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You are here: Home / Your Child's Education / A Teacher’s Guide For Back to School: 5 Tips To Start The Year Off Right
A Teacher’s Guide For Back to School: 5 Tips To Start The Year Off Right

August 25, 2015 By Alana 6 Comments

A Teacher’s Guide For Back to School: 5 Tips To Start The Year Off Right

A collective sigh can often be heard that first day of school, when kids come flooding back in the doors and parents are relieved that someone else is in charge of their kids during the week again. You did it! You survived the summer!
For some kids and parents though, it’s not all fun and games. The beginning of the school year can bring with it a host of new anxiety:
Who is going to be my teacher? Will I be with my friends? What if I don’t fit in?

Here are some helpful tips for starting the school year off right:

Calm Yourself 

The very best thing you can do for your child is not to let your own anxious thoughts rub off on your child. Anxiety is contagious. Chances are, if you are anxious about the start of the school year, your child will be too. Instead, assure them that no matter who their teacher is – it’s gonna be all right. If they are not with their friends – they will make new ones. Yes, it may not be ideal, but your child will get through it with your support.

Team up with the Teacher

No matter who your child’s teacher maybe, you have at least one thing in common – you both want your child to have a great year. Parents often get all too wrapped up in what teacher they think is “best” for their child, when the reality is that school is a great opportunity for your child to learn to work with many different personalities. Whatever you do, please don’t complain about the teacher in front of your child. No matter the situation, badmouthing only further damages your child’s relationship with that teacher and nothing good can come from that. Believe me. You must learn to work together to meet your child’s needs. You’re on the same team!

Make New Friends

Ya you! Your child is not the only one who needs to socialize! There are a host of other parents going through the exact same thing as you are! Find one you connect with and invite them over for tea! (Or mid-week wine!) Your kids can play while you strategize how to survive the rest of the school year and reminisce about how fast the little ones are growing up!

Volunteer

If you can spare an hour even one time during the school year to volunteer in your child’s class or on a school field trip, there is nothing more insightful than to see the classroom in its true form. Keep in mind that you are not a secret spy sent to collect evidence about that kid who picks on your kid at recess. Instead, focus on the fact that your child will be tickled pink that are there and the teacher will be grateful for your support. Brownie points for you!

Enjoy the Freedom

 Listen, your kids are in capable hands. Rest assured that they are well taken care of and for crying out loud enjoy the time away from them! They’ll be that much more happy to see you when the bell rings at the end of the day.

Good Luck!

More articles you may find helpful

Do’s and Don’ts for a Successful Start to Kindergarten

10 Things Your Child’s School Principal Would Like You To Know

After School Meltdowns: Why They Happen and What You Can do About Them

Experts say this is the best way to learn to read and love it too

 

The Good Enough Mommy

Good Enuf Mommy Tiffany Austin | Parenting from the Heart

Tiffany Austin is a mom, a wife, writer, and educator living in Calgary, AB, Canada. Tired of never feeling “good enough” as a new mom, she began a blog to encourage other moms to feel confident and empowered in their own decisions. Her blog, The Good Enuf Mommy, includes everything from helpful parenting advice to product recommendations aimed at making the lives of moms just a little bit easier. Show her some love on Facebook and Twitter and if you like what you see sign up for her monthly newsletter!

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Comments

  1. Melissa says

    August 28, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    Great tips! I always try to volunteer once a week. I like getting to know the teacher a little better and it’s nice to get to see your child in a school setting.

    Reply
  2. Natasha says

    August 28, 2015 at 6:45 pm

    I love this post, as a first time school momma! Can’t wait to make some new momma friends and for my boys to head off to preschool! They are so excited for “cool”.

    Reply
  3. [email protected] says

    August 28, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    I’m so thankful to have a school that wants us parents involved. We didn’t now ONE person when we first started there three years ago. I feel like it’s home base now. A good post with great advice!

    Reply
  4. The Trophy WifeStyle says

    August 31, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    This is my daughters first year of real school! I think I’m more nervous than she is lol…. I hope I survive 😉

    Reply
    • Alana says

      August 31, 2015 at 2:56 pm

      Oh my goodness!!! Me too!!!!!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Alana. When I'm not nursing cold, stale coffee, I usually can be found with the baby on my hip, barefoot, and racing after my two older kids. Thanks to a degree in psychology and a free-range childhood backing onto an expansive evergreen forest, positive parenting and play-based learning are my passions. Read more here.

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Though there are countless people who understand t Though there are countless people who understand the importance of positive, responsive parenting, the idea that young children should self-soothe remains a prevalent belief.

Though this ideology is well-intentioned, it actually goes against what we know about human development.

Babies come into the world highly dependent on responsive caregiving not only for nurturance and protection but also to foster social and emotional development.

While it may seem that leaving a child to cry will help her learn to cope, it actually floods her brain with cortisol. She doesn’t learn to self-soothe but instead to shut down.

Though it may seem counterintuitive to some, independence is fostered through responsive care. The less stressed a child feels, the safer he feels to explore his world. The less stressed he feels, the more appropriate his emotional responses become.

This is first seen in late infancy but pervades through childhood and adulthood.

Have any questions about these findings? Feel free to comment below or send me a message!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ Teach Through Love ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Teach Through Love
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😂 😂
So often independence and attachment are thought t So often independence and attachment are thought to be mutually exclusive.
However, research shows that in order for children (and adults) to be independent, they need to feel safe and secure within their closest relationships. In childhood, this means having caregivers who respond to distress and both emotional and physical needs.
In adulthood, people who have responsive and caring partners feel more stable and comfortable being independent.
So hold and comfort those babies.
Hug and respond to your kids.
Love and hold space for the adults you are closest to.
Attachment fosters independence.
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"This year, I changed my assessments by adding a p "This year, I changed my assessments by adding a piece of paper at the end, asking, 'What else do you know about the topic, that I didn’t ask you about?'

Another teacher suggested this idea online about a year ago – I wish I could remember who it was! – and I thought, 'BOOM. I want to do this.'

Answering the question is completely optional, and when students do show more understanding on the sheet than they did on their assessment, I’ll point it out to them. Sometimes I’ll write, 'The learning wasn’t shown in your assessment, but I can see you do know this from what you wrote at the end.'

Afterward, I’ll follow up with them about how to recognize and answer test questions asked in different ways. Clearly, in cases like this, they understand the material but aren’t able to formulate an answer in response to the way I posed the question. I’ll point out to them that while it’s great that they’ve shown me their learning, they won’t always have a chance to answer assessment questions in an open-ended way, and I want them to succeed when they encounter assessment-style questions in the future.

I love what this change has done. This strategy has made my assessments more inclusive. It helps me communicate to my students: When I assess your understanding, I’m looking for what you DO know."
—Teacher Julie Arsenault via @teacher2teacher
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