First Day of School Preparation: Junior High

Video Transcript

"So you have a kid in Jr. High, good luck on that. Hey, I'm Debbie Noah and I'm here to give you some tips on assuring your middle school or Jr. high aged child has a great first day at school. Of course, with any child and probably especially with this age level, talking positively and having high expectations for them is really important. So having positive experiences, talking about all the new friends and all the extracurricular activities and the new freedoms you're going to have as a middle schooler or Jr. high kid. Talk about those things. There's going to be a lot of apprehension. Moving to a new building, moving to changing classes, moving to worrying about if you're going to get to class on time, worrying about if you're going to remember the combination on your locker. Lots of things that a middle schooler or Jr. high age child worry about. So talking about them, visiting the school. Be sure you go to any orientations that they have at the school. Let them go to their locker and practice doing the combination. It's really important. And hopefully before school even starts, they've got involved in some extracurricular activity that's going to create a comfort zone for them and already has some built in friends. Buying supplies changes a little bit from elementary to Jr. high. Of course, they need a great back pack. Probably bigger held lots of books. Lots of Jr. high kids probably don't take their lunch to school but if they do, an insulated lunch box is great. Most of the time they like to eat the other things that are available. New food at Jr. high. Lots of spiral notebooks. A good binder. Jr. high kids are going to need a good dictionary and a good thesaurus. Of course, lots of pencils and pens. Probably going to need a calculator. A planner and organizer is very important to keep them straight on all their activities and all their assignments. Middle school and Jr. high is a whole different ball game but approaching it positivity will make it wonderful for you and your child. It's a great new experience. I'm Debbie Noah and I hope your middle school and Jr. high kid has a great first day at school."