It's about that time of year again to prepare children for the start of school after vacation. Many of us wonder where the time went. All of us are wanting the easiest and best transition for our child or children. Here are some simple and benefitial ways of accoplishing this, without having to spend a lot of time or money.

Going back to school is not always an easy transition. One thing that parents may or may not think about concerning the first days of school is their child or children's preoccupation with socialization throughout the school year (especially during those first days), which more often than not takes presidence over subject matter. It's easy to forget that, for your child, having to deal with both socialization and classroom learning, can be quite exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Add a new teacher (or possibly a new school) to the mix, and, well, you can imagine.

It is also important to realize that your child's teacher(s) is/are going to get their first major impressions of your child within those first few days.

So what is the best way to make sure that your child is academically prepared and able to put their best foot forward with general ease? Here are some things that will help.

If a child's sleep schedule has altered during vacation time, be sure to get them back in sinc. It normally takes three weeks to slip into a new sleeping schedule, easing the half hours in, a little at a time. If you don't have three weeks, not to worry. Start as soon as you can.

When going to sleep earlier does not seem like it's going to happen, here are some tips that might help:

• Dim lights, (everywhere), no computer, no television viewing, one hour before bed.
• Spend some time reading or talking in quiet voices after all bedtime rituals are done (ie brushing of teeth etc.) Here, talking about dreamy things and wonderings is going to have a much better effect than what a child should remember or what he or she needs to do; this way they can feel more relaxed and be more apt to fall asleep quicker.
• Depending on their academic level, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by having them create their own version of counting sheep, nothing too dificult. Your child can count by tens, fives, threes, nines, repeat their vowels, think their alphabet backwards, recall the states, countries, continents, etc. to you or to themselves.

School time isn't the only time to think about such things. In fact vacation time is often the best time for review. And review will assure that your child is up to speed for the first week of school, as that is usually when topics are reviewed from the previous school year so that school teachers can better see where each child is. And quite frankly, if your child is distracted during this process or has had so many other things going on that they've way forgotten last term's subjects, they may be misplaced academically. This is not what anyone wants for their child. Once labeled and placed, it is extremely difficult not only to find out in time, but to change their placement, period. This has happened to one of my children, and I will regret my ease of thinking that everything would run smoothly, for a very long time.

Bed time isn't the only important thing to start scheduling in. Be sure that they are used to waking up in plenty of time to get ready for school, and practice that routine every day. Have lunch around the time that your child would have lunch at school. And go through the rest of the day in similar ways.

This is beneficial for more than the obvious reason of getting them into the habit of being on school's time. It allows you, the parent, to observe your child's daily patterns when on a school schedule. Let's face it, you know what they're like when you're on a home schedule, and what they're like on off-school times, but you don't really know what they're like in school.

Observing them under a school type schedule, helps you familiarize yourself with possible reasons of why, say, your child doesn't seem to do well in reading; perhaps reading is held during a time of day when your child's spirit is needing a different type of activity. Knowing seemingly useless information such as this, could be detrimental in the long run and you'll be more equipped to stand your ground when communicating with their teacher or principle.

Read out loud to your child. Every day. It is important for your child to hear others read, just as important as reading on their own. This is true no matter what their age.

A great article that talks about this is Naddie's Children's Picture Book Reviews Three Cheers for Three More Greats.

Having your child read out loud to you is of great benefit as well. Reading to one's self is not the same as reading out loud. Reading out loud requires more factors to come into play and is wonderful excersize for your child's mind in preparation for (and during) the school year.

For tips on how to choose an appropriate book for your child, check out Factors for Selecting and Evaluating Children's Books.

 If they haven't had much in the way of organized and timed activities, it may be a good idea to get them back into the swing of things with something fun that encompasses both.  Cooking is a great  example of this.  Have them cook something which requires them to follow a recipe and use a timer. 

Timed games, such as pictionary, is another great way to ease your child into paying attention to time.  Other thoughts are timed cleanups, timed walks around the block, timed journal writing, and timed reading.

Many schools offer families the opportunity to pre-order the following years' school supplies and booster packs the year before. Some do not. Either way, allowing your child the pleasure of getting his or her own backpack ready for school is a must when preparing for back to school.  This helps them mentally, not just physically, prepare for their big day; it gives them autonomy and pride as well.

Where will they place their clothes for the next day? Where will they put their laundry? Where should their backpack and shoes be kept? Where will extra pencils and supplies be stored? where will they study? Where should they place important notices?

All these things should be routine, so you can spend more time talking about life with your kids and less time telling them what to do; the less conflict the better. Your child knowing these areas and being responsible for them also helps them feel safe, stable, and in control. It helps keep them more organized and focussed so they have more time to study, play, and socialize with the family. Never underestimate the time-saving, mind-saving power of even the simplest of organization techniques.

Most importantly, spend as much quality happy time with you child as you possibly can. Feeling great about home and about themselves, helps them achieve at school and helps you bond at a time when school will be taking up most of their waking hours.

~Frieda Babbley, wishing you and yours a successful school year.