Picking up on activities and routines such as waking up early, packing bags, preparing for classes and doing homework may cause unnecessary unhappiness.
Hence, it is crucial to get your child mentally and academically ready for the term ahead.  

Here are some tips from the I Can Read Team to help your child to ease into the transition back to the classroom and to help prepare them for the new school year. 

Approach it in the best way for your child

Although many parents make going back to school fun and relatable, some children still worry about the first day and the new term.
Not every child will relish the thought of going back to school. 

If this is the case, then keeping processes like counting down to the new school year, purchasing of books and even new sets of uniform can be done with less flair.  

Parents usually know their own child’s personality and will intrinsically understand whether speaking about returning to school is exciting for them or if it fills them with panic.
It’s better to get a sense of your child’s mindset and hype them up for the new year positively in exciting ways to get them ready.

Keeping it positive and relatable should be the main approach in helping your child get back to school eagerly.

Get Organised

Before the school year starts, try to ensure you have everything your child will need for school.
School supplies, books, pencils and anything else that is required should be prepared in advance. 

This process should ideally be done with your child so as to prepare them for what is to come.
Allowing them to select some of the items for school like their stationery, their school bags and even their water bottles can also be a great way to bring them on board. 

Children usually love picking out new school supplies and it will help them get excited about going back to school and bringing things they chose for themselves. 

Talk About It

Starting in a new school, tuition centre or even moving up a class can be a big adjustment for your child.
Keep the lines of communication open and listening to your child will make life a lot easier for the both of you. 

Such conversations should be carried out to encourage your child to understand the changes the new year will bring to them, what they can expect and even what they will encounter in their new environment. 

Before classes start, talk to them and ask them how they are feeling.
Assuring them that the new year will be positive and enjoyable will help them to be more open to the experience. It will also allow them to discuss their uncertainties with you, which you can easily clarify and provide assurance for. Remember: Communication is key.

Stay active

While school is naturally a more indoor and classroom centric environment, it is encouraged that parents attempt to balance your child’s school days with some form of physical activity.
Making exercise part of their daily schedule will help them release any pent-up emotions and thoughts they may have had for the day at school. 

Going to the park or riding a bike while getting the whole family involved are simple yet effective ways of helping your child feel more receptive and adapt better to the daily rigours of school. Staying active can help your child better focus better on homework and relieve any stresses they may have in a day.

Get Rest

Waking up early for school again can be difficult to adapt to, especially if they have enjoyed a long holiday of late movie nights and flexible sleeping hours over the holidays. 

Re-establishing a regular bedtime closer to the start of the school year can help your child realign themselves to the idea of returning to school while ensuring that they get sufficient rest to wake up refreshed in the morning. 

It’s widely encouraged that children get a minimum of 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep during the night to have them do better the next day. 

That’s all from us at I Can Read! We wish you and your child the best of luck and a hearty congratulations on starting another school year! 

If you are looking for a bit of a headstart in building a strong foundation in English, it’s never too early or late to start with us. Check out all our courses here, and we will see you next year!

Read on for a list and explanation of some of the more confusing words in English. 

1. Robbed / Stolen - Rob and steal both mean ‘take something from someone without permission, “Rob” focuses on the place or person from which the thing is taken e.g. - The thieves “robbed” three banks over a period of six months and Our local post office was “robbed” early on Tuesday morning, whereas “steal” means to take another person's property without permission and without intending to return it, e.g. "thieves stole my bicycle on Monday"
   
   
2. Then /Than - Then is mainly an adverb, often used to place actions in time, e.g. you wake up in the morning and “then” you have breakfast, however than is a conjunction used mainly in making comparisons e.g. my bicycle is better “than” yours. As both the words look and sound so similar, they can be very confusing not only for learners of English but native speakers too. Try to remember; then refers to time while than refers to making a comparison; this will keep you on the right track.
   
   
   
   
3. Lend / Borrow - The common verbs lend and borrow are confusing for many learners of English. One reason there is confusion is because lend and borrow have the same basic meaning, but are used for different transactionary purposes.  
   
   Lend is used only as a verb, it means to allow someone to use something temporarily, for example banks lend money, libraries lend books. Whereas borrow refers to the person the thing is being lent to. e.g. I “borrowed your pencil, I hope you don’t mind”, may I “borrow” $100 please?
   
   e.g. Leigh “lent” $10 to Claire, Claire borrowed $150 from Leigh, or Sarah often lends her car to Simon, Simon often borrows Sarah’s car. If you are still confused just remember, borrow means 'to take' while lend means 'to give'.
   
   
4. Bring / Take - Whether you use “bring” or “take” generally depends on where you physically are regarding the action. The difference between the two words, which indeed is quite confusing, is that “bring” implies movement towards someone or something e.g. bring your sticker collection with you when you come over later and “take” means movement away from someone or something, “take your umbrella with you when you're going out, it is going to rain later”.
   
   
5. Among / Between - These two words are fairly confusing in their use. They seem to mean the same thing but are actually very different. “Among” expresses a relationship of more than 2 or several items: Samuel found his keys among the many things in his bag. “Between” expresses the relationship of one thing to another thing or to many other things: Patricia stood between the two pillars to take a photo. The idea that between can be used only when talking about two things is a myth—it’s perfectly correct to use between if you are talking about a multiple range of things that have something in common: I have to make a choice between fries, a sundae or apple slices to complete my order for lunch.
   
   
6. Further / Farther - These two are certainly easy to confuse. Although they are often used interchangeably, "further" and "farther" don't have exactly the same meaning. So, let’s get into the definitions. “Farther” refers to a greater physical distance or a distance that has been measured: Janet can run farther than Chad. “Further” refers to metaphorical distance: Janet is further away from finishing her project than Chad is. Basically, "farther" refers to actual distances between objects while further refers to the figurative distances or something that is additional or more and it is used when there is no knowledge of the actual physical or time difference. So, remember, you need to measure to use "farther," but you can use "further" in almost all other situations.

Reading should not just be the preserve of the classroom or tuition sessions. Regular read-aloud or solo reading time is extremely important. If you think about it, the time you set aside for reading with your child may be the only time your child will read, or be exposed to reading, outside the classroom. 

Here are some fun suggestions to help make reading fun. Most of the activities are pretty simple. Some take just a few minutes; some could take a little longer. Some could involve another person and others could involve the entire family. By taking a playful, pressure-free approach, you'll soon ensure your child enjoys reading time. 

Early readers are still coming to terms with the notion that letters are symbols that stand for sounds. To familiarize him with sounds, read poems, nursery rhymes, and rhyming books together A good way to reinforce the idea of sounds is to start with the most familiar word of all: your child's name and the first sound in their name. Ask them to find things around the house that start with the same first letter sound as their name. To incorporate into the story get them to do the same exercise with the main characters name. This is an activity we do in the I Can Read classroom and our students love it.

Pre-Game the Story

If your child doesn't comprehend what a story is about, they are likely to not be enthusiastic about reading time. Before starting the book ask your child to look at the pictures and ask questions to get them excited and interested about what's coming: "What do you think the story is going to be about?" "What do you think will happen?" Questions like these help them predict the story while the pictures offer them clues to what’s about to happen. 

Pick Out Words

Building a broad vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension. Stop occasionally if you come across a particularly difficult or unusual word, ask your child what they think it means, have fun with potential meanings but make sure by the end of the story they have a take-away of at least two or three new words. If this is done weekly just think how quickly your little learner will acquire new vocabulary. Keep a notebook with the words for yourself so you can incorporate the new vocab in your daily conversation from time to time. 

Happy Reading! 

Such positive exposure to poems will ensure exposure to repetitive words and mirrored word sounds which lead to correct pronunciation. Children also learn new vocabulary from poems with greater ease hence developing their general language development through exposure to poetry while keeping them imaginatively engaged. Intonation and voice development is also possible with poetry reading and presentation as children will naturally follow rhythm and tone in a poem they hear. Whilst there’s no doubt they love reading, listening to poems and developing their language skills through poetry, it is highly likely that your child has yet to tap into their ability to write their very own poems. Trust us when we say all kids have the intrinsic potential to write wonderful, exciting, funny poetry. So let’s see how we can encourage that in your children. 
 

People often think the most difficult part of writing poetry is the rhyming scheme expected or even coming up with a clever and original idea. However, this is far from the reality. The hardest part of writing poetry is in the simple act of sitting down and starting to write. Oftentimes you will find that once you actually do sit down to write, it is not as hard as you might think it might be. Being encouraging will be essential in getting them to begin their own poetry writing process. Remember, it’s not a school assignment but an expression of joy through words. Make it an activity that you do together for fun and your child will instantly be more receptive. 

You can also inspire your budding poet by sharing with them that poems come in a wide variety. From haikus, to a firm favourite of young learners; acrostic poems. Best of all, having your child free style a verse of their own choice that rhymes or not is an amazing way to get them excited about the writing process! It doesn’t matter what they express, as long as they can do it creatively, artistically and willingly. This will show them that there is always a starting point as a writer and freedom of expression is integral to their continued interest in the process. 

Getting started is simple enough because all you really need is a pencil and a piece of paper. But, if your child starts getting serious about writing poetry, there are a couple more things you should have and do. Read on for our tips on writing a great poem.

A Poetry Notebook
At ICR we always recommend a poetry notebook. Your child may have one for new vocabulary they encounter. So, why should poems be any different? If you can find a notebook that fits in their pocket, even better. Then your little poet can carry it with them everywhere they go, gathering ideas, rhyming words or even writing freely whenever they feel they feel they have an idea. After all, you never know when inspiration may strike. By carrying a notebook, they can write down ideas as they flow. 

Freestyle
Don’t worry about neatness, tell your child they can be as messy as they want for once! Assure them their poetry notebook is a free space to be silly or express themselves. The only thing that matters is that they capture ideas as they come. Write those thoughts and ideas down on paper once they come to them and you will see your child delving more eagerly into the process of writing poetry. 

Don’t sweat the spelling (for once)
Another thing not to worry too much about in the creative stages is spelling and punctuation. These are important, but only for the final product. Maybe as the parent you can offer to help them edit their writing when they are done. But, let them know the most important thing is to write freely and that there is a time for spell check and proofreading their creation. Ensure this is done after the poem is complete, otherwise they will get bogged down and frustrated about corrections and this may hinder the creative flow. Remember, interest in the process is very important so, keep it positive and encouraging always! 

Edit at the end
A very important job that all poets must learn is editing. After their creative bouts of writing, a poet must still acknowledge the rules of English and ensure accuracy in expression is achieved. Poems are almost never done in the first round of writing. Let your child know that it is alright to keep going back to the poem to continually refine it. Attempt to complete the poem though, before making specific grammar or language edits. If you constantly stop to make corrections as you write, it will be much harder to finish it. inspiration can come at any time and so completing accomplishing the idea of the poem is very important. When the artistic and expressive flair has been achieved, the poem will need to be assessed and edited for structural language and grammar errors that might be present. Going back to the poem with new eyes will allow your young poet to refine the poem even more. 

Invest in a rhyming dictionary
Once you notice your child really enjoying the  creative outlet of poetry writing, it would be very beneficial to get them a rhyming dictionary. These dictionaries have wonderful long lists of words that rhyme. This will greatly help to inspire your budding poet along the way. A quick glance and flip through it can even stir the creative juices in your child therefore inspiring them to begin writing a poem as well. 

Get a dictionary
Of course we can’t forget a regular dictionary and a thesaurus, both of which are highly recommended in addition to a rhyming dictionary. Going back to the basics of having a broad base of words and their accurate meanings will allow a good poet to stay relevant to the context of their poem. It will also be there to help when you can’t think of a word or need a quick inspiration. Keeping a reservoir of words to write a creative expression of ideas will be of great use to any child. 

And so with these tips, we hope your child can find inspiration and a poetic sense of expression within themselves. All the best and happy writing, we can’t wait to read all your wonderful poems kids!