5 activities to prepare for 'back to school'!

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As parents, its easy to worry what your child needs to do for the new school year - it's very common to get 'I'll be fine, there's nothing to do' from students when asked! So here's some constructive activities that can kick brains back into gear to start the year ahead...

  1. Check if any work/homework needs doing. Some teachers set summer work and much to students' dismay, they won't forget about it! August is the time to check what needs doing and to make sure your child has a plan for getting it done in the time left.
  2. Flick through last school notes made. A great and quick way of refreshing the brain for the new school year is to flick through the last weeks worth of notes or worksheets used at the end of the last year. The visual queues will get the brain working and it is preferable to do this before school starts. Better that than in the first 30 minutes of each lesson; starting the year 30 minutes behind in each subject is not the best plan!
  3. Try to verbally answer questions from end of last school year. A good test to see if your child remembers topics to a good level is to try the questions they were able to do in June. Testing method knowledge is just as effective as testing the answers so there is not always a need to fully complete anything! Asking things like 'do you know how you would do this question?' is often more effective than asking 'what is the answer?'
  4. Spend 5 minutes a day watching videos. There are so many academic videos online which explain content quickly and effectively. The 5 minute videos are a great way of refreshing memories, so pick a few topics and get going!
  5. Look through book contents pages to see what's coming next. If you have the books for next year or if your child is mid-way through a book, look at the contents page and get them to familiarise themselves with what's coming. It will make sure they start the year fully prepared for what they will be learning.

You'll notice that all these activities are very light touch. I'm a great advocate for rest and relaxation so make sure your child enjoys the last weeks of summer - doing a little preparation is a million times better than doing nothing!