Ah, the beginning of a new school year. There’s excitement, anticipation, anxiety, fear, and everything in between. As parents and children prepare for the new school year, here are some tips for starting off the new school year in a positive way based on suggestions from the National Association of School Psychologists. Some of these may be harder for you than others, so take a look at the list below and think about which are most realistic for you and your family.
Clark, L. (1996). SOS: Help for parents (2nd ed.). Berkley, CA: Parents’ Press. ISBN: 0935111204.
Dawson, M. P. (2004). Homework: A guide for parents. In A. Canter, L. Paige, M. Roth, I. Romero, & S. Carroll (Eds.),Helping children at home and school II: Handouts for families and educators. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Rimm, S. (1996). Dr. Sylvia Rimm’s smart parenting: How to raise a happy, achieving child. New York: Crown. ASIN: 0517700638.
National Association of School Psychologists— www.nasponline.org
Parent Information Center— www.parentinformationcenter.org
Ted Feinberg, EdD, NCSP, served upstate New York schools as a school psychologist for more than 30 years and currently is an Assistant Executive Director of the National Association of School Psychologists. Katherine C. Cowan is Director of Marketing and Communications for NASP. This material is adapted from their article posted previously on the NASP and Teachers First (NITV, Inc.) websites.
Great ideas. I really like the idea of sending a note to the teacher. Communicating to teachers as partners will really help bridge the gap between home and school. It is nice to be able to contact parents and let them know about triumphs as well as concerns. Thanks for the great post.
Thanks, Katherine. I love teachers and think that when parents work together with them, everybody wins.
All great advice. I think the first is important as parents can often think ‘I have had 6 weeks off with the children I can now go back to work. Yippee.’ When in fact your children may need the support from you and will need you to be around.
Thanks for the comment, Naomi. I agree, keeping your own schedule clear is such a challenge this time of year! As a university professor, the beginning of my year is hectic and full of meetings too, but I do my very best to try to keep some down time for all of us just to be together as a family. I find that this really helps our transition into the new school year go much better.
All great advice. I think the first is very important as parents can often think ‘I have had 6 weeks off with the children I can now go back to work. Yippee.’ When in fact your children may need the support from you and will need you to be around.