Getting ready for Term 4 - hints and tips to make the transition easier

Can you believe we're approaching Term 4, already?

What a whirlwind of a year it has been. For us in Melbourne Metro, we have basically been homeschooling since March, with only a couple of weeks reprieve for the kids from their 'not as good as our normal' teachers (aka parents)!

So with COVID still hanging over our heads, I thought I would pop by with some hints and tips to get ready for Term 4 without losing your cool.

1. It's not only the adults that get tired. Think of ​​​​​​​​​​​​school as a full time job for your kids. They're dealing with the fatigue of having to deal with those annoying work colleagues (classmates), that annoying boss that tells them what to do (teacher) and dealing with the post-holiday gossip in the lunchroom (kids in the playground). All of this can be exhausting for a little person, or even older kids. Consider this when you schedule in their activities for after school. You might love to play netball after a day at work to let your frustration out, but is that the best thing for your child?
2. If they're expressing a desire not to go back to school, don't immediately say "well, you have to". Maybe they have become used to their own space over the holidays and through homeschooling (for those affected). Maybe they didn't play with their friends over the holidays. Perhaps their friends got to go away, but they didn't and they need to have those inevitable "what did you do on the holidays?" conversations. There is a lot for kids to consider when they return to school after a break, especially after 6 months!
3. Plan down time. Yes school is back but it doesn't mean you need to do EVERYTHING!!! As above, kids get easily fatigued and their lack of desire for an activity probably isn't because they don't like it anymore, rather they have no other way to express it. Fatigue is often the answer. 
4. Healthy lunches. My kids loooove to graze all day when they're on holidays. Now that they revolving kitchen door is closed, you need to make sure their lunch boxes are filled with healthy goodies to get them through the day, and a treat, because let's face it, we all love treats! My rule is that they must eat their healthy stuff first before their treat - I get them to think of it as lunch dessert. If the healthy stuff comes back and the treat is gone, guess what?! No treat tomorrow, my friends!
5. Make time to hold their face, look them in the eyes and tell them you love them and hope that they have a brilliant day at school. Nothing beats personal, loving connection.

If you've got any top tips, feel free to drop them below, or share these with a friend on your socials!

Until next time, Kelly 

P.S. We're sold out of big Term Planners (and won't be restocking) but I'm doing a limited run batch of medium Term Planners due to popular demand, so send me a reply if you're interested!