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Here’s my blogger friend Gail Terp with some great tips for getting your kids in Back To School mode.

Back to School Tips:  Some kids are starting school this week; others will start within the next few weeks. After a summer of less structure, getting back into school mode can be a challenge. Here are a few tips for getting off to a good start.

 Establish a place to keep all school information.

• Your child’s teacher(s) and contact information
• Your child’s schedule
• The school calendar
• Documents such as report cards, immunizations, a behavior plan, Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), and any document you think you may want to refer to through the year

School Clothes

• Inventory your child’s school clothes and discard/recycle mismatched socks, clothes that don’t fit, and clothes your child doesn’t like. Getting these things out of the way will streamline getting dressed for school
• Consider setting out school clothes the night before. This can greatly help the morning preparations.

Morning Routine

• Brainstorm with your child what needs to be done before he goes out the door in the morning. Things like getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth…
• Write it down! In the morning, if your child needs reminders, all you need to do is have her check her routine card.
• Build in a reward. Checklist completed? Brainstorm what can happen (watch TV, get points towards a reward, computer time…)
• Launching Pad

• Establish a place near the front door to collect all that needs to go out the door. Things like backpacks, lunch, shoes, jackets—whatever you don’t want to have to search the house for.
• Homework

• Set up a routine. This is a very individual thing. A routine is best if your child has input.
• Consider when your child is freshest and most motivated. Right after school? After dinner? For some kids, the morning is a good time. It’s risky, of course, but it’s something to consider.
• If possible, establish a dedicated homework area. This will need to reflect your child’s work style. Some kids do just fine in their rooms, others need to be where you can monitor their on-task behavior.

Along with my own experience, I used these sites to write this post. Please check out them out for more ideas.

Friendship Circle

Pragmatic Mom

Stress Free Kids

Here are 2 sites that have downloadable resources you may find helpful.

Reading Rockets

School Family

 Have a great start to the new school year!

Gail Terp

 About Me

I’m a retired teacher who has spent the last 30 years working with enthusiastic and reluctant readers. One of my top goals as a teacher was to connect kids with books they loved. It’s still my goal. My blog, Best Blog for Kids Who Hate to Read, is one way I use to reach it.

My blogger friend Gail Terp: http://www.gailterp.com   came up with a wonderful list of books that have scripts for children to put on their own plays. So, for the budding actors in your family, check out some of these titles.

Books for Summer Drama Fun

Want to add a little drama to your summer days? Put on some plays! Your plays can be straight out of your head, ones someone else has written or a combination of both. Here are some books to get you started. In case your library system doesn’t carry some of these books, I’ve added the library call numbers so you can browse for summer drama.

12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays by Justin McCory Martin

The author has taken well-known fairy tales and given them a new twist. The titles give a pretty good idea of what to expect: Spiderella, Rafunzel, The Emperor’s New Hair, Slurping Beauty and 7 more.

The Jumbo Book of Drama by Deborah Dunleavy, illustrated by Jane Kurisu

This book has many ideas to get your creative drama ideas started. There aren’t many scripts, just countless ideas for creating your own plays and other bits of drama. Some of the chapters are: Magic, Clowning Around (really fun ideas), Puppets and Puppetry, Comedy and Tragedy.

Fifty Fabulous Fables by Suzanne I Barchers

Did you know that Aesop was a slave in Greece and wrote his fables around 550 B.C.? That’s over 2,500 years ago! I love knowing this fact. This book is filled with fables that Aesop wrote, rewritten as short plays. The plays are written for 2-4 players and at 4 different reading levels.

On Stage: Theater Games and Activities for Kids by Lisa Bany-Winters

Although there are a few scripts in this book, it is mostly filled with games and activities to get players thinking like actors and play-writers. There are all kinds of games that promote silly pretending, working together to create ideas, pantomime, creating characters, costume making and lots of others.

Putting on a Play by Paul Dubois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender

This small book covers all aspects of play production (casting, scripts, makeup…) and then suggests different topics such as pirates, princesses, the circus, explorers… Each topic gives suggestions for costumes, props and 3 different storylines.

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 Please visit Gail’s site for more posts about gardening as well as other great books and activities for children of all ages. http://www.gailterp.com