How to Get Your Kids Excited to Go Back to School
August is upon us! Store shelves are lined with school supplies and your kids are reading the words “Back to School” everywhere. How can you make that experience easy for them? Encourage the whole family to spend summer days together as you all prepare for a new schedule. School doesn’t have to get your kids down. Learn how to get your kids excited to go back to school and drop them off on that first day knowing they’re ready for the new year.
Have Fun Shopping
Involve your kids in the back-to-school shopping process. Help them pick out a cool new backpack and a first-day outfit that makes them smile. Office supply shops are bursting with brightly colored folders, notebooks, and pencils. Give them some say! Let them pick out their own supplies—within reason, of course. When they go to school armed with crayons and erasers they chose themselves, they’ll get more enjoyment out of their classes.
Plan Playdates
The other parents in your circle are probably dealing with nervous kids, too. Who are your young ones’ closest friends at school? Give them some time to play and reconnect. Frame their return to school as an exciting event, an adventure they can go on together. When kids know they’re not alone and that their friends share some of their feelings, those friendships will be a source of comfort.
Make the First Day Exciting
The night before their big day, help them layout the awesome outfit they chose. Build that excitement. The next morning, have their favorite breakfast waiting for them at the table. When they associate their return to school with excitement, drop-off time won’t be so sad. And if you’ve got their favorite meal or activity planned after school, they’ll be in a sunny mood all day.
Create a Homework Haven
One of the most daunting parts of the return to school is the return of homework. Your kids have gone from days spent at the pool to folders full of math worksheets within a week. While you can’t make that homework disappear, you can create a cozy environment for their studies. Ask for their input as you set up a study nook with things that make them smile, like a beanbag chair or some twinkly string lights.
Take the dread out of your kids’ return to school! When they see school as a source of new adventures and opportunities, drop-off time will become a breeze. When you know how to get your kids excited to go back to school, you can make the changing of the seasons a time of renewal for the whole family.
