The summer break is over and it’s time to face the new academic session. Getting your ward ready for a new academic session can be a cumbersome task for both parents and children alike. It is important, as parents, to properly condition the minds of your children and ensure that they are provided with all they need to stand out among their peers and have a wholesome learning experience in this session.
Throughout the holiday period, it’s highly likely that children may have gone about their daily tasks with spontaneity. Thus, it is crucial that parents step in and slowly reintegrate routine into the children’s daily activities. This can start from creating a fixed sleeping schedule, as it will remind them of the importance of being properly rested after each day of academic work, and staying properly energised for every new day.
It can extend towards earmarking a specific time range for different daily activities like eating, recreation and study, in the final stretch of the holidays. Many primary and secondary schools operate fixed daily and weekly schedules, so this should help them readjust properly ahead of their resumption.
Another key step that can be taken is assisting children with setting terminal and sessional academic and extracurricular goals. The journey to achieving huge strides in the academic session starts now. Parents can play their part by helping their children organise attainable objectives, and also helping them set daily and weekly practice and study targets that will ensure that they stay in contention to achieve these objectives.
Also, getting all their materials ready; from textbooks to school bags, lunch boxes to stationery, has a way of creating a positive impression on the minds of the children. It sends a subconscious message about your heavy involvement in their preparations, and will encourage them to tune their minds towards their return to school. It will also be really helpful to stock up on supplies that the children will need throughout the term.
Furthermore, it is also important to maintain continuous dialogue with your child. A small number of children still suffer from ‘Scolionophobia’, which is the extreme fear of school and related academic activities. Keeping the communication lines open with your children is highly key to overcoming this fear. Parents should try to sit down and have an open conversation with such children. This would help in discerning the cause of the phobia, and discovering feasible pathways towards conquering this fear.
Lastly, the closing stages of the holiday present a perfect opportunity to review performances from the previous academic session. The goal of such a review should not be to scold, scare or stigmatise the children. Instead, it should be a means of appreciating their efforts and motivating them to continue to strive towards attaining greater success.
While the prestige of academic excellence will always remain, it would help to reassure them that they are not in a tussle with any of their colleagues, and that they would have the love and backing of their parents regardless of their outcomes.
