By Kelly Bonner
Parents, you may be more than ready for your kids to head back to school, but are they ready? Being ready to go back to school may be tougher than you think, especially if your kids have been “vegging” out all summer long. For some kids, especially those who use some sort of assistive device, just walking long hallways to get from one class to the next may be a challenge if they aren’t prepared. And if all that walking does not wear them out, there are other challenges throughout the day that just might. These could include waking up earlier than they are used to, carrying their lunch trays, or participating in P.E. or recess, not to mention toting those heavy backpacks that sometimes weigh more than they do! All of these things are guaranteed to add stress to their previously stress-free summer existences. But, you can make sure your child is prepared by doing some work ahead of time. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take a lot of effort on your part.
Here are five steps to get your kids ‘Shool Ready’!
Step 1: Begin waking them up a little earlier each day and making them go to sleep a little earlier each night. This way it won’t be such a shock come the first day of school, and it hopefully won’t be as difficult for them to fall asleep the night before. With eight to 10 hours of sleep, they won’t be dragging during the day or falling asleep during their last classes.
Step 2: Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You don’t want your children’s stomachs growling and distracting them in class long before their lunch hour. Make your kids eat a healthy breakfast every day. Check out our nutritional section for more information, and be sure to start this habit long before the first day of school to make sure it doesn’t upset their stomachs!
Step 3: Encourage them to get some cardio exercise every day! If you can’t sell a walk around the block or a trip to the local gym, then take them to the mall. Tell them they have to take one full trip around the mall without stopping to window shop before they can start shopping for a new school outfit.
Step 4: Have your kids do some type of strength training exercises at least three times a week. 
The better shape they are in, the easier all school activities will be. Body weight exercises are key, since they don’t have to lift a ton of weight. Focusing on their core can really help them with their school day. For an example, you can have them follow the workout program listed in the kids section.
Step 5: Help them prepare ahead of time! Make sure they know how to open their lockers and how to get to all their classes. You may also want to work on extra independence skills at home like clearing their own plates after dinner or carrying their backpacks around the house so that when the time comes to do it in front of all their peers, they are confident and ready to go!
Check out our Kids Korner to see what it takes to be on Team Awesome. If you know a child that would like to be highlighted in one of our newsletters and should be inducted into Team Awesome, please contact me at Kellyb@lakeshore.org.
