Whether it is their very first year in a classroom or your kids are school yard veterans, children often have some anxieties about that first day. To quell those fears and get them excited about tackling new lessons, use some fun ways to get them inspired for a new year. Take the best elements of school and apply it to everyday life so they can see the benefits as well as the importance of schooling.
Set Goals
By looking forward to the future and creating attainable goals, kids will have their own personal reasons to reach for the stars and make them more excited about going to school. Even if they are only going to their first year, have them consider what they want to accomplish and help them create a goals board they can use to track progress throughout the year. If the sense of accomplishment isn’t enough to make them want to make goals, nudge them with a little positive reinforcement by having them pick a prize or special outing if they follow through. For older kids find some helpful tips to stay organized with 3 Back to School Accessories Every Senior Needs.
Take an Educational Field Trip
Pick a museum or zoo for an afternoon outing, and get kids excited about learning by engaging them with hands on experiences. Learning in a live setting keeps a child’s attention and allows them to apply information to real life. It will get them excited to be able to use what they learned during lessons in the classroom, and it will make it easier for them to understand information when they can associate it with concrete memories. Find out how awesome a trip to the Kennedy Space Center could be with 18 Things You May Not Know About the US Space Program.
Play School
Use toys to role play. Kids let their barriers down during play and can ask questions as well as act out their stress without feeling inhibited by the social rules they must abide by during any other time. This is especially helpful for children getting ready for their first year of school. If they have never been in daycare or another school like setting, the idea of being away from familiar caregivers might be scary to them. However, with new Playmobil toys like the School Bus and Take Along School, kids can explore and learn all about the classroom in an easy way to understand.
Have Fun with Science
Kids can learn about science by conducting their own experiments with basic household items (under parent supervision of course). By becoming a scientist in their own house, it allows them to see that science is in fact real and not just a lot of words in a book that a teacher says are true. Find everyday experiments in The Everything Kids’ Science Experiments Book which you can find on Amazon. Kids will find fascinating and exciting experiments to help inspire interest in the world of science.
Get Their Favorite Gear
Success in school has a lot to do with feeling prepared. Make sure you send your kids back to the classroom with everything they need to stay organized and productive. From backpacks to pencils, check the supply list twice so they don’t show up to school only to find they are the only one without a box of art pastels. This actually happened to me in sixth grade… It was very traumatic. If your kids are heading off to college, check out these awesome products on the Tech Savvy College Student Back to School Essentials Shopping List.
Learn with Them
There is nothing better than a positive role model. Teach your kids that learning is fun by learning with them. Read books together, explore new theories and ideas, discuss current events, or just do a puzzle together. Show them the importance of schooling and how enriching it is to keep learning at every age. Be there biggest advocate by supporting and inspiring their hunger for knowledge. You can find interesting information for kids and adults in the National Geographic Kids edition. Check out Improve Your Reading Skills with National Geographic Kids books.