Back to School
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Back to School
As you’re headed back to school this week or next? We hit the books with a fury on Monday….well sort of. If you’re looking for ways to get back in the swing of back to school without pulling out your hair, read on… 
The most important tip is to return to the schedule you had before the break. We have a brand new year and schedules do change but going back to school with a schedule as close to the one you had previous to the break will help your students get back into the swing of things.
Secondly, ease back into your lessons. Remember that your students may need some reminders about where they left off. I have two children that jumped right into their lessons and were excited and another that was not so quick to go back to school. Let the ones that want to jump in and get ahead do so. Try not to get discouraged with one(s) who work their way back at a more gradual pace. Of course they still need to maintain enough momentum to keep up in their studies, so keep encouraging them to move forward but patience is key.
Competition anyone?
A little friendly competition to spur things on can be a good thing. Each of my children finished their first semester a few days apart. Now the race is on…the children decided, on their own, to “race” to see who can be the first one to finish this semester. Obviously they each have different learning styles and I have to watch that they aren’t doing too much “racing.” They really like checking their stats to see who is ahead. A good competition can encourage participation in studies when going back to school.
Keep rewards fresh and flowing. Let’s be honest, we all enjoy a good reward. It’s like dangling the carrot in front of the rabbit…if you have a good enough reward they will find the effort it takes to work through even the most challenging of assignments. We have done different things each year but have found a favorite for our family. In the past we have done marble jars for lessons completed and the marbles earn rewards. We have done various sticker charts with different rewards for levels completed.
Our favorite though is stickers and money. We print off our lessons for the week and they children earn stickers for each lesson completed. I accumulate prizes from dollar/99cent stores, yard sales, and even their snacks during school (except for veggies J ) can only be purchased with their money they earned from lessons.
This semester we also have a big reward on the table that they can pool their money together to purchase if they choose, which is a trip to a local amusement center they have been wanting to go to. In the past we have done Build a Bear Workshop trips or other fun trips at the end of the year as well.