2021 Back-to-School Checklist

Aug 19, 2021 • Back to School

It’s back-to-school 2021 time! The world has changed which means how we prepare for the school year ahead has changed as well.

Shopping for new school supplies and the best back-to-school accessories can help kids start thinking about the return to the classroom, but that’s just the start. There are many more ways to prep kids for school year success so they can start the new school year ready to face the year ahead.

Back-to-School Tips for the Year Ahead

Wondering how to help your child get a jump start on a great school year?

Our Back-to-School 2021 Checklist is a handy guide to help the entire household prepare for the school year ahead. Our first five tips are key recommendations to start any school year off right:

1. Restore Routines. Kindergarten or high-school senior, routines provide a sense of security and can alleviate stress. Reintroduce regular routines early on to make the transition back to the school year routine simple.
2. Schedule Reading Time Every Day. Daily reading time not only helps kids build their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and literacy skills, it helps them unwind and relax—a perfect habit for before bed.  
3. Build Better Sleep Habits Now. Both the quality of sleep (how good) and quantity (how much) sleep students get at night affects learning processes and memory, not to mention moods and motivation. Set bedtimes and practise a bedtime routine to make the transition to school day schedules simpler for everyone.
4. Prioritize Organization Habits. Organization skills are success skills! Shop for wall calendars and school agendas, and don’t wait for the school year to begin using them.
5. Set Goals for the School Year. Setting goals is a vital part of achieving success in school. Learning to set goals the right way helps students improve their marks on assignments, get better grades, and boost their motivation and self-confidence. When students set clear, achievable, and measurable goals, they are more likely to stick to them.

Five Updated Back-To-School Tips for 2021-2022

1. Be Prepared for Online Learning. While nobody wants to return to stay-at-home orders and learning online, the reality is that online learning is here to stay. Developing better habits when learning online can help students retain information better and feel more engaged while learning.
2. Set Screen Time Limits. During summer, rules become more relaxed around screen time. But minutes online can easily become hours. Transitioning some of the hours students spend online to school time and homework time can be challenging. Start now and begin scaling back online time and setting aside offline time for reading.
3. Create a Study Studio at home. A Study Studio is a dedicated area of your house where learning can happen without distractions and where learning supplies and materials are always within easy reach. Study Studios help students get into a learning mindset quicker and stay there for longer, which makes time spent on homework and studying more effective!
4. Check in with Mental Health. Mental Health plays an important role in learning, affecting students’ ability to be present and learn. Taking care of mental health is as important as taking care of physical health. Mental health issues can lead students to experience less resiliency when tackling new problems or recovering from learning setbacks. Talk about how kids are feeling and about the year ahead. 
5. Practice Gratitude. By exercising the “gratitude muscle” students can harness positive thinking to increase their grades and improve their outlook about the year ahead. Gratitude works like a muscle, and the physical act of writing a gratitude list helps develop gratitude muscles.The year ahead might be challenging; practising gratitude is one way to feel ready for whatever the school year brings.

Open the Doors to Better Grades this Year with Oxford Learning!

One of the best ways to helps students of all ages prepare for the new school year is with a programs Oxford Learning. After two years of pandemic learning, our programs help students recover from learning losses and get ready for the year ahead. Find a location near you to enrol.