The first day of school after more than a year of online learning is a big step for both the children and their parents. The kids are excited to be back with their friends, but they’re also anxious about the new things that await them, like being face to face interaction with teachers, facing the class physically and expressing themselves and making new friends. The parents have an equally daunting task in front of them—preparing them for this transition and making them feel comfortable in the real world. There are a few things you can do to ease their transition:

1.  Encourage Physical Activity

Get them into the groove of physical activity again. The online learning environment is conducive to studying but it doesn’t really encourage physical activities like running, talking or playing. Getting them involved in these activities will soon acquaint them with their new surroundings and help them develop new skills.

2.  Familiarity With School Routine

Make sure they’re familiar with their school routines and schedules before they go back to school. Talk to them about the things they’ll do during the day like the lunch schedule, the hours, recess time etc. This will help them understand the routine and make them feel at home.

3.  Encourage Communication

Allow them to express themselves more. In online learning environments, it’s easier to let your child learn from you rather than say anything out of sheer boredom or nervousness. However, back in school, they not only have to speak but also express themselves in writing. School can be a great platform for your child to express himself and develop certain skills like writing and speaking English fluently in front of people he doesn’t know.

4.  Take The Required Steps

Make a schedule for the transition from online learning to the classroom so they can get accustomed to going back into the classroom again.  Include material on the lessons they’ll be covering in class and how they can utilize it during their school days. Make sure to drop your child off to school personally on the first day. After being in the home’s safe environment it will be hard for them to step out, stay away from you even for brief hours and face the school’s challenging environment.

5.  Start Talking About School

Mentally prepare them about the time they have to finally set out of the home. Don’t keep it a secret about when the schools are opening. Rather, mark the date and remind them every day so they can get into the mindset of rejoining the school. Make them feel enthusiastic about it and remind them of things they found fun when they last went to the school physically.

6.  Safety Measures

Teach them about the precautionary measures. Equip them with sanitizers and extra masks for their safety and let them know that these are just the new rules they have to follow in addition to the specific uniform and disciplinary rules. Remind them to wash their hands after recess and before lunch and sanitize their hands at regular intervals. Also, teach them that they should not at any time take off their masks or sit too close to their friends.

7.  Be Patient And Helpful

The first few days can be hard for the children. So, you as a parent must practice patience with them and stay calm at all times. Help them find their friends and help them interact with the new kids. They may not find it easy to express themselves at first, so you should take the initiative in talking to them and making them talk. Also, they might find it difficult to keep up with the routine and school work, so you constantly need to be there to help them through it. Acknowledge their feelings and anxieties and encourage them to move on with the things they enjoy. Assure them that their safety is being taken care of and while they are away for some hours, everything will be fine. Reassure them that it is okay to step out of the home and that there is nothing to worry about.

8.  Bring Routine Back On Track

Put them on the strict day timetable again. Specify the time by when they should be asleep for them to not be late for school. Decide the meal timing and offer healthier food to them. During the online classes, the children’s whole day schedule has been disturbed and they find it difficult to differentiate play and study times. Also, their diet plan and nutrition has also been affected. So, making them join school with a balanced schedule will help them adjust quickly and also create the habit of a healthy lifestyle.

These are tough times which can only be tackled by being there for each other, encouraging open communication and adapting to the changes. These things are difficult for adults also, and it can be even hard for children who have little knowledge to resonate with things. So, you need to take the right approach to make them comfortable in a school environment again.

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