Get Your Family Back to School Ready!
The transition back to school can be a difficult time! Starting the routines and conversations several weeks out can help your student (and yourself) ease back into the structure of the school year. Below you will find some ways you can start working towards a great 2023-2024 school year!
The Welcome Back Parent Handout below includes some great ideas. You can find printed copies at both the Lead and Deadwood public libraries or you can print your own off from the link below!
The Welcome Back Parent Handout below includes some great ideas. You can find printed copies at both the Lead and Deadwood public libraries or you can print your own off from the link below!
- Come To Open House: Aug 29th 1-4pm. Come meet your teacher! Get your questions answered and get excited about the year!
- Sleep = Success: Children can be especially impacted by lack of sleep. Begin a school time routine a few weeks before school starts. Your child needs at least 9 hours of sleep for healthy development. If needed have them wake up at the new school wake up time for a few weeks before Aug 30th.
- Master Your Mornings: Practice your school morning routine ahead of time. Help your child remember all the steps for getting to school on time. Practice getting to the bus stop or other morning plans.
- Talk About Going Back: Take time to talk with your child about their excitement or worries about heading back to school. Answer questions they have and remind them of the things they love about school! If they seem to be overly anxious let their teacher or Mrs. Bender, the school counselor, know!
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Additional Resources for the Start of the Year
- PBS Resources: https://www.pbs.org/parents/back-to-school
- Dealing with After School Meltdown: https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-cope-with-after-school-meltdowns
- Handout about Separation Anxiety
- Back to School Sleep Tips from the Sleep Foundation
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A back to school message from "everyone's grandmother" Babs!
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Internet Safety ResourcesThe internet and social media is playing a bigger and bigger role in the lives of even elementary school age children.
Netsmartz.org is a great website that has informational games, print outs and fun videos for kids 10 and under. They have many other resources on their parent page MissingKids.org. |
Handling Big Emotions While Parenting
We're all stressed out right now and that makes parenting calmly even more difficult than normal so here are a few of my go to ways to handle big emotions while parenting.
- Breathing: For more information check out this Parent Self-Care blog post - appropriately the blog is titled Be Good To Yourself
- Talk through your emotions
- Be Kind to yourself
Local Resouces
My go to website for local resources is https://www.helplinecenter.org/support-programs/mhguides/
The helpline center has put together a Basic Needs Resource Guide for the Northern Hills. You can find contact information for help with things like: housing, employment, health, food, and transportation. They also have a comprehensive list of Black Hills Behavior Health Providers. |
School Counseling Newsletters
I have started creating newsletters as a way to keep parents informed about the school counseling program and provide some resources.
Click the PDF link below for a live version.
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