Setting Expectations for the New School Year
Summer is over, the new academic year is upon us, and anything is possible, no matter what year your teen or tween is starting. There are school supplies to buy; new clothes to consider; maybe even a new school to visit.
The new school year always brings a lot of change. Will your teen like her teachers and vice versa? Will he finally get up when the alarm rings? Will she make new friends but keep the old? Will he go through tough times when he realizes he’s not the best at something he excelled in last year? Will she get involved in several (but not too many) after-school activities?
It’s not unusual for parents to want to start fresh when the new school year begins, and to make a lot of rules and regs to make up for the looseness of summer routines. But it’s hard for everyone to get into the structure that school schedules impose. So… best to be flexible and ease into it gradually.
Schedules. Hopefully, you will have encouraged your kids to get to bed and getting up at reasonable hours about two weeks before school starts. If not, this is the time to do it. Make sure they are really going to bed, not just hanging out in their room on the computer with an i-Pod in their ear!
Logistics. Start thinking about how to get your teens from here to there and make sure they eat and get their work done too. If carpooling is a challenge in your household, make sure you have friends or neighbors who can help out. As we all try to drive less, it’s important to consolidate activities.
Homework. These days, tweens and teens are loaded up with homework in every subject area from the first days of school. How do they stay on top of it?
Get the lay of the land on the types of assignments each child has (reading, essays, math drills, science projects, vocabulary and grammar for foreign languages, preparation for pop quizzes, or long-term research projects.) Learn what your kids are expected to turn in and when.
Have your kids make a master list of when all their assignments are due and keep it up to date. They should keep a copy in their organizer.
Set a flexible time period for getting daily and weekly homework done, maneuvering around extracurricular and family activities.
Check in with your kids several times a week, especially at the beginning of the semester, to be sure they’re getting their work done.
Chores. If you have had a regular drill for garbage, pet duty, cleaning rooms, etc. over the summer, congratulations! If not, it’s time to parcel out the chores and get everyone back in the swing of helping out.
Family dinners. Be sure to eat together as a family as much as you can, and make a plan to continue this throughout the school year. Teens who eat with their families are shown to avoid risk-taking behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and early sexuality more than their peers who don’t have regular family meals.
See timely resources on setting expectations for the new school year.