The Week of Back to School!

It's that time of year again: backpacks, notebooks, uniforms, and fall sports.

Here at Help Me Grow we have decided to make a whole week of ideas for back-to-school preparation.

We will break down the areas into Preschool (Monday), Kindergarten (Wednesday), and First grade (Friday). We will be compiling tips from experienced moms and educational websites, just to make sure we cover everything.

If you are sending your child off to school this fall you don't want to miss these posts!

Before we start the week, here are some fun ideas for any grade:

First Day of School Pictures

Back to School Fairy

From "Happiness Is..."

 A bag full of back to school goodies, all delivered by the "Back to School Fairy."
The bag could include:
Crayons
Markers
Notebooks
Waterbottle
Lunchbox
Stickers

Social Skills Review

I was actually homeschooled my entire elementary education, but my mom still went through all the steps of school preparation; buying new pencils, notebooks, curriculum, and charts.
The most memorable part to me was my dad's preparation (he wanted to make sure we had adequate social skills). He would pull out his Dale Carnegie book How to Win Friends and Influence People and give us a brush up on the most important steps of socializing with other people. I felt that it made a huge difference in my life, especially when I started attending public school in 8th grade.
Unlike popular belief, kids aren't born with the natural ability to socialize, and most teachers don't have Social Skills 101 on their agenda. Children need to be taught how to properly interact with other children and adults.
Here are the most important points that should be reviewed every year:

• When you want to play with someone, ask them! Start with "My name is ______, what is your name?" and then, "Can I play with you?"
• The best way to make friends is to be interested in them; ask questions about them: "What do you like to play?" "What is your favorite movie?"
• You need to obey your teacher, sit quietly in your seat and make sure you raise your hand if you want to ask a question.
• Kids may say mean things to other kids, or even you. This is not nice and you should never call people names other than their own.
• Always use your words; do not hit, push, bite, or scratch. If you are upset at another child you must tell them that you are upset and why, do not hit another child because you are mad at them.

 As adults, these are no-brainers! But for children these skills do not come naturally. Communicate with your child how to make friends and how to be a good friend.