Friday, August 16, 2019

Transitioning between grades

As summer winds down, I have been slowly getting my son ready for school again. Sure, I am still not allowed to say the word "school" without getting a dirty look, but I've had a few minor wins. For example, I was able to take my son "back-to-learning" shopping and start talking about scheduling changes for the year.

This is progress.

While I know my son is having a magical summer and never wants it to end, I have to keep in mind how hard it is to transition grades. Sometimes there is a lot of excitement - like when my son transitioned from Kindergarten to first grade, but there will be times of more anxiety, too. Usually this happens when kids transition schools - like from elementary to middle school.

My family moved before I started middle school, so I had my own anxieties about starting over again, but I think I'll be able to draw on those experiences to relate to my son when he is ready to move schools. The important thing to remember is that the stress about that change is very real.

As parents, we can help with that stress over the summer (as long as we don't mention the word "school") by talking to our children about what they are looking forward to in their new school and what they will miss about their old one. We can also (if they are open to it) help prep them for common situations they will start to encounter about being apart from some of their friends and their new social circles.

I'm convinced that saying good-bye to summer and starting school is stressful no matter what grade you enter. Hopefully, we can remind our kids about all the good things they get to experience during the year and that summer will always come back.

How are you helping your children with their transition back to school? Tell me about it in the comments.

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