Admin
August 11, 2022

Mga mommies, pasukan na naman! This time, F2F na at hindi na online classes lang. Gone are the days when attending classes meant preparing their laptop or iPads. This time, going to school actually requires getting up early and commuting to the campus. Dahil dito, kailangan ng masusing paghahanda. Ready na ba ang mga gamit ni bunso? Eh ang sleep schedule ni kuya? Mula sa uniform hanggang sa study routine, it’s time to step up para maging masaya at successful ang school year nila.

Para lagi tayong handa, we’ve made a list of things you may need to prepare for your kids to help them this upcoming school year. Basta guided ni mommy at prepared ang kids, siguradong smooth ang transition from online classes to face-to-face.

Balik-Eskwela Ngayong Pandemya: Ano Ang Kailangan?

Stock up on supplies

If available, request a list of the materials needed from the school. If not, you may divide the items into four categories—the basics, school supplies, art supplies, and COVID essentials. The basics include a bag, school shoes—both black and rubber shoes, uniforms—both PE and regular, a refillable water bottle, a lunchbox, and a lunch bag to put this in. For school supplies, we have your usual pencils, pencil case, eraser, notebooks, books, pens, if they are already using them, pad paper, crayons or colored pencils, and a sharpener. Remember, the pad of paper they use varies according to their year level.

Next, we have art materials, these include watercolor, glue, poster paint, scissors, bond paper, colored construction paper, and glitter. While the basics are non-negotiable, you may choose to buy art materials only when the school requires them.

At dahil nariyan pa rin ang banta ng COVID-19, help protect your child from catching the virus! Keep a personal kit of COVID essentials on hand. Items should include alcohol-based hand rub or sanitizers, spare masks, tissues, and disinfecting wipes. You may put these items in a little pouch or case, similar to a hygiene kit. It is also good to invest in a face mask lanyard so that your kid won’t lose their mask when they take it off while eating.

Start a Back-to-School Schedule

All work, no play? Hindi puwede sa mga kids ‘yan!

Mahalagang gumawa ng back-to-school schedule para magkaroon ng school-life balance ang mga anak natin. Dedicate free time for the younger kids, this may be TV time, iPad time, or any other recreational activity after doing schoolwork. While we expect our teens to be independent enough to do their homework at their own pace and decide their free time, helping our ates and kuyas set a bedtime routine still helps ensure they’re up at the right time for school. Implementing a regular morning wake-up time is necessary for the kids to have enough time for their morning routine. If your kids had been sleeping late during the vacation, help fix their sleep schedule at least a week earlier to prepare for school.

Prepare them a hearty breakfast at home to make sure they’re energized and ready for the day. A full tummy also ensures that they’re not hungry and can focus on class.

Get Your School Bag Ready

You’ve already bought the books and other materials, now it’s time to prepare and put them in your child’s bag. Bago ilagay sa bag, siguraduhing ito’y nabalutan na ng plastic cover and lagyan ng names ang books and notebooks. Of course, dapat nariyan din ang baon, water bottle, at ang COVID essentials. If you’ve already gotten your children’s ID, make sure they wear it as well. It also helps to make a checklist of the things they need so they have all their essentials before they leave for school. We’ve all been there as students, at alam natin kung gaano ka-hassle bumalik pa sa bahay kapag may nakalimutan.

Prepare a Meal Plan

Racking your brain for what to prepare for your kids before they wake up can be frustrating. It is best to plan your breakfast meals and their baon ahead. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Preparing creative breakfast meals may just be the pick-me-up they need to start their day off. You can even consult your kids on what they want to eat, para maubos talaga nila ang baon. Serving them food that they are craving or looking forward to eating could also boost their mood at school. Pero syempre, try to incorporate fruits and veggies so they stay healthy. We recommend planning your meal and baon weekly, so that you can shop for the ingredients during the weekend.

Practice School Skills

Aside from academics, it is also important to teach them basic skills. These are skills they will need to go about their day smoothly. These skills include:

• Opening their water bottle or any other food container that you packed their food in
• Knowing the spots to store their books, handouts, paper, writing materials, and even their food
• Reciting your full address and phone number, and spelling out their full name
• Opening their bags and lunch box
• Undoing their clothes when they need to use the restroom
• Washing their hands regularly and avoiding touching their face
• Practicing these skills will surely aid your child and help them transition to face-to-face schooling much easier.
• Teaching them to wash their hands regularly and to avoid touching their face is just a precaution to avoid catching the virus.

Build a Flexible Routine

Apart from the morning routine, you could also start a daily and weekend routine. As mentioned earlier, these should include break/play time, homework time, and bedtime. Daily routines could also include a nap time, para well-rested sila after school. Depending on their age, you could also allocate a certain time for skills.. It is very important to develop their skills at this age, since these are basic skills that they’re going to be using throughout their life. If they’re already in elementary school, you could use their report card from the previous year as a reference on which skill to work on.

Monitoring your child’s academic performance is crucial so that you could check which areas you could assist them with. If they are not struggling academically, you could ask them if they want to pursue any sport or hobby. Assess their social skills, see if they are having trouble socializing with others. Enrolling them in summer camp activities with other children their age can help push them out of their comfort zone and make them less shy around other kids.

Just make sure that these routines are not restrictive, and that your child still has enough time for fun so that their days don’t become boring. Their weekdays should still be fun-filled, not something they dread. Preparing fun things they could look forward to on the weekends is also a way of motivating them during the weekdays. We understand that parents need to work for their kids, but it is still important to make time for the family. Take advantage of your weekend and days off, and spend them with your kids!

How to Cope with Back-To-School Jitters

As the first day of school draws near, hindi maiiwasang makaramdam ng kaba ang mga bata. The first day of school could mean new people and a new environment, kaya normal lang kabahan. But we shouldn’t let these jitters rule over us. However, the kids do not know this yet that’s why as a mother it’s important to guide them through this transition and ease their anxiety as they go through something they’re unfamiliar with.

You could start off by reading books with them about starting school, this is most applicable to children who are only starting their first day of kindergarten. Reading a story with characters that your child can relate to can take off some of the nervousness they’re feeling and even give them a boost of confidence going into their first day.

Visiting the school or the classroom before the first day could also be helpful especially if they have been doing online schooling for the past few years. Seeing the colorful rooms, the playground, and the school grounds could motivate them to go to school as it’s a unique experience from fully attending classes through a computer screen.

Get your child hyped up for school by taking them with you as you go school supplies shopping. Allow them the liberty to choose certain items such as their bag, shoes, pencil case, etc. This will make them look forward to using these materials. If fashionista naman ang inyong baby girl, let them fit their uniform or pick out their first-day clothes. This will surely make them excited for their first day.

Talk to your child about their feelings regarding school, teachers, making new friends, and the new environment. You could try gauging any concerns they might have, and then help ease their mind. Make the first day a light experience for them. Ak if there is anything they’re looking forward to so they can counter the first-day jitters with positive things.

On their first day, try to arrive at school a bit earlier. This is to give your child the time they need to settle down in their new classroom. You could use this time to have your pep talks or let your child familiarize the new surroundings.

I think we can all agree that it is great the kids can experience F2F learning. Online learning was truly a stressful and draining one. With hours spent staring into a computer screen, being able to visit the campus is definitely a breath of fresh air. However, let us mindfully practice safety precautions. Doble ingat pa rin dapat, mommies!

Time goes by so fast. Make the school year memorable for the kids and for you, too. One moment it’s their first day in school, the next they’re already choosing their career paths. Take pictures, spend as much time as you can with them. Take it from your kids: ang buhay ay hindi “all work and no play”. Good luck, mga mommies!

Sources:

• 10 Things To Do To Prepare For Back To School. (2018, August 8). GradePower Learning. https://gradepowerlearning.com/back-to-school-preparations/
• Brougham, R. (n.d.). 14 Things to Do Now to Prepare for Back to School. Family Handyman. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/prepare-for-back-to-school/
• The Top 14 Things to Do Before You Go Back to School. (2020, August 28). Oxford Royale Academy. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/back-to-school/
• Miller, G. (n.d.). Preparing for Back-to-School Success. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/preparing-for-back-to-school-success/