As summer days turn into school days, alarm clocks ring earlier, calendars become full, and handouts and homework cover the kitchen table. With all of this and more in the near future, it’s important to prepare your children and family for the busy days ahead. Below are five back-to-school preparations to ensure another successful school year!
1. Ease into the school year schedule.
Jumping into a new schedule drastically on the first day of school is asking for a bad day. Instead, ease the kids back into a schedule by reintroducing a bedtime the last few weeks of summer. Begin waking up late sleepers earlier and earlier, until they reach the wake up time of their school day. Additionally, start giving your children the types of meals they will be eating during the school year at the times they will be eating them.
2. Make sure class schedules are good to go.
Although this may not be much of a concern for little ones, it’s important for high schoolers and college goers to make sure their class schedules are set. Talk to your teenagers about the classes they’re taking, what they expect out of each class and what supplies they need. For college students, make sure they’re registered for all of the necessary classes to work toward their degree of choice. Those in our area attending Atlantic Cape Community College can register for the fall semester online at www.atlantic.edu/fall, or in person Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at any of the college’s three locations: Mays Landing Campus, Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City Campus or Cape May County Campus.
3. Sign up for extracurricular activities.
Back to school means back to sports, music lessons and other after-school activities. Make sure your children are registered for the extracurricular activities they wish to participate in. It’s important to get them involved in at least one – it helps them build time management skills and self-esteem, as well as meet new people, learn teamwork and explore diverse interests. Consider dance or gymnastics classes. Joanne Reagan Dance Studio in Cold Spring offers children’s combination classes, adult classes and classes in all areas of tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, hip hop, lyrical/contemporary, Broadway Theatre and gymnastics. New to the roster this year are contortion classes and private coaching. Remaining days for in-person registration are August 24 and 25 at the studio between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Jersey Cape Dance & Gymnastics Academy is another studio in the area, located in Cape May. This studio offers classes in acro, gymnastics, Mommy & Me, pre-school, dance and contortion. Enrollment is August 25 and 26 from 12 to 6 p.m., and August 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A third option in the area is Art of Gymnastics & Cheer in Cape May Court House, offering Olympic-style gymnastics training in uneven bars, balance beam, vaulting and floor exercise, as well as dance classes and cheerleading. Visit AOGAC’s open house on August 27 and 28 from 5 to 8 p.m.
4. Create a family calendar.
Calm the school year chaos by keeping track of these activities and more on a centralized calendar. Place it in a public place like near the telephone, on the refrigerator or tacked to a bulletin board so all members of the family have access and know what’s going on.
5. Go back-to-school shopping.
Back-to-school essentials include school supplies, food for school lunches and new seasonal clothes. Save money by looking for sales before heading out to shop. Another way to save is by checking out ShopRite’s Back 2 School Zone which features notebooks, folders, binders, pens, highlighters and more. Additionally, you can get everything you need to make school lunches. Offering deals and discounts on countless items, you are sure to save big at ShopRite! Check out ShopRite’s weekly ad, or log on to shoprite.com for the most up-to-date deals.
Browse through the Herald for details on the businesses mentioned and more back-to-school offerings!
Happy School Year!