Last minute tips for a fun first day of school

LYNN ? School starts in a few days and a top local educator offered parents a few tips for helping younger children or kids entering school for the first time make the transition fun and dry-eyed.Calmly sitting down with children and reassuring them school will be fun may be the best way parents can help on the first day, said Lynn School Curriculum Executive Director Kimberlee Powers.?Talking about why kids are nervous or anxious is important. Don’t wait to have those discussions,” she said.With 14,770 students registered as of Aug. 13 to start school beginning on Wednesday, parents need to pare down a list of last-minute preparations.School teachers and principals do not expect students to arrive on their first day with paper, binders, pencils and other school supplies, but Powers said parents should be prepared for their children to bring home from school a stack of important papers.Emergency contact telephone numbers and other information are outlined on the paperwork and parents need to fill out and return the forms.?Those are really important,” Powers said.Curriculum aide Shirley Albert-Benedict urged parents to adjust their family to a school year schedule beginning a few days before the start of school. Children staying up later during the summer should begin to prepare to go to bed and wake up earlier.She said parents and guardians should also be ready to drop students at school on time and be prepared to find out where children should be dropped off at school.?It’s very important for parents to know school schedules and where to go,” Powers said.Albert-Benedict said younger children need a little coaching in remembering family names before school starts.?It’s really helpful if they know their full name and their parents’ names,” she said.The goal ? said Powers ? is to reduce nervousness and “weepy eyedness” on the first day of school.