The time has crept upon us and after over 5 months away from the classroom, our little ones are back in school this week.
It has been one of the strangest years with interrupted school, an abnormal summer and now the back-to-school preparation has begun. It’s expected that children may find this whole process quite confusing.
One of the big questions we’re likely to have as parents, is how can we help our little ones adjust to being back in the classroom?
We’ve put together some tips on how to help children ease back into the swing of education:
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1: Get back into the usual routine:
All the way back in March we were experiencing normal life, with normal routines. A lot has changed since then, but we must endeavour to keep children’s education as normal as we possibly can.
Bring back your previous school night rules, for example, if your routine included limiting screen time, then resuming these standards will be a great thing to do to help return their focus to school.
It’s also a good idea to get back to the level of discipline you previously had for getting homework done. It may be tough for a while as its been so long since they’ve had to work as hard, so supporting them as much as you can is essential.
Bringing back crucial elements to your school routine will help ease them back into the new term, and help your little ones realize that going to school will once again become a normal part of their lives.
2: Food fuels the brain:
We know parents are committed to giving their children a balanced diet, but what food helps increase your child’s concentration?
Here are our top brain foods:
• Oily Fish – A tuna sandwich (on whole grain bread) is a great source of omega-3, it helps build membranes around each cell in the body & wholegrain bread contains Vitamin E, which can help support brain health in older age.
• Berries – Berries, such as raspberries and strawberries are antioxidant-rich which can help boost brain health.
• Oat Snack Bars – Loaded with fibre, oats keep a child’s brain fed. Oats also are good sources of vitamin E, B-vitamins, potassium, and zinc — which make our bodies and brains function at full capacity. However, watch out for the sugar content in these bars.
Chewymoon’s snacks are also perfect lunchboxes:
Our Raspberry Fingers and Strawberry Hearts are made from real fruit and count towards 1 of your child’s 5 a day, they also contain antioxidants which can help boost brain health. Our cheese bites are also high in protein, which is crucial for your child’s growth.
You can purchase them here
3. Focussing on school = rewards!
If you had a previous reward system in place for schooling, then it’s time to bring it back. Every time your child receives good feedback from their teacher, does a full month of perfect attendance they could be rewarded with a reward point/gold star.
This can build up until they receive a prize, which could be a day out, a gift, etc.
This will help your little one feel proud of themselves and return their focus to the pride of academic achievement.
4. Dealing with the new normal
Most schools will be implementing measures to comply with government regulations, this may mean smaller class sizes or separate playtimes. These changes could be confusing and stressful for some children and so, taking some time to talk to your little one(s) about how they’re feeling is important, especially during the first few weeks as they adapt to the changes.
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I hope these quick tips will help your family during this back-to-school period! Let’s hope that this academic year will be a good one!
Best of luck to both parents and children,
With love from,
The ChewyMoon Family
