It is definitely a busy and hectic time of year for everyone right now. It’s back to school and back to the grind. Summer isn’t quite over yet and the kids are squeezing out every bit of the summer they have left. We adults on the other hand are secretly jumping for joy at the thought of “our time” and that is perfectly normal. But, before we get ahead of ourselves and send those kids off to the bus, we need to get them ready for school. Here are 5 tricks to get your kids ready for back to school that the kids in our house are doing to help them.
- Timed Reading
Reading is a huge part of learning and is something all my nieces and nephews really enjoy thankfully! But, one thing they have done on their own is set a timer and read as much as they can during that time. Whether they set it for 30 minutes or ten, my nieces try to read as much as they possibly can in that time limit. It is a little bit of a competition they have with themselves and sometimes with each other. It’s great to see them enjoying reading and getting their brains back in learning mode without even knowing it.
- Summarize
When my nieces decide to have their timed reading and race to get through as many words as they can, I worried that they weren’t retaining what they read. So, one night I saw my niece doing her timed reading. I was cooking dinner, so I let her finish up and called her into the kitchen. It wasn’t really a pop quiz, but I told her I was interested in the book she was reading and asked her to give me a summary. She told me all about the few chapters that she had read and I was quite impressed at the details, plot, and names she remembered. She even started to tell me what she thought would happen next. She definitely is retaining what she reads and now she tells me a summary when she reads.
- Watch a Book
My nephew is just completely bonkers for his tablet and it’s usually the first the he asks for, even before breakfast. We don’t always let him hover over it but sometimes we let him indulge. Well, he has the volume set so high that I can hear it when I’m cooking in the kitchen and he is in the den. Let’s just say I can hear what he is watching. Well, to my surprise and joy, I heard the theme song to “Reading Rainbow.” After singing along (of course,) I asked him what he was watching. He said “I’m watching ‘Reading Rainbow’ and I love it!” Now that “Reading Rainbow” “The Magic School Bus” and other educational shows stream on Netflix, we don’t worry too much about him watching the tablet.
- Count That Cash
My nieces do chores at home because, of course, it’s part of life and we all have to do them. They also do extra things around the house if they see something they want to buy. They are not spoiled and are willing to work for things that they want. So, when they get some money and ask me or their mom to hold it for them, I’m comforted that they are saving it for something good. Anyway, when we take them to the store and they decide to buy something, we make them do the math. If they have $12 and want to buy a couple things, we have them do the math to see if they have enough. We let them pay so they can learn to subtract as well. It’s not a huge math lesson, but it’s something small that teaches them about math and the value of money.
- Science Theater
The kids, their dad, their mom, and Auntie Rema, love to watch those science shows when they blow things up. I mean really, who doesn’t! The different and exciting miniseries of “Ted Talks” explore all sorts of science myths and realities. It’s a very fun show for all of us to watch and the kids ignite their interest in science too. The middle niece loves to tell me about all the new science experiments she has heard about and when we get a chance we try to recreate them. She has a new idea almost every day and is so excited when she talks about it. We all love watching “Jimmy Neutron – Boy Genius” to see what those kids are up to! So, one thing I need to do is find some more fun and safe experiments we can do so she can tell all her friends at school about them too.
Getting the kids back to school is a big deal and an even bigger step for the youngest. It’s her first year of Kindergarten and her mom is not looking forward to it. But, when she sees how excited she gets to read and learn, she feels proud and realizes that her baby girl is going to do great in school. Finding fun ways to get the kids accustomed to school again isn’t a hard thing to do. Just find something they are interested in and run with it. Netflix offers so many different educational and fun shows for all different ages that will help kids get that school bug again.
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