• Prepare Two Weeks Prior to the Start of School:

    1. Do nothing for two weeks before school starts. Seriously. Bore your kids so silly so that they will be excited to see friends and play at recess. Sounds manipulative? It is. I justify it because I feel for the kids. Imagine spending two months going to the beach, the museum, campfires, outdoor movies, stimulating camps, playdates and all things fun, to then be thrown behind a desk for 8 hours a day? Clear your calendars and let your kids complain that they are bored. Stick to physical activities and don’t schedule any playdates or fun outings. This will give them the opportunity to look forward to going back to school.
    2. Start setting the alarm clock a few minutes earlier each day, so everyone can re-adjust to waking up earlier. You don’t want to shock their sleep schedules by abruptly changing bedtimes and wake up times.
    3. Give them small homework assignments. Nothing crazy. Just 15-30 minutes a day of reading or math problems to get them back into the routine. This probably should have been happening all summer long, but better late than never!
    4. Plan something fun, like an outing somewhere, a few weekends after school begins, so that they can look forward to that event.

    Good luck!