10 Ways to Make This School Year a Success

The 2022-2023 school year is upon us, and most kids and parents are filled with both a mixture of relief and anxiety.  Kids are growing bored and ready to see their friends, chow down on those cafeteria chicken nuggets, and head to their favorite elective (or specials) classes like PE or Art.  They are not necessarily ready for the homework assignments, the quarter projects, and the seemingly never-ending class periods. 

Parents are happy to have a break from having to figure out a daily plan for childcare, and to no longer listen to the complaints that there is NOTHING TO DO OR EAT IN THIS PLACE! UGHHHHHH (insert eyeroll). However they also know that there is a trade-off, and while the new school year provides some solutions, parents are not ready to answer the call of the wild children during school that goes something like this: I need your help studying for a test, Can you help me with my math homework?, I have a project on _______due Monday., My school is having a fundraiser and I HAVE to sell stuff so I can get this cool little piece of junk that you will end up throwing away., Did you sign that permission slip I have to have turned in today? Spirit week starts tomorrow, and I need you to help me dress like a tourist, what I want to be when I grow up, and an IDIOM. We are also having pajama day, but I don’t like any of my pajamas and need different ones.

Am I hitting any nerves out there?  If so, then keep reading.  Here are 10 things you can do to hopefully make this school year a little less stressful for you and your kid.

1. Have a designated study space for your student. 
2. Have a designated “charging station” for your student to charge their computer each night (if they have one issued by the school)
3. Schedule a time each day for homework taking into consideration any schedule conflicts and write it down somewhere.  Have a conversation with your student emphasizing that these are the times each day that they should be completing their homework.
4. Buy extra school supplies to keep at home because you know they are going to forget them at school the very day they need to use them at home. (glue sticks, tape, paper, pencils, sharpies, blank posters, calculator, scissors)
5. Prepare a “homework in the car survival kit” to keep in your car all the time for days when that is where your student needs to complete their homework. I suggest stocking it with a clipboard, mechanical pencils, a 3-ring binder with extra paper, and their favorite snacks :-)
6. Make sure to sign up for and monitor whatever platform your student’s teacher(s) use for communication.  (Some examples are REMIND, Class Dojo, and ClassTag.)
7. Pick a designated time at the beginning of each week to check in with your student and go over what is on the agenda for the week including upcoming school assignments, events and extracurricular activities. 
8. Go ahead now and set an “ALL lights out time” for school nights and stick to it! This means TV, video games and applies especially for kiddos with their own phones. (I would consider having a place for them to turn it off and turn it in nightly)
9. Pick up a spray bottle at the store and fill it up with water for those mornings they just refuse to get out of bed!  Also download Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by WHAM! For those mornings when the spray bottle isn’t cutting it, you can blare this song in your kiddos rooms, and I promise they will get up out of sheer annoyance :-) 
10. Finally…. Download your FREE Grade Level Math Guide today, available for 3rd - 6th grade, which not only provides an overview of the math skills your student will be expected to learn this year but also gives corresponding problem examples along with answers for you and your student to reference throughout the year!