Padhega To Badhega: Planning for a new academic year

As the month of march is approaching , excitement fills the heart of student community as they are about to begin the new academic year. This is the time when the students, teachers and parents are all busy planning for the new beginning. At home, the parents and children are on their toes as the kid enters a new grade. Here are few tips to help all those ambitious parents who want to make this transformation easy and rewarding.

The Week Before

Preparations for the new term, starts a week before. This includes:

Shopping – Make a shopping list before you shop. This may include school stationeries, books, uniform, backpack, lunch box and shoes. Make an estimate, involve your child and check out if there are things which can be reused or added to the list. Then go shop and keep things ready.

Home works and School assignments – Some schools give assignments for vacation. Make sure that the kid has completed his home works and assignments before school starts. Not completing the assignments may create unnecessary issues in the beginning of the term, making it a bad start.

Brush up the basics – Moving on to the next grade or term needs a brush up of the key concepts. This is because, if the child has not understood or has forgotten the lessons taught previously, then the new concepts may seem difficult, as they are just the continuation of the old concepts. So, brush up the basics and make the child ready for new learning.

Lunch habits – Adopt the school’s lunch timetable. This helps the child to get used to the new school timings and helps concentrate on learning rather than, on a hungry tummy!

Transport – Make sure whether the kid is using school transport or you are taking up the responsibility. If its school transport, then inform the management and make necessary arrangements. Talk to the transport in charge and update your contact information. If you are dropping the kid to school, then consider your time and routine, make the necessary arrangements.

As one can see, week before the school is really important. How well you prepare decides, how well you start! Know that, a work well planned is half done.

First Week of the School

Meet the teachers and staff – Teachers are the key role players in the educational life of a child. Every new term or year, is usually associated with the change in class teachers and subject teachers. This may prove to be good or bad depending on child’s previous experience.

To avoid any negative outcomes in the future, meet the teachers who have already taught your kid and discuss the areas of strength and improvement. Meet the new teachers, convey the information and discuss study plans for your kid. This will even help the teacher to gauge your child’s calibre and adopt proper teaching methodologies. Some schools organize orientation sessions. Attend them and know what’s in store for the new academic year.

Prepare a study time table – Schedule the study hours of your kid. Find out which part of the day suits well, whether the morning hours or evening or late nights? Set aside some time for group studies as well. But, make sure if his study circle has right peers. Get actively involved in all the study activities of your kid. This will make you get a proper perspective of the kid’s progress.

Sports and fun – along with studies, sports and entertainment plays a very important role in the physical and mental growth of children. So, bring them in the daily time table. Encourage yoga and exercise. Studies have proved that, children who are physically active, have good physical and mental health.

Create Master Calendar - Schools give out prospectus which has information on the important events and school activities for the upcoming year. Go through the prospectus carefully, note down the important dates and create a master calendar. Knowing the important dates earlier, eases the preparations for the same and keeps you ready for any unpredicted challenges.

Update contact information – Updating contact information is very important but, highly neglected aspect. Any negligence in this, may lead to unexpected troubles and worries. So, don’t forget to update the contact information. Even if you have not changed your address or telephone, mobile number, check if the saved information is right, especially with the teachers and transport staff.

Talk to your kid – Talk to your kid about the new teachers, new friends and all that happens in school. Get an insight of the school activities, your kid’s peer group and friend’s circle. This helps you to know if your kid is among right people and doing right things. By talking to your kid, you will also be able to help him/her to overcome troubles in and around the school, if any.

Preserve the good work – Every child is good in some skill. Some like drawing and painting, some music and dance, some are good at sport while other’s in academic scores. But, whatever your child’s taste, preserve some of his works, medals or certificates for memory. Years after, if anybody loves to dwell on, it is the childhood memories. Preserving childhood memories in tangible things, brings those moments alive.

School days are those days in which a child develops his intellectual and emotional skills. It is at this stage, that he develops a personality. But remember, home is the first school. Parents are the first teachers. So, along with all the above mentioned tips, it is very important for parents to develop a good lifestyle filled with discipline, morality, ethics, responsibility and empathy.

It is more important for a kid to grow as a good individual who proves to be an asset for humanity rather than the one who is not only intelligent, but also a threat!