Surviving the last days of school

The countdown has begun! Ask any kid and she will be able to give you the exact number of days left until school is out for the summer. These last days of school can be stressful for parents, teachers, and tweens. Anxieties build about testing, grades, summer plans, and what next year will be like. Here are some tips on how you and your tween can make the last days of school float by:

1. Make a calendar that can be used to cross off each school day until the last! Be sure to include fun things that will happen in between now and then (like field trips, dances, out of school activities). This will give your tween things to focus on besides the seemingly endless days until summer.
2. Get rid of old junk! Let your tween toss out old assignments and binders that aren’t needed any longer. She might even want to rip up some of that homework that she really hated! This experience can be a great way to say goodbye, rid bad feelings, and feel fresh for the summer.
3. Keep to your schedule. Don’t let sleep or diet change too much. Your tween still needs as much rest and energy as possible.
4. Reflect on accomplishments and special memories experienced in the past year. Get out some art supplies, print out photos, and let your tween express herself creatively. She can make a collage with friends, journal or scrapbook her memories, or write a poem about what she’s learned or how she’s changed this year.

And don’t forget: Enroll your tween in our GirlTalk Workshop July 30 to August 2 to ease some of those pre Middle School worries!