From Summer to School

It's Time to Get Your Brain and Body in Shape

So you've had a fun summer. Perhaps you went to camp, enjoyed the swim team or played a little baseball.

But have you kept up with your schoolwork? If you haven't, that's okay. There still is plenty of time to get your brain working again before you hit the classroom.

It's not always easy to head back to school. The start of every school year brings all kinds of anxieties: Will I like my new teacher? Will there be lots more homework? Will I remember what I learned last year?

If that's how you feel, you're not alone.

"I'm really nervous," said Christian Schultz, 11, heading into sixth grade at St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton. He has been studying workbooks and reading to get ready. "I don't want to have to learn everything over," he said.

Workbooks and reading are definitely a good way to get rid of Summer Brain Drain, but there are some other things you can do to get ready for school and have a little fun at the same time. KidsPost's Margaret Webb Pressler has pulled together some ideas.

· Reading is terrific for getting ready for school, but use the next two or three weeks to read some things that you really want to read. If you love baseball, for example, go to the library to find a book about the sport. What matters most is that you get back in the habit, and if you really like what you're reading, you might even get through a book a week before school -- which is a great goal.

· The routine of the school year is different from summer. You might be staying up later now, getting lots of exercise all day or just enjoying more free time with your brothers, sisters and friends. But it's smart to start adjusting to a more typical school-year schedule. Get to bed a little earlier. Take a little quiet time during the day to read or draw. Eat a healthy breakfast like you do before school. It really will make the first two weeks of school easier to handle.

· Get organized. Richard E. Bavaria, who works for the tutoring company Sylvan Learning Center, says kids can benefit from doing a little cleaning up because it makes you feel like you've got a fresh start. He suggests calling a friend and working on it together: Clean out your old clothes or toys, go through your bookshelf and check out your school supplies. Then go to your friend's house on another day and clean up there, too. The best part is donating the things you no longer need to kids who do.

· Go for a bike ride or to the pool or an amusement park. You have only a little bit of summer left, so remember to keep having fun. And don't worry too much about the new world in the next grade. You'll be ready!

· After you've bought school supplies with your mom or dad, set up a homework area at home, with all the things you will need -- including pencils, a ruler, scissors, a calculator and glue. If you feel prepared, you're halfway there!

· Write a journal or scrapbook about your summer. Bavaria says that memory books not only make you think and write, they also help you remember how much fun you had on that canoe trip last month.