movie Flashdance, my sweatshirt did little to distract from the fact that I was a 5'8" tall 12-year-old standing alone outside a middle school classroom. It was the first day of school and I knew no one. My family had just relocated to the area from across the country.
During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to take a leave from the school system and spend a couple of years running a home-based preschool program with my two youngest children, and support my older daughter while she was working remotely. Throughout that time, I made many connections with alternative schooling moms, and thanks to social media, have had the opportunity to get a glimpse into so many beautiful indoor and outdoor home-based learning spaces.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” is an old adage that, in some ways, applies to a school year.
Except in addition to a marathon, it’s also like a series of different sprints, hurdles, long jumps, biking, rugby, swimming and a multitude of other events – all happening simultaneously! A school year is about 185 days, and a lot happens during those days. How can parents help their kids get ready for what can be both an exciting and terrifying time of year, the back-to-school season?
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