6 Tips for a Successful School Year

The back-to-school frenzy is over, and your child has a sturdy backpack, a healthy lunch, and a pencil box full of supplies. With a return to the school routine, your child learns more about the school from you than you may know. Your enthusiasm about school shapes your child’s outlook. If you want your child to excel at school, remember the storybook phrase, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

1. Stay Involved. Attend events like Back to School Night, Family Nights and PTO meetings. Volunteer when you can. Work schedules can make it difficult to volunteer for daytime activities, but you can always offer to send in refreshments or volunteer to chaperone a weekend fundraiser like a car wash. Your child will value school more when he or she sees you invest time in school activities.
2. Stay Organized. You are the master juggler with many balls in the air: work, household chores, grocery shopping, dance practice, soccer tournaments and more. Keep it all together with a portable calendar. The Task Organizer Disc Binder fits in a handbag or laptop bag and doesn't require a charger or data cloud. There’s no better way to encourage your child to use a school planner than to use a planner yourself.
3. Designate a Spot for School Papers. Keep your dining room table clear for family meals and corral school papers elsewhere. Use stacking letter trays to collect graded school work, fundraiser flyers and party invitations. Within a few days, you and your children will get into the habit of placing and sorting papers here. Leitz Letter Trays are modernized and are great for organizing. Wood Options Letter Trays look great in the dining room if you just can’t break the dining room paper pile habit.
4. Find the “Keepers.” Store graded tests, projects, and quizzes in a Document Box for future reference. These boxes look great on a shelf, on the kitchen counter, or in your child’s room. Your child will take pride in his or her work when you share the pride.
5. Create a Distraction-Free Work Area. With easy access to Instagram, Facebook posts, tweets, texts, playlists, and video games, our children are very skilled at multitasking, but sometimes need a boost when it comes to concentrating on an assignment or test preparation. Set up a comfortable work area and keep supplies within reach. Work with your child to create a space that enhances his or her study style, and keep media to a minimum. Moll Desks Champion Adjustable Kids Desk and Maximo Adjustable Kids Chair are designed to grow with your child from preschool through high school. By creating a special place for school work, you show your child how much you value learning.
6. Set a Good Example. Set aside your electronics when helping your child with homework. Your child will learn the power of concentration when you give your undivided attention.