Checklist for Parents

It’s the last few days of summer, a new academic year is beginning. After long summer holidays, it is not always easy for children to come back to study and start a new school year. Moreover, it is wrong to expect that a child will tune in to learn and concentrate on lessons from the first days of school. Forget kids, even adults need about a week to get back to work after the holidays. Therefore, it’s necessary to help children get involved in the back-to-school process in advance. Here’s a checklist below with clear guidelines to help you stay focused on what needs to be done and how to prepare your child for everyday school life.

  • Remember to back a child to the previous bedtime routine at least a week before school.
  • Try to refresh what the child has learnt in the previous school year from the old materials. This helps them fall in place with the new curriculum.
  • Enrich the diet with all possible beneficial carbohydrates and vitamins contributing to the development and improvement of his/her memory (for example, useful products include mushrooms, meat products, fish, pumpkin seeds, nuts, etc.)
  • Check if you need a new uniform or new clothes according to the new size of the child. It’s funny how soon kids grow in the holidays.
  • Shop for a proper backpack with a hard case, soft adjustable straps and all the necessary stationery.
  • Buy a new lunch-box and bottle for school with your child.
  • Discuss with your child and make a schedule of lessons and leisure time.
  • Register the child for certain sports clubs or after-class activities in his/ her area of interest.
  • Make a calendar with fun events for the next three months, i.e. friends’ birthdays, entertainments, trips etc. This gives a child the feeling that the holidays are not over.

All these above-mentioned suggestions regarding the back to school checklist serve to make the “comeback” easier; however, if you think that the list should be extended by any other components, you can write your comments below or email me on contributors@littlepanda.cz