Back-to-School Countdown: T-30 days

The first day of school is less than 30 days away. How soon is too soon to think about the back-to-school season?

Retailers have put their notebooks, backpacks, and lunch boxes back on the shelf in preparation for class supply lists. While these supplies are relatively straightforward to pick up, other preparation requires more time and consideration.

Below are a few ways to make the transition back to school seamless:

Sleep

The long dog days of summer demand late-night hangouts, camping trips, music festivals, and movie nights extending into the early morning hours.

With the average school start time between 8-8:30 AM, students may struggle with the early wake-up time. According to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 7 out of 10 high school-aged students do not receive adequate sleep. This lack of sleep has long-term health implications including diabetes, attention deficits, and poor mental health.

Focusing on sleep health is paramount to helping students remain engaged in school and to be present.

In the weeks before school, encourage your student to start transitioning to a sustainable sleep schedule for the school year–with earlier wake-up times and bedtimes.

Summer assignments

Some high school programs require completing a summer reading list or a summer project to be submitted the first week of school. Instead of cramming the weekend before the first day of school, encourage your student to start now.

The recommendation: Backward planning!

Identify the due date, then segment the work into small, daily work to complete the assignment on time. This saves the student from the stress of catching up so close to the due date.

At LAS, coaches use backward planning to guide students through developing a work timeline. The goal is to incorporate the necessary components to support mastery learning and exam achievement.

Clean space/organize room

Students and families can work together to do a deep clean and inventory of their spaces. This could look like taking inventory of clothes and writing a list of what they may need or cleaning their bedrooms to reset before the semester begins. Dedicating time to this task may seem tedious, but it is vital to preparing for the new semester.

Here is more that can be organized in advance:

• Laundry
• Cleaning the bathroom
• Dusting the room or cleaning the ceiling fan/vent
• Vacuuming
• Throwing out old/expired products and purchasing anything that needs to be replaced
• Cleaning out backpack

Write a list together and start chipping away at it before the first day of school!

Make the most out of the end of the summer

Finally, students should squeeze what they can out of the final days of summer! Summers are important times for rejuvenation and resetting before a new semester. With the demands of school, extracurricular activities, and other life demands, the summer offers a little respite from some of these potential stressors. Say ‘yes’ to that movie night and ‘yes’ to the canoe trip!