The summer vacation is almost over and back to school your kids must go! But what do they need ahead of a new semester? And how can you help prepare them for a new school year? We’ve pulled together some handy tips to ensure students can make the most of what’s to come.
Follow these useful tips – and work with your son or daughter to ensure their upcoming school year is the best yet – and in no time at all you’ll witness them receive their hard-earned diploma.
Make a Date with the School Counselor
If your child hasn’t met their school counselor yet, maybe it’s about time they did. Face-to-face conversation is the way to go, as the counselor really will make your son or daughter make sense of the school year and their choices for the future.
Apply for SAT/ACT
Even if your child’s already taken a standardized test like this, there’s no harm in taking it again. Many students opt to improve their scores a second time around, bettering themselves ahead of their next academic or career step.
If your son or daughter is yet to take the tests, there’s plenty of time to register. It isn’t a requirement to submit SAT or ACT scores by any means, but it may improve your child’s chances of a better career later down the line.
Put Some Prep Time in Now
If your child is worried about their performance in a particular school subject, it can make sense to put some preparation time now – while they’re not up against it during the semester. The vacation is a perfect opportunity to dust off those books and get ahead for the new school year.
Discuss Finances
School can come with costs; from books and stationery to bus and food money – but if you have the conversation with your child now, they’ll be more than prepared when the new semester comes around. Will they need to take a job during the vacation, for example, to earn some extra funds? If so, encourage them to look for the right job, which will ensure they can get out of the house to meet new people, and save some much-needed school money.
Read!
As well as getting ahead by putting in some time to study, students can improve their knowledge by reading. Find relevant books, or even novels, and help your child create a reading list that will benefit them when they go back to school. If they’ve shown an interest in a specific subject or discipline, do some research together to find books featuring great success stories from those who’ve followed a similar path. That way, they’ll have a role model in mind when completing their studies, giving them even more reason to put the time and effort in.
Have Fun, Too!
While the summer vacation should be spent planning the new school semester, it isn’t all work and no play. A vacation is just that, after all – and your son or daughter should also find plenty of time to relax and have fun. That way, they’re more than ready to tackle whatever the new school year has to throw at them.
Consider Extra-Curricular Activities
As well as the books we mentioned earlier, there’ll be a whole host of fun and beneficial extra-curricular activities available for sign-up during the summer vacation. Are there any seminars on, for example? Or maybe there’s a useful team-building summer camp, or motivational day to consider? Anything your child can do now to get ahead will stand them in good stead later.
Did you enjoy this blog post? What are your top tips to prepare your child for their upcoming school year? We’d love to know.