It is hard isn’t it getting back into a routine after six weeks out of the classroom. On the first day back Erin bounced out of bed at 6.45 eager to be dressed and heading out the door. She skipped to school full of enthusiasm and couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
Getting ready for school
The second morning was a little different. I had to wake her up and she was a little grumpy about being woken. 7.30 and I am gently shaking her awake and although she didn’t moan, there was less bounce in her step! Erin likes her sleep!
Setting expectations and routines in September can really set the standard for the rest of the academic year. Now that we are in KS2 there is a little more expectation on her and I really want to ensure that she continues to thrive academically.
These are just some the ways that I will be supporting Erin who will be moving into year 3 this year:
Creating a morning school routines from the get-go. This means a consistent bedtime in the week at about 7.15 which allows her to have the full 12 hours sleep that she needs.
Eating well – this is really important for both mental and physical wellbeing.
Making sure that we are still reading most days. Improving a childs reading skills is so important for developing vocabulary, I was a huge reader as a child and I really want to encourage this with Erin. Now that she is older she doesn’t want to read to me all the time which is fine. However, I combat this with finding a quiet time where we can both sit and read our books together. Modelling this demonstrates that I too enjoy reading and place a value on it.
iPads for learning. iPads and technology have a place in supporting today’s learning. I use some great learning apps including Maths Rockx and the Squeebles series to help Erin with her spellings and other games for concepts like time.
Get involved in school life as much as possible. Understand the curriculum and the topics that are being studied.
Extra curricular activities. If your child needs some extra support look at some online options including MATR which offers affordable solutions for improving and extending children’s Maths. I will be using this to stretch and challenge Erin as she needs stimulating.
Supporting Erin’s learning is really important to us and we very much see the process as a partnership between the school and ourselves. Erin enjoys learning and we want this to continue over the remainder of her time in primary school.
Z was up and ready early on his first day back too! I had to wake him up on day 2! So hard to get back into the routine. I said he could stay up and watch Masterchef with us last night but he fell asleep on the sofa and I had to carry him up to bed! Hope all is well with you x