4 Tips for the Best School Year Ever!

For kids and parents alike, September seems to signal a time for growth, renewal, and excitement. Get started on the right foot with these tips for the best school year yet!

1. Find fun fitness opportunities

Sure, gym class is great, but staying active for life usually doesn’t involve dodgeball or touch football. Why not change things up a bit with extracurricular exercise that kids can keep up as adults? Try fun ideas like:

• ballroom dancing classes for kids
• kayaking, canoeing, or rowing
• tennis
• yoga
• martial arts
• swimming
• indoor rock climbing

2. Build a better lunch

Let’s be honest: PB & J can get a bit tiring. For yummy and healthy lunches kids will actually eat, check our article, “Lunch Ideas Kids Will Love!” For slightly older kids (or even yourself!) check out “Nutrition In No Time” and “Resolve to Brown Bag It.”

3. Study smart

Between catching up with friends, fretting over which teacher you’ve got, and choosing which outfit walks the careful line between fall-season fashion and summer weather, it’s easy for kids to forget that back-to-school is actually all about the schoolwork. To start the studying on the right foot:

• choose a calm, quiet area of the house and designate it for homework (that means no TVs in view!)
• know when to back off—helping is wonderful, but doing the work for them doesn’t foster study skills
• keep organized with a family calendar, to keep deadlines in check

For more tips, check out our article “Study Session.”

4. Stock up on supplements

Consider swinging by your local health food store and chatting with their in-house supplement expert about which supplements might be helpful for your kids. Some examples include:

• kids’ multivitamins (to fill any gaps in your picky eater’s diet)
• essential fatty acids, which might help kids with ADHD
• probiotics that are specially formulated for kids

As always, check with your health care practitioner before taking any new supplement.