It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Some of you will have children who have been home for the summer on the annual 9 week holiday from school.  In my house this means a break from assignments, projects, car pools and packing lunches but an increase of boredom!  My kids are at three very different points in their lives: the oldest is heading back for a second year of University, the next one is heading into grade 12, and the youngest is on his way to grade 8.  These can be stressful times for them and their peers and I have some suggestions for making the transition easier.
Even though they are all years apart they all basically face the same fears.  What will my teachers be like?  Will I know anyone in my class?  How hard will the work be?
They all need the same thing from their parents or caregivers, and that is open communication.  I have to remember to ask each one of them specific questions about how things are going.  I prefer to avoid the dead end questions like, ‘How was school today?’  I generally get the same reply, ‘Fine.’  That’s not going to cut it for me.  I will make a point of asking each kid how specific subjects are, what they learned today, who is in their class, what team are you trying out for, does anyone give them a hard time, when upcoming projects are due.  I find more and more teachers are willing to communicate with parents via email, and I make full use of this.  I let my kids’ teachers know when there’s a busy hockey weekend or when there’s been a stressful situation at home.  I check with them about projects and tests.
University is a little different, but I stay in touch with our oldest every couple of days to find out how she’s managing.  If parents or caregivers can stay on top of things then we have a better chance of picking up on cues when things start to derail.  Our children need to know that we care how they do and that it’s OK to fall behind or make mistakes, as long as we can identify problem areas and work on fixing them.
My husband and I enjoy spending time with our kids over the summer, but we really enjoy getting back into the routine that comes with the first day of school.  We also look forward to helping our kids be the best they can be!