How to prepare your child to go back to school after lockdown
I didn’t really want to write this post.
It’s really hard to face some of these facts…let alone our children for them.
But this post is REALLY important! Because, as our kids start to go back to school, the best way to prepare them, is to prepare ourselves as parents.
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Ready to go back to school?
So how IS your child feeling about going back to school? How are you feeling?
I’m sure if you let yourself think about it a bit, there are probably a bunch of mixed emotions.
Maybe there’s excitement to see friends and teachers (or to not have to homeschool your children anymore – it’s ok! I know it’s been tough!). Happiness to be able to interact with more people, face-to-face. The thrill to be out and about again.
But maybe there’s also anxiety and fear. For all the changes, for all the uncertainty. Worry over exposure to a dreaded virus. A sense of loss of all that’s become normal – being home everyday, doing school a different way.
Does your child worry about everything?
Are they struggling to cope with these big feelings?
Feeling out of your depth when it comes to helping them?
(And you’re a super busy and don’t know how to even cope with all of this in the first place…)
Prepare them to go back to school after lockdown
As parents, we need to work through and process our own thoughts and feelings about how life will be after lockdown. If we’re prepared and feel like we have a handle on our emotions, we can provide a safe place for our children to prepare themselves to go back to school.
It’s not going to be normal.
This might be the hardest fact for your child to hear about going back to school. So much has already changed for them!
From arriving at school, to how lessons will be conducted. From sanitising their work station and wearing a mask, to what they can do during break times. Everything is going to be different.
School will not be the same as it was. But that’s ok! We will find a new normal, a new rhythm, a new routine.
What can they expect at school?
Get as much information from your school as possible. From the moment your child arrives at school, to the moment they depart, what are the processes and procedures going to include.
Then walk your child through it, step-by-step, visualising each part of the process.
Find out what the rules or expectations will be regarding sanitising, wearing protective gear and social-distancing. Talk to your child gently about these! Remember, maybe your child is used to giving their teacher a big bear-hug when they arrive at class. They won’t be able to do that anymore.
Come up with a plan with your child to accommodate these changes. How will they greet their teacher or friends from now on?
Get into a routine that’ll fit well with going back to school
If you haven’t had them in some sort of routine, now is definitely the time to do it!
Think about what the ‘going back to school’ scenario is going to look like. What time will you need to wake up so there’s enough time to get ready, eat breakfast and pack the car? What will their school day look like? How long will they be at school? When they get home, what will they need to do? How will their afternoon look?
Then, start implementing it. It’ll be less of a shock to the system than if they suddenly have to be up two hours earlier than usual and they can’t eat breakfast while they’re doing their Maths.
Be their safe place
You are their Mama! You are their safe place!
(No pressure, right!?)
They’re going out into the big, wide world again; a pretty scary and daunting big, wide world too. They need to feel that they have a place of refuge, a safe haven to return to after each day of school!
Maybe that’ll mean a long, tight hug. Maybe it’ll mean some space to just simmer down after an emotionally charged day. Your child might bubble over with a thousand words about every part of their day. Or, they could be absolutely silent and just want to watch TV.
They need to know that you’re there for them and that they can offload on you, if and when they’re ready to.
Expect the emotions
And offload they might. But not always in the way you might expect.
This is a transition time. And transitions can be tough – remember when they were toddlers!?
If your child likes to talk about their emotions, they may express how they feel in this way. But if they don’t, or they don’t have the words, expressing their emotions may take the form of angry outbursts, defiance, crying, avoidance, physical symptoms like a sore tummy.
Expect it, keep your own emotions in check, and help them learn how to express theirs in a healthy, constructive way.
Manage expectations
What are you expecting your child to be capable of now that they’re going back to school? What are they expecting of themselves?
Maybe they’re expecting to find their school work so much easier “now that Mom isn’t teaching them”(sigh…these kids! Don’t worry, you’re doing great, Momma!). Maybe they’re expecting their friendships to be as they were before. Or maybe they’re expecting the opposite of all that – a more dreary outlook.
Whatever the expectation, manage it. Take each day as it comes, one day at a time, one situation at a time.
They still need your help
I’m sure you’re relieved about the prospect of passing your child’s schooling back to their teachers. Homeschooling is tough! You’ve stuck it out and persevered for so long – you have done an amazing job!
But your child is still going to need your help, Mommy!
It might be helping them finish work they didn’t get to in class, or keeping their work organized, or making sure they pack the right books for school the next day. When they’re feeling overwhelmed with the school work load, you’re going the one they turn to for support and the tools to cope. Maybe it won’t be as hands-on as your child is a bit older and wants to do those things for themselves.
Whatever it looks like, don’t take your hands off the wheel completely just yet! They’ll still need your support and help.
They still need to do the best they can
It might sound at this point like, because they’re transitioning and experiencing all these emotions, etc etc, that we’re just going to let them slack off because, shame…
I’m not suggesting that at all. In fact, having a purpose and a focus, having a goal, can be the most healthy way to transition through a difficult time.
So let them know that you still want their best! They have to complete their work. They have to put all the effort in that they can. They have to try, even if it’s hard. Download this FREE Get Organized ToolKit to help your child keep track of all of their school work and take the stress and pressure off in at least that area of their lives.
Prepare them to be flexible
This is another really hard fact to digest. Everything can change again in an instant.
Whether it’s that the country is put back into lockdown, there’s a confirmed case in the school, or a family member gets sick, the school could be forced to close again and your child is back to being home, learning online again.
It’s not something we want our children to worry about, though. And maybe it’s not something you even bring up with them at this point! But the fact that you’re prepared for it, and if you help them remain flexible, they’ll be able to roll with those changes as and when they come.
Look after yourself
As moms we carry a lot, if not all, of the emotion in our homes and families. And I’m sure you’ve felt it even more during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone offloads on you, everyone depends on you. You try to calm the conflicts. You mediate the differences of opinion. And somewhere in there you have to work through your own emotions and frustrations.
Going back to school, our children are going to need us in deeper ways than they’ve ever needed us til now.
So you need to look after yourself.
Take time out to relax, get some exercise, get some fresh air and space. Make sure you eat healthily and take those vitamins. Offload on a friend, or your own Momma, so you don’t carry this load alone!
Practice gratitude and a positive attitude
So many times I’ve heard stories of how people have made it through remarkably difficult times. Do you know what seems to be a common theme?
Gratitude.
Dark times can suck us into a spiral of disillusionment and eventually, we can’t see the way out. Gratitude lifts our eyes up. Finding the good, searching for the positive, becoming aware of the multitude of blessings we actually have – that can change everything.
When your child is overwhelmed and feeling worried or stressed, take a moment with them. Acknowledge their feelings – those are real! – and then be thankful and positive with them. Find the silver-lining to that dark cloud!
Make the most of the time you have left before school starts
So, whether you have 2 weeks, or 3 months, or maybe it’s completely indefinite at the moment, make the most of these days at home.
Yes, keep up with the homeschooling, but don’t let it drive wedges between you. If it’s too much, take a break, come back to it another time.
Have fun together! Build that blanket fort. Bake cookies AGAIN this week. Let them watch a little extra TV. Have your meals together as a family. Snuggle up with a big bowl of popcorn and watch movies all day. Switch off the devices and do something different!
Create some amazing memories from these last days before the kids are back at school!
It’s all going to be ok when they go back to school!
Going back to school is going to have its challenges , but it’s also going to have its joys!
It’s worth reminding ourselves how far we’ve come through this pandemic! How adaptable we’ve learned to become, how we’ve fashioned a new normal even in the chaos of a world-wide pandemic! Going back to school is just going to be one more of those things we will adapt to, just one more area of your child’s life where they will learn new ways to cope and even to thrive!
Our children are going to be ok – if they know they do not walk through this alone; that they have all the support and love and patience they need to grow through this; that they have a champion cheering them every step of the way.
And that’s you, Momma! Your child is so lucky to have you on their side!
I would love to connect with you and hear all about how you are preparing your child to go back to school!
And I’d love to include you in this community of Mommies as we support each other and grow together to become the best moms we can be!
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