School

Written by Kari, Contributing Writer

Getting ready for the new school year means many things in our home. Our sleep schedule has to change, our chores change, we supplement differently and we have to ease back into a daily routine.

Summer offers such freedom and opportunity to be laid back and relaxed. The kids can sleep in if they want (although mom keeps her 5:30am wake up time), we don’t have to eat breakfast right away, we can chill inside during the afternoon heat and watch a movie, play Legos or read books. Nights out at the fire pit or camping mean bedtime is later in the summer than it is when school is in session.

All of this adjustment takes a few weeks as we slowly slip back to our school season routine. It doesn’t always get greeted with open arms from the kids, though. I don’t blame them – I want summer to be longer too.

So, here’s how we make the transition:

About 2 weeks before the start of school, we start getting to bed at a good time and get them accustomed to their school night bed time. I still let them sleep in if they want, but they are usually up early if they go to bed on time.

We also start eating breakfast after waking up again. No playing for an hour before eating-we must eat on time since they don’t have the leisure of picking their eating schedule at school.

Another thing we do is start taking elderberry syrup a couple weeks before school starts to make sure the immune system is strong enough to be in the midst of all those kids all day. I buy the ingredients and make our own syrup and we use it through October, early November. Then we’ll take a break and start up again in February through April. I find that we we do this, they can go through the the school year without germs attaching themselves to the kids. This is always a good thing.

I find this to be so important, because kids, especially those that go to school, will now spend their days inside, instead of out in the fresh air and vitamin-giving sun. They are now confined to classrooms that are usually packed with kids and germs. Anti-bacterial everything is used in these classrooms, but research shows no significant drop in sickness in public schools since this trend began. This means as parents, we need to step up our game.

No matter if your kids are home-schooled or go somewhere for school, we need to make sure our kids are eating good, healthy meals at home and at school. They still need to be outside – even more than 20 minutes at recess. Let them run around outside once they are home from school. Allow them to yell, run around and have fun. Things their bodies want to do, but can’t during the school day. I homeschool my oldest child right now and my youngest is starting first grade and is attending our local public school, but they have the same routine regardless of where they spend their days being schooled.

We also need to make sure our kids are getting good sleep. Not just in hours, but in quality. We use magnesium butter and essential oils at night. We read before bed for a winding down time and we either play soft music or sounds throughout the night. We’ve done this since our kids were born and we have amazing, deep sleepers.

Also make sure they are drinking enough clean water throughout the day. If their teacher allows water bottles, send them to school with one every day.

Most importantly, keep loving on those kids in anyway you possibly can. Encourage them with their school work, help them if they are having a hard time and praise them for their hard work and results. Stress can make kids sick and over the past couple years, survey’s are showing that students (even elementary aged students) are more stressed out than any generation before. Many are even taking prescription medication to help alleviate stress in the school setting. This shouldn’t be the case. Be on their side.

Show them how to handle stress that tries to come on them and most of all, show them that you value them, you think they are smart and hardworking and make sure they know how much you love them because of who they are, not how they perform. Don’t every compare them to their siblings or other kids you know. Don’t base your love on how well they do in school or what grade they got on a test – base your love on them being a gift to you and that they are a unique and valued person in society. They most likely will not get this in school, so if they are getting it at home, then their time in school won’t be so hard.

I’m not always excited when summer starts coming to an end, but I do what is best for my kids so that the transition is smooth and there isn’t resistance. My kids are worth it.