After the fun and relaxed days of the summer vacation, moving back into the routine and pressures of the school year isn’t always easy.  So we’ve compiled a few ideas to help you get your kids excited and ready.  These ideas come from parents like you who have shared their own experiences with their kids to help you ease your kids’ back-to-school transition too!

Excitement

“What has really helped my son is getting him super excited to begin school.  A couple of weeks before school, I keep saying things like, ‘Wow, I’m so excited that school will begin soon!’  ‘I miss working on schoolwork together.’ ‘You’ll be in (grade)! Wow, big boy!’  ‘You’ll be learning lots of new and exciting stuff!’  These type of comments really get him excited and looking forward to his first day back at school.”

-Nancy Aziz

Weekend Fun

“To help my kids know that we’ll still be able to do fun stuff during the year, I print out a monthly calendar and ask them to decide what they’d like to do/to go every weekend.  This way, they don’t feel overwhelmed by the rigorous academic work.”

-Sherief Samir

Lunches

“I ask my kids what they would like to eat for their school lunch ahead of time so I’m not harried every morning and so they actually eat their lunches!  I write down their choices on a sticky note on our refrigerator and prepare them the night before.”

-Mervat Elserafy

Last-year Highlights

“I remind my son of the highlights of the last academic year, such as music class for my son.”

-Sami Ezzat

Sleep Routine

“I help my son get back into his sleep routine by having him go to bed early a week before school starts.”

-Margo Mahrous

New Stuff

“What really gets my daughters excited about school is buying new stuff for school, school bags, pencil cases, uniform, etc..”

-Niveen Edward