Hi there! Christine here. My friend Madeha is the blog guru for Seeds for Special Needs, but after months of encouragement, she finally convinced me to give blogging a try! So lets get started!

With summer coming to an end, I had some thoughts and ideas about transitioning back into the school year. For both children and adults, change is hard! Transitions don’t always go as planned, even with planning. 

As a self proclaimed professional aunt, I see a range of emotions between my nieces and nephews towards going back to school. Some are thrilled to start a new year, and cannot wait to go shopping and see their friends, while others just completely dread it and wish they can stay home forever! Whether your child is going to school for the first time, or has already been in that school for years, a little prep and planning can help make transitioning back to school easier. Here are some ways you can do just that!

 

Appropriate Prep

For many kids, especially children with special needs, dealing with the unknown can be hard. Therefore, try to talk to them periodically about all things related to school (ex. school expectations, routines, transportation routes, and needed school supplies). Try to provide information in a fun and exciting way. There are many books, toys, puzzles, and shows (especially via streaming platforms) about going back to school. Does your child enjoy drawing? Spend time drawing and coloring pictures about what they think their classroom may look like. Do you know if they will have friends from last school year, play groups, camp, or neighbors that may be in their class/ school? Remind them; it is always helpful to already know someone in your class/ school.

 

Back to School Shopping

If you have to go back to school shopping, bring them with you! Before going, have them look around your home to see if they have some of the items, and then create a list with your child for the remaining needed supplies. If possible, try to have them write and/or draw items on the list and encourage them to help you look for the supplies they need in the store. When looking for items, does that pencil case come in their favorite color, or have their favorite character on it? Get those. Another option is to get stickers of characters/items they like, and decorate school supplies like notebooks and folders. Meaningful colors and/or characters on school items may make your children more excited to use them.

 

All-Star Wall

Another way to potentially get kids excited about school is by creating an all star wall! Designate a space in your home for displaying all of your child’s achievements (no matter how small). Hang their art from school, certificates, or great test grades using empty picture frames, a cork board and push pins, a dry erase board with magnets, by hanging a pants hanger on the wall, or even magnets on the fridge. Have your child decorate the area with you this summer and use this as a way to show them how excited you are to see all the great work they will do this school year.

 

Be Mindful of your Own Views About the School Year Starting

As an adult, you may have some mixed emotions about your child going to school; it is totally understandable. However, it is important to acknowledge your feelings and to try to not let your child see or hear the negative ones. Some kids are super sensitive to the energy and attitudes that the adults in their life have towards things. Try your best to speak about school and school related topics in a positive light. If your child does seem to have some negative emotions towards going back to school, encourage them to talk to you about them. Try to validate those feelings, actively listen to what they have to say, and try to problem solve and/or reassure them that things will be ok. We all have feelings and sometimes we just want to be heard and reassured. A tip that I’ve heard and seen work wonders are daily affirmations. Try practicing them with your child in front of a mirror. Saying statements like “I am smart, I am brave, I am kind” can really provide a positive start to their day, and boost their self confidence.

 

Routine

Familiarize and streamline your child’s school routine. Try doing a “dry run” of commuting from home to school and back. Point out to them what train they take, what places they pass, how many stairs are in the front of the school. Get your child as familiar as possible with their school and school travel routine. Speaking of routine. Are there ways that you can make your school routine more efficient, and foster increased child independence?

 

Dressing Skills

Plastic containers with drawers, and/or hanging closet organizers can be a great way to plan out a weeks worth of your child’s clothes, and have each item needed for their outfit in their own cubby. Each weekend, talk to your child about the upcoming weather this week, and give them some options for what they can wear (try to give choices as much as feasible). Together, gather each clothing item needed for each outfit and put it in their corresponding drawer/cubby. Having each item handy and already picked out, can make getting dressed each morning much easier! As an added tip, have a body length mirror nearby so your child can see what they look like and make sure that their clothes are oriented the right way ,and all the fasteners are fastened.

 

Meal Prep

What about breakfasts and lunches? First, let’s think of a place in your home that is within your child’s reach and line of sight. Do you have drawers or shelves in the refrigerator that they can reach, or space on your kitchen counter? If not, can you hang baskets using command hooks on a wall in the kitchen that they can reach? By putting snacks, drinks, and other breakfast or lunch items in these areas, your child to choose what they want, and they can pack their lunch (or at least aspects of it). For emerging readers, create a visual nearby so that they know what options they can choose from. Maybe even consider putting their forks, spoons, bowls, plates, and cups in these areas too!

 

Designated Area for Work

Does your child have a designated space for doing their homework? If not, summertime is a great time to create that space and get it as organized as possible. We love command products, their products are easily mounted, don’t damage the walls, and make organizing so much easier. For example, try their hooks for your kids’ back packs, or their organizing caddy for holding extra pens and pencils. When choosing their designated homework space, look for an area in the home that is visible to you, and is moderately free from excess distractions. Check out our home modification section for more tips on organizing this space.

 

Front Door Organization

Can you organize the area by the front door? Having a designated area for your keys, face masks (if still applicable), coats, shoes, umbrellas, child’s extracurricular materials, etc., can make mornings more efficient too. One great thing to add in this area would be a dry erase board. This way, if you have a change in your routine or need to remind yourself, or your child of something for the next day, it is easily visible. Try including a letter tray for important papers; this is a great place to store things like permission slips, or something that you need to sign for your child (try keeping a pen there to make signing even easier!).

 

Time Management Skills

Measuring time and time management can be challenging for kids (truthfully, it can be hard for some adults too!) For kids, not being able to tell how much time they have before starting or ending an activity can bring on feelings of uneasiness. For day to day tasks, especially tasks like brushing your teeth, or taking a shower, try using a visual timer so that they know how much time they have to get the task done. Try creating a visual routine/ schedule, one for mornings and one for after school. If your child is an emerging reader, include pictures. And include a space for your child to check off, or visually indicate that they completed these activities. I have seen many examples of these checklists: some are dry erase charts, clipboard charts with the tasks on clothespins, or even charts on paper that have folded tabs that can be closed with Velcro to indicate that the task is complete.  Keep the routine schedule/checklist in a space where you both can see it and review it each day. Checklists like this can foster more independence with your children and also give you some peace of mind that it’s done.

What about giving your kids an idea on when they actually go back to school? Try creating a countdown calendar. Go over with your kids what date school starts, and show them how many days they have before returning. Each new day encourage your child to cross off the date that passed, and if they are writing, have them write down the number of days they have left. Keep this visual in their line of sight and bring lots of positive energy to updating the calendar.

Calendars are so helpful. And modeling how to use a calendar for your child can have a bunch of positive long lasting effects. Put your family’s weekly schedule on the calendar. Write down that birthday party in three weeks, your baseball practice schedule, and that dentist appointment you have next Wednesday. Mark it down on the calendar and point it out to your family. Again, if your child is an emerging reader, try putting a small visual in those spaces or designated colors for tasks. This really helps everyone in your home on the same “page” for your monthly schedule. You might even be surprised, teaching your children to use a calendar might help them to even remind you of events. Like when I was planning to take my nephew to the park one day and he told me we can’t because they have to go to Abuelo’s house that day. He read it off of the calendar in the kitchen!

 

Staff are Also Transitioning 

The transition back to school can be a bit hectic for school based staff as well. As a school based OT, the first few weeks of work almost always have some hiccups. The staff is always excited to welcome the students back to the building, but there are usually some unexpected changes that occur at the grade, administrative, district, or even state level. These changes can effect the amount of kids on our therapy schedule, require multiple room changes, and even changes to the way in which we complete paperwork. Truthfully, many schools aren’t fully settled in their routines and running smoothly until almost a month into the start of school. Therefore, if your child gets school based services (like OT, PT, speech, counseling, etc.), be mindful that it is relatively normal if initial communication seems a bit delayed, and/or if your child has not been seen by related services on the first day of school. But don’t let that stop you from reaching out if you have questions!

 

While I hope that something in this blog article resonates with you, only you are the expert in what works for you and your family. When it comes to changing things in your routine, its important to be mindful that it takes at least 30 days to form a habit…so even if you try one thing listed here, give it some time and consistency before discontinuing it. Thanks for reading! Wishing you a great start to your school year!