{"id":900,"date":"2019-08-19T08:45:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T12:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/?p=900"},"modified":"2019-08-19T08:45:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T12:45:45","slug":"mcas-top-10-list-for-starting-back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/19\/mcas-top-10-list-for-starting-back-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"MCA’s Top 10 List for Starting Back to School"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nOur MCA classrooms are ready to welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems like the summer, once again, is passing by in the blink of an eye. And while some folks are eking out the most of their remaining vacation time, many teachers have already made their way back into their classrooms to start preparing for the upcoming school year. Now is actually the perfect time for parents and children to also begin to do some preliminary planning to help ease into the start of school in September. Below are some helpful hints shared by some of our MCA professional staff of things families can do now to build excitement and alleviate any stress about the upcoming school year.<\/p>\n

1. For Parents First: Read through your Parent Packet and complete any necessary forms prior to the first day of school.<\/strong>
\nBy now, our MCA families should have received their Parent Packets filled with information about the school year, the calendar, school policies, the Parent Handbook, and much more. Included in the packet are several forms which should be completed and ready to turn into the school office on or before the first day of school. Especially important are the medical forms, which were mailed earlier in the summer and are due back to school by August 26th. The State of New Jersey has very specific requirements about what schools must have on file before any student may enter the school building. Reading through this information and completing the necessary paperwork ahead of time will help parents be prepared for that first day of school.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Adjust activities at home.<\/strong>
\nOne of the wonderful things about summer is the opportunity to have some \u2018down time\u2019 which often is missing from September through June as children\u2019s days are filled with their time at school, which is often followed by after school enrichment activities, sports, homework, and very little \u2018down time\u2019. If the house rules for summer allow for more screen time\u2014television viewing, computer games, etc. —it\u2019s probably a good idea to trim those hours now. Instead, consider initiating a reading time (perfect for when parents are preparing dinner\u2014children can read aloud while you cook or look at books silently nearby until supper\u2019s ready). Or, engage as a family in a few more activities that require more concentration and focus\u2014a large jigsaw puzzle, card games, or even art projects. Helping children return to tasks that need their full attention will help them when they enter or re-enter the classroom.<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Start easing into a \u201cschool day\u201d morning and evening routine.<\/strong>
\nA few weeks leading up to the first day of school is a good time to begin adjusting your family\u2019s morning wake up times and evening bedtimes, which may have become a bit lax during the summer months. Knowing how early your family needs to get up to get through all of your necessary morning activities makes starting each school day so much easier. From brushing teeth and getting dressed to having a nutritious breakfast and making the morning commute, some families benefit from doing a \u2018test run\u2019 a few times to see if they can accomplish their morning rituals and arrive to school on time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Equally important is establishing a healthy bedtime which ensures your child has adequate sleep for the busy hours spent at school. It\u2019s not always easy to settle down for bed when the sun still hasn\u2019t set in the summer, but even easing into a bedtime routine of listening to soft music or reading a few books in bed helps with this summer to school year transition.<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Consider creating a family calendar.<\/strong>
\nOne family activity you might consider is to create a school year family calendar. Many dollar stores sell wonderfully large calendars which you can customize with your own important information. After looking through the school calendar, mark important dates on the family calendar. Invite your child to decorate special event days with their own illustrations, or color-code the days of the calendar according to school days and days off from school. As children see some of the exciting activities that await them each month, their excitement about school may grow and override any nervousness they may be feeling about that first day.<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Visit with friends.<\/strong>
\nSome of us have the best intentions to reconnect with friends and family during the summer when we think we have more time to get together only to find that we\u2019ve blinked and haven\u2019t had a chance to do so! If your child hasn\u2019t seen neighborhood friends or former classmates over the past few months, now is a nice time to reconnect. If you know some of the children who will be in your child\u2019s class for the upcoming year, having them come together at a local playground might be enough to spark that joy of returning to school to see old friends and make some new ones, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

6. Attend \u201cMeet the Teachers Day\u201d.<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019ve created a family school calendar, then you\u2019ve marked the date for \u201cMeet the Teachers Day\u201d already! At MCA, parents and children together visit their new classroom, receive their lists of necessary school supplies, and meet their teachers face-to-face. <\/em>
\nMeet the Teachers Day is followed by a \u201cPhase-In\u201d (see your Parent Packet for details), aimed at helping to alleviate any separation anxiety and providing the children with a smooth transition into their new school environment. Meet the Teachers Day is just one part of the orientation to school where the children acclimate both socially and emotionally to being apart from their parents and begin to take part in all aspects of their classroom community. At home, use your child\u2019s teachers\u2019 and classmates names in conversations, and begin to initiate conversations that are related to school.<\/em><\/p>\n

7. Take your child shopping for school supplies.<\/strong>
\nAllow your child to get excited about going back to school by bringing him or her with you when you go shopping for any needed supplies or a special first day of school outfit. Giving your child the freedom to pick out his or her backpack and lunch box will also create a sense of ownership around these items, which will inherently point your child in the direction of being responsible for his or her things. Now is also a good time to remember to label all items with your child\u2019s name.<\/em><\/p>\n

8. And while you\u2019re shopping, consider making a grocery list for lunches!<\/strong>
\nSometimes planning for mealtimes is the most stressful part of a busy school or work day. Get a jump start on this and together with your child, create a list of things your child would like to have packed in his or her lunch each day. Creating a one or two week schedule of meals that can rotate may alleviate any of the issues your family may have regarding food. Keep in mind your school\u2019s nut-safe policies, your child\u2019s personal tastes, and what is important for a healthy lunch that will sustain your child for the afternoon.<\/p>\n

9. Separate your anxieties about separation from your child\u2019s.<\/strong>
\nWhether this is your first child heading off to school or your fourth, it is normal for parents to have some hesitation about leaving their children in the care of others. As parents ourselves, we at MCA know the internal struggles of sending our children off to school. We also know that our children will thrive and grow in their school settings, and that our children\u2019s schools are nurturing, safe, and enriching places for our children to be! <\/em><\/p>\n

In order to assist our children in making a smooth transition, it is important for us, as parents, to put forth a positive attitude and send our children off with a big smile, a brief hug, and assurance that we are looking forward to sharing stories about each of our days when we meet again after school and work. Your positive attitude helps your child sense that you believe he or she will be able to manage the school day just fine, and that positive attitude just might be contagious!<\/em><\/p>\n

To help you maintain a smile before you say goodbye, take some time to reflect on the successes your child has exhibited in play groups or at other times when you were not right by his or her side. And be confident that should your child need some extra support, the teachers at MCA will help you both through this new transition and with becoming comfortable with a new school routine.<\/em><\/p>\n

10. Consider starting a new \u2018last day of summer vacation\u2019 or \u2018first day of school\u2019 family tradition.<\/strong>
\nAgain, using your family calendar, mark something special to do on the day before school starts or for that first day of school. Maybe it\u2019s a special outing to a favorite nature spot, an end of summer ice cream treat, or a family splash in a pool. Or perhaps it\u2019s a first day of school dinner picnic in the park, ride to a favorite bookshop to purchase one new book for bedtime, or an evening walk around the neighborhood in pajamas. Whatever you decide, make it something that will bring about a heightening happy anticipation to the start of school.<\/em><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t believe that the summer is almost over, but we are anticipating another wonderful school year ahead!! The MCA school calendar is filled with fun activities for everyone, starting with our Welcome Back Coffee. We hope you\u2019ll mark your calendars now for our Parent Workshops and our highly anticipated night with guest speaker Dr. Robert Brooks, author of Raising Resilient Children, which was the featured selection for our MCA Parent Book Club last year. Our teachers are preparing their classrooms, just as your family is preparing for the new school year in your own way. To all of our new and returning MCA families, we look forward to seeing you in September!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our MCA classrooms are ready to welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year! It seems like the summer, once again, is passing by in the blink of an eye. And while some folks are eking out the most of their remaining vacation time, many teachers have already made their way back into their classrooms to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,7,73,4,144,54,145,147],"coauthors":[13],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7icff-ew","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1379,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/04\/world-connections-through-montessori\/","url_meta":{"origin":900,"position":0},"title":"World Connections Through Montessori","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"October 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development At The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy, we are always looking for opportunities to connect our students with other children and cultures through events inside and outside of the Prepared Environment. Maria Montessori believed that widening the children\u2019s horizons was an important aspect of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Care of Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Care of Environment","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/care-of-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/World-Connections-Pic4.jpg?fit=902%2C912&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/World-Connections-Pic4.jpg?fit=902%2C912&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/World-Connections-Pic4.jpg?fit=902%2C912&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/World-Connections-Pic4.jpg?fit=902%2C912&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/110-years-of-montessori\/","url_meta":{"origin":900,"position":1},"title":"110 Years of Montessori","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"March 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Montessori schools around the world are celebrating Montessori Education Week this week. Parents and visitors to The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy (MCA) will notice festive banners on display at our schools and an excited buzz in the air as we begin this week-long celebration in honor of Dr. Montessori and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Events"","block_context":{"text":"Special Events","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/special-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MONTESSORI CHILDRENS ACADEMY","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":742,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/04\/creating-a-montessori-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":900,"position":2},"title":"Creating a Montessori Community","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alex Chiu Parents who choose Montessori for their children\u2019s education hopefully find themselves embarking on an educational journey that goes beyond what their children learn within their classroom walls. 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