The Smooth Path to Student Success
Greetings from Elizabeth,
I hope your summer break was filled with wonderful moments with family and friends and gave you a restorative break from the school year! I enjoyed the time off with plenty of open-water swims in the bay, rivers, and the ocean.
We are now a few weeks into the school year. Consistent homework assignments have started, class tests are coming up, and the science fair is right around the corner. I have noticed a few old patterns and disempowering habits returning to students. It's easy to slip back into familiar routines that feel easy or comfortable but ultimately bring stress and leave you feeling stuck and off track.
Recognize the Signs Early
Is your learner struggling with their morning routine, and is getting out of the house to go to school becoming chaotic?
Are you running late or just barely making it on time to your activities?
Do you notice your child shuts down and avoids talking about school, upcoming events, and due dates?
Is your child struggling with the transition from after school to their home routine?
Is homework taking hours to start and complete?
Is your child getting heavily distracted with technology?
Do you notice more clutter in their space and disorganized habits returning?
Do you notice your child is dysregulated more often?
These are just a few signs of possible executive functioning difficulties that can wreak havoc on your life if you don’t catch them soon enough.
Ways to Help
Evaluate and recalibrate your bedtime routine. Does your child need to go to bed earlier, or start winding down earlier? What can you do in the evening to be better prepared for the morning? What can calm or motivate your child in the morning to support them?
Instead of asking your child, “How was your day at school?” try “What type of food/color/anime character/historical event/ sport best describes your day?” and build your conversation from there. It is also helpful to share your own experience to normalize challenges and frustrations.
Get organized as a family. Schedule a family declutter time where everyone in the household has a specific job; use a timer. Create a vision of what you want, have everyone weigh in on what would help and where, and discuss the steps you need to take to reach that goal.
Body double with your child when working on non-preferred tasks.
These are just a few tools and strategies from my toolkit that can help, and I have many more to share. Please feel free to reach out with any questions via email or book a consultation with me.
Supporting and rooting for you,
Elizabeth
