Back To School
KEEPING IT CLEAN
Your child will be exposed to a lot of wonderful things this school year. Unfortunately, they’ll also be subject to an army of germs in the classroom, cafeteria, on the school bus, in crowded hallways, and outside. Give your child a fighting chance against germs this year.
• Educate your child about the importance of cleaning their hands immediately after a sneeze or cough and after they use the restroom.
• Send in hand wipes or foaming hand sanitizer to your child’s teacher.
• Keep your child home from school any time they’re sick.
• Routinely wipe down water bottles, lunch boxes, and other gear that travels back and forth with your child to school.
• Pack your child’s backpack or lunchbox everyday with disposable tissues and wipes.
You can’t protect your child from every germ galivanting around their school. But you can minimize their exposure with a little diligence and education.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO SCHOOL KIDS NEED?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, most school-age kids need more sleep than they’re getting. Based on research conducted by Stanford University, the NSF recommends schoolchildren between the ages of 5 and 10 get 10 to 11 hours of sleep a night, while high schoolers still need 8 to 9 hours. Because the things that are taught during the day need to be “consolidated during sleep,” it’s up to parents to establish and enforce a reasonable bedtime.
DON’T KNOCK HOMEWORK
We know your kids are busy. Between sports practice, dance class, school clubs, and other extracurricular stuff, it can be hard to find time for homework. But according to the National Education Association, homework is important. NEA research shows that children who spend more time on regularly assigned, meaningful homework, do better in school.
Teachers use homework to
• help students understand and review the work that’s been covered in class,
• see whether students understand a particular lesson,
• and help students practice finding and using more information on a subject themselves.
Homework is also the link between school and home to keep parents informed about what kids are studying.
PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD’S SCHOOL
Do you pray for your child’s school? You should. We asked some of the folks who spend their days making school the best place it can be, “How can your students’ families pray for the school?” Here’s what they said.
• “Pray for your child’s teacher to have energy to keep things interesting and to find the time to have a relationship with each student.”
Liz, high school teacher (20 years)
• “Pray for strength to leave my own aches and pains athomesoIcangivemybesttomyclassandformy students to have teachable spirits.”
Pat, first grade teacher (25 years)
• “Pray for your child’s bus driver to have concentration as they drive. We deal with a lot of things at once—traffic jams, mechanical failures, inconsiderate drivers, weather conditions, and rowdy kids.”
Carol, bus driver
• “Pray that teachers can see in each child the unique value God has placed there and help them to see it in themselves.”
Melissa, second grade teacher
• “Pray that we can balance our time well between school and home, and at the end of the day, we’ll have something left to give to our own families.”
Maggie, elementary school assistant principal
• “Pray for your child’s teacher to have good health and wake up feeling the strength to meet the special demands of the students. If they’re having a good day, your child probably will, too.”
Paula, high school vocational trainer
• “Pray for harmony in the classroom; that the kids can get along and encourage each other, not tear each other down.”
Nick, high school English teacher
• “Pray for unity in your child’s school. If everyone was of one mind working together, imagine what we could accomplish in the lives of our students.”
Sherry, custodian
If you’re committed to praying for the workers at your child’s school, why not take a minute to let them know it? While you’re at it, ask them what they’d like you to pray for.
