5 Steps To Prep Your Child For Their First Year of Middle School
With Middle School Teacher Lorie Michaels
To watch the full interview click here: https://bit.ly/MiddleSchoolPrep
When our son began middle school, I arrived to locker set-up day clinging to the packet of info we received, reciting his locker combination over and over in my head (in case he forgot), and proudly touting a bag full of cool - not - cute locker decorations I thought would bode well for him.
I missed the boat entirely. 🚢 🤦🏼♀️
Instead, I should have been preparing him in other ways. And for that reason I interviewed middle school teacher Lorie Michaels on the topic.
Here are 5 simple but important steps that you can begin now to prepare your child for their first day of middle school:
Practice using a padlock. Ok, so I wasn’t tooooo far off with the locker combo idea I mentioned. But take it a step further. Buy a padlock ahead of time and teach them how to use it. This is a skill most kids don’t know. (Even we adults need to remind ourselves how it works.)
Teach your child how to manage their time with a planner. Either a traditional paper planner (more highly recommended) or a digital app. Time management skills are super important in middle school. If you can begin to have them practice during the summer by writing down pool get togethers with friends, visits from grandparents, and dates they are on vacation, it will be excellent practice for what’s to come.
Get them on a sleep schedule. Especially in the couple of weeks leading up to middle school. They will not do well on 5 hours of sleep because they stayed up until 2am talking on the phone with their friend. In August, slowly begin to back up the bedtime so they are in a good rhythm of being well-rested for school.
Take away technology in the evening. Point #4 ties in with point #3. Determine a “turn it off” point in the evening for technology so that their minds can get less stimulated and more relaxed. And for sure - no phones, computers or devices in bedrooms!
Have them practice advocating for themselves. We’re not in Kansas (i.e. gradeschool) anymore. The more that they can begin to represent themselves, their needs, and their questions to teachers, friends, and coaches - the better. They do, after all, have a better understanding of what’s going on in their classroom life and teacher / coach expectations. If they rely on you for every email or every question, chances are their needs won’t be fully represented.
To watch the full interview click here: https://bit.ly/MiddleSchoolPrep.
Thank you, Mrs. Lorie Michels for your time and expertise!