Four Fun Ways to Get Ready for a New School Year

As the summer months wind down, the first day of school is right around the corner. Is your child ready to jump back into learning? To help make this school year the best one yet, check out four activities that can help spark your child’s confidence and build their excitement for education.

1. Get Creative When Assembling Supplies

Entering the school year feeling prepared will ensure a child gets started on the right foot. Before the back-to-school countdown sneaks into single digits, work together to create a checklist of what is important for both of you to feel ready for the year and work together to knock off to-dos one by one.

While many schools provide lists of classroom staples, make sure to encourage your child to practice creativity and make them uniquely their own. Pencils in their favorite color, an initial patch ironed onto their backpack or even a few family photos to decorate folders and binders can go a long way in making school feel a little bit more like home.

2. Make the First Day a Celebration

The first morning is often the most intimidating, but nerves can quickly shift to excitement if you make the day a party! Start the night before by having your child select an outfit that makes them feel confident, and color one of our free downloadable signs for a first day photo. Incorporate STEM learning by introducing your child to National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Edwin Binney, inventor of Crayola^® crayons.

Then, while your child is hard at work, plan a fun breakfast or lunch full of your kid’s favorite foods, or come up with an afterschool activity to give them something to look forward to. Did I hear someone say, “ice cream trip”? Having things throughout the day that make them feel safe and special can turn the day into something to celebrate rather than fear.

3. Practice STEM Learning With Hands-on Activities

With our free hands-on activities that make STEM topics fun and approachable, kids will realize that learning can be active and imaginative. Uncovering new topics becomes more exciting when children are allowed to explore their interests – luckily, there’s a place in STEM for everyone. Our collection of activities and experiments show children how to build vital STEM skills through baking, music, sports and more!

4. Read an Encouraging Book

Reading books that encourage children to try new things or explore STEM themes in exciting ways is a great way to help them overcome the apprehension they might experience ahead of the school year. To help you get started, here are a few of our favorites:

“The Magical Yet” by Angela DiTerlizzi

A brightly illustrated, rhyming book, “The Magical Yet” is an engaging story for young readers. The book introduces children to their new best friend – the Yet – who encourages them to practice persistence as they learn new skills. We all experience failures and fears, but this book reminds us that anything is possible, we just haven’t learned everything yet.

“Abby Invents Unbreakable Crayons” by Arlyne Simon

This story follows young Abby through her innovative journey while encouraging children to follow their curiosity, just like inventors. Abby must be persistent to overcome obstacles and think creatively to come up with solutions to one of childhood’s toughest problems – constantly breaking crayons! The book explores STEM concepts in an approachable way and even includes an activity page for children to complete after reading.

“Dragons and Marshmallows” by Asia Citro

The first story in the “Zoey and Sassafras” chapter book series is filled with wonder, learning and even magic! The main character, Zoey, learns an incredible secret about magical animals and must use science to help Marshmallow, a sick baby dragon. As new scientific concepts are discussed, readers are provided with kid-friendly explanations and a glossary of definitions to ensure understanding. Children who enjoy this book will be happy to know Zoey continues her adventures with magical animals throughout the series!

For even more STEM book recommendations, check out our list of 5 books you should read before the first day of school.

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Stay tuned to our blog to find more ideas for getting into the back-to-school spirit!