Handling Back-to-School Butterflies
Activities and resources to help transition into a new school year.
Kids and adults alike anticipate going back to school with mixed emotions. Use the following activities with your new students to help them transition into a new school year with the right foot forward.
1. Name it to tame it
Model how to discuss the possible feelings one might be having around the start of a new school year. There is a lot of “new” even if a child is entering an upper grade: new classroom, new teacher(s), new classmates, new curriculum just to start … Support kids’ emotional regulation by helping them understand their nuanced feelings. Use the following emojis to underscore the subtle shifts in emotions. Project this image on the board or hand out a copy for a mix-and-match activity that can help open the door to meaningful dialog about those back-to-school butterflies.
2. Read all about it!
Start of school jitters? You’re not alone. Share these clever stories about the end of summer and the start of a new school year for kids of all ages. Share this booklist with colleagues and families. Remember that you can find read-aloud versions of most titles on YouTube too, or consider creating your own read-aloud video to share! Which books would you suggest adding to this list?
- We Don’t Eat our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
- The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems
- My Wild First Day of School by Dennis Matthew
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
- First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
- Back-to-School Rules by Laurie Friedman
- Chrysanthemums by Kevin Henkes
- How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
- The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
- Maisy Goes to Preschool by Lucy Cousins
- Click, Clack, Quack to School! by Doreen Cronin
- The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer by Davide Cali
3. Create a routine
Routines work well for children since they set clear expectations about what is happening and when. Many teachers therefore write a schedule on a board or use a hanging chart with sentence strips to outline the coming school day. Consider how you can help kids own their own schedule. Brainstorm about key daily events (in/out of school) and use sticky notes to arrange a sequence that works the best for all parties. Make sure to add in some “voice and choice” to promote agency. Suggest ways to establish a predictable schedule at home too, by sharing resources with families. For instance, the app First Then Visual Schedule provides multisensory scheduling for kids ages 5+. This creative and intuitive app can present text, pictures, audio clips, and videos in five different formats, and kids can check off the tasks as they are completed. Don’t forget to celebrate the small wins of working through a busy day!
4. Plan out a week’s worth of energy-filled breakfasts
Each morning kids need to get ready for the big day ahead of them! Curate suggestions for nutritious breakfasts to kickoff the day. Seek out some yummy snack recipes to help kids refuel at the end of a school day too. Download and share our Healthy Living Month Recipe Book for some ideas that will fuel kids’ brains and bodies.
5. Compile a celebratory song list
Would you choose pump-you-up songs, soothing songs, or school-themed songs? Here is Classroom Champions’ Spotify playlist for the first week of school. Consider welcoming your students with a song or send them off with dance move or two during these first few days:
- ABC — Jackson 5
- Centerfield — John Fogerty
- We’re Gonna Be Friends — White Stripes
- Be True to Your School — Beach Boys
- Little Things — Good Charlotte
- School of Rock — School of Rock
- Fifteen — Taylor Swift
- School Days — Chuck Berry
- Wonderful World — Sam Cooke
- Parents Just Don’t Understand — DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
