After two years of doing the home schooling dance, it looks like 2022 might be the year when kids finally get back into full time classroom learning. Fingers crossed.
To help your child transition back into school life, we’ve put together some fun (and practical) tips to get set for a happy new school year.
1. Get back into a regular bedtime routine
We can all agree that staying up late is fun, and it’s a custom that just happens over the holidays. But it’s so important to start the new school year with healthy sleep habits, and that means getting more of it. You should be encouraging your kids to head to bed earlier a week before school starts – which means getting up earlier as well.
2. Practice being organised
Learning how to get organised when you’re young is really important in helping to achieve goals and reduce stress. Before your child starts school, help them pack their schoolbag and get their lunch together, and lay out their school clothes the night before. If your child is a little bit older, show them how to use their school diaries to log important dates, like school camps or when assignments are due. Learning how to organise themselves from a young age will help your kids prioritise, foster independence and encourage a sense of accountability.
3. Sit down for a healthy breakfast together
OK, so school mornings are always a bit of a rush. But starting the day with a nutritious breakfast can make or break your child’s mood, and determine how likely they are to learn. Lead by example and have a healthy brekkie with them, like muesli with fruit and yoghurt, low-sugar cereal and juice, or eggs on toast.
4. End the day with some reading
Find out what books your kids will be reading throughout the school year and get a head start by reading them together at home. This will get you across what your kids are likely to be working on in class, and it’s a nice way to connect with your child at the end of each day. And who doesn’t like a story before bed?
5. Make sure your home internet’s up to scratch
Regardless of whether your kids are just starting primary school or studying for exams, it’s so important that your home internet can cope with the extra load of downloads, streaming and general online-ness! If your internet struggles and cuts out, it might be time to investigate a new plan (and guess what? We can help with that).
6. Don’t wait until the new school year to start learning!
It’s never too early to start learning new things! Before school goes back, start exercising the brain with Times Tables Rock Stars, a great online resource for learning – yep – time tables. Apps like ABC Reading Eggs and Prodigy are great for helping with reading, phonics and maths skills, too. Remember that if you’re setting your children up with apps and online resources, it’s important to be mindful of their screentime, and if they’re actively engaging with what they’re doing (or mindlessly scrolling). In the beginning, it might be worth working through digital challenges together to make sure they’re getting the most out of them.
Is your home internet plan ready to take on the new school year? Check out our range of broadband options.
