Understand where your child ended the school year in terms of academic skills.
Check in with their teacher before the end of the year. Ask how your child is doing compared to grade-level standards in literacy and math, and what to focus on next year. Their teacher can also offer some strategies or resources to support them at home over the summer. It’s also a good idea to gather your child’s school records from the year. (This is especially important if your child is changing schools.) For example, make sure you have your child’s report cards, test scores, and IEP documents, if they have one. Having trouble accessing their records? Here are some tips.
Add next year’s school dates to your calendar.
When does school start and end? Dates of breaks and other days off? Next year’s calendar should be available online by now, so take a look. You’ll be better prepared for the fall if you do it now!
Recycle all the old school work (ahem, art) that you don’t need to save.
Of course, save a few favorites—that special painting or the science project they worked so hard on. But if you’ve been stashing away the day-to-day stuff that comes home, it can officially go in the recycling bin. (There, we said it.)
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Related Resources
How to Get Your Child's School Records (and Why You Might Want to)
How to Email Your Kid’s Teacher
The Busy Family’s Guide to Summer
