Back to School: Help Your Child Prepare for In-Person Learning
Kids are starting to go back to school for in-person learning! Check out these tips for a smooth transition for your family.
For over a year now, Covid-19 has impacted the lives of everyone.
And although children’s immune systems have protected them relatively well from the scary virus, their daily lives have been just as disrupted as ours –– maybe even more so.
Last March, many schools transitioned to virtual learning, and suddenly “Zoom classes” and “break-out rooms” and “muting” became a part of our kids’ regular vocabulary. Playdates moved from the park to Facetime. We purchased masks in tiny sizes for the infrequent trips to the grocery store.
Most of us never thought this pandemic would last a full year, but here we are.
The good news?
Teachers are now receiving vaccines and schools are slowly reopening.
But a year in a child’s life is a long time, so readjusting to in-person learning might prove just as tricky as the transition to home last spring.
Difficulties Going Back to School for In-Person Learning
Humans are creatures of habit. We, as a whole, prefer sameness to newness.
Studies have found that transitions into new educational settings are emotionally significant for children. These transitions “will to some degree yield stress and discomfort.” (1, 2)
According to research, almost half of children identified as “typically developing” experience some difficulty transitioning to school. (1, 3)
And kids with special needs are believed to have “an even greater risk for successful transition.” (1, 3)
During the transition, there are a few specific areas of concern. Most are related to the social and behavioral demands of a changing educational setting. These might include becoming familiar with a different routine and structure, following directions, and more. (1, 3)
It’s important for us adults to have compassion for our little ones during this time. And actionable steps in preparation can ease stress, too.
6 Ways to Prep for Back to School In-Person Learning
Here are some tips to make your child’s re-entry to school as smooth as possible. And remember: these aren’t just for kids showing speech and language delays. If your child is typically developing, they might need these extra supports, too.
Create a Social Story
Have you ever heard of Social Stories? They’re often used to target behavioral change in children with autism spectrum disorders. (4) But I’ve found that they can be great tools to help increase any child’s exposure to –– and comfort levels with –– certain scenarios.
The magic of a social story is that it allows us to personalize these scenarios and prepare kids for their logistical and emotional components. Social stories typically involve direct sentences, in simple language, written in first person. Many also have visual supports. Write one up and read it frequently with your child as the first day back approaches.
Go to the Site in Advance
While you might not be able to walk into your child’s classroom –– or even their building –– before their first day back to school for in-person learning, you can still head to the site to increase comfort levels.
Try a “dress rehearsal” the week before. Help your child get ready as if they’re going to school for the day, and then take them to the school grounds to walk around. If you can get in touch with their teacher or a classmate and meet up in advance, even better! The goal here is to increase familiarity with the people and places that will be involved in your child’s school days.
Practice Wearing Masks
Although masks have become a routine article of clothing for many of us, we’re also spending much time at home without the need for them. If your child has only been wearing masks infrequently –– say, for the occasional check-up with the pediatrician –– it might feel like an adjustment to wear one for the full school day.
To prep them for success, practice! Let them know that they’ll be wearing masks all day at school and encourage them to practice wearing one for increasing periods of time. If it’s a struggle, start with short time increments and build up. Reward them afterward and keep things positive.
Work on Following Directions
While in-person learning, children are expected to follow directions all day long. If you spend some time in a classroom, you’ll hear students being directed to open their books, push in their chairs, put on their jackets, and more.
Work on this skill with your little one to make things easier on them (and their teacher) when they go back to school. You can practice following directions throughout the day at home. Or download our Find It Fast: School game to specifically target school-based vocabulary. Make the process fun!
Make a Visual Schedule
Have your children take advantage of the perks of virtual school? I’m talking about later bedtimes and mornings, learning in pajamas, breakfast during morning Zoom circle, etc. If this is the case in your household, it might be jarring to return to the in-person learning routines.
We’ve talked about visual schedules before, but they may be especially helpful to get your family in the back-to-school groove. Create a bedtime schedule or a morning schedule to make those times go more smoothly. Or try a day-long visual schedule to show an anxious child that they’ll be coming back home as soon as the school day is over!
Talk About It
Kids process a lot internally –– sometimes more than we give them credit for. Whether your child is an early communicator or a verbose conversationalist, it’s important to help them process the changes going on in their lives.
Try asking open-ended questions –– if your child understands them –– about the transition back to school. Ask how they’re feeling about in-person learning. If they’re not yet at this level, try modeling early emotional language. This might simply look like labeling your own feelings (e.g., “I feel happy”) or commenting on the emotions of others in contexts or in pictures (e.g., saying “They look sad” and pointing to a crying baby).
Have Patience During the Back-to-School Transition
Whether your child is going back to school tomorrow, next month, or next school year, remember that you can help your child succeed in the new learning environment.
Remember to cut your little one some slack during the transition back to in-person learning.
And while you’re at it, cut yourself some, too.