The new school year: 3 important conversations to have to help set your child up for success

Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim The student-parent-school "triangular bond"

While talking with a wonderful head teacher recently, she told me she believes very strongly there is a triangular relationship between school, parents and student, and each depend upon each other to ensure the best possible success for their children.

I couldn’t agree with her more! Apart from geometry, in which we learn that an isosceles triangle has both two equal sides and two equal triangles, the picture of a triangle is a really good one to describe these relationships. Of course the two longest and strongest sides should be the parents and school! I have had fun drawing the idea for you here:

This got me thinking about the way we can start our new school year - it is almost like a New Year’s Resolution – a time to look forward, prepare and plan for new goals and a new start. At this time of year, actions we take to prepare our children and ourselves will build strong links to help our children gain the very best.

In this article, I reflect on the parent part of the school-parent-child bond. I thought back to when my children were small, and I wanted to share some tips I have for parents and for school to help make sure your children now transition well into the new school year:

1. Talk to your child’s new class teacher

It seems rather obvious, but do make sure you know and meet your child’s new teacher. If you cannot personally meet her (or him), write a note to introduce yourself and say something that will help your child’s teacher to know something special about your child.

Say something he is good at, or loves doing, and say something he finds hard or does not like. This is helpful in the early days of the term. It helps your child’s teacher to know that you are interested and keen to participate in his or her learning.

Your child’s Teacher has so many children in the class, and by aiding them in understanding your child, you can help to provide the best possible experience of learning for your child.

2. Talk to your child about his or her new teacher

Focus on the positives and ask your child about the rules of the class, what your child likes about him or her. Emphasise the good things the teacher is doing in the class, even if your child thinks they are hard.

3. Talk with your child about the new children in their class

Are there any they know from before? Encourage good friendships, and meet other parents of children you know who your child is enjoying playing with.

Having these kind of conversations with your children is so vitally important for getting a good grasp on their daily interactions and experiences, and may help explain why they are behaving certain ways at home. Lots of the time, children develop deep bonds with other children in their class, and this is so important to be aware of early on in the school year.

There are so many more things you can do at the beginning of the school year, but these were three conversations I think are really vital to make sure you have with your child and with school.

What do you normally do at the beginning of the school year to make sure your child adjusts properly? Meeting with my child's teachers is something I always used to make sure I did, and I would often have conversations with my children about their classes and class-teachers – especially at the beginning of the school year.

Good luck!

Warmly,

Margi

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