By Nadine Briggs and Donna Shea
At this point in the summer, kids start thinking about the new school year. They wonder who his or her teacher will be, and which kids will be in the class. Anxiety might start to creep in if these thoughts of “what will happen” start to 
take hold in a child’s mind. The onset of August is a great time to reconnect with kids from school, especially if your child has not done much socializing so far this summer. Having fun times with friends from school can help to alleviate the anxiety. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Reach out to current friends to grab the low hanging fruit if your child already has solid social connections. Also, think about kids your child may not have played with too much in the past but who you feel might be a good friend fit for them. It’s usually easy to find the parents’ contact information by using social media, school directories, white pages or mutual friends. This is a good time for you to put yourself out there and try to connect with people you might not know as well, so that your child can get to know their child. Who knows? You may end up with new friends too! Once you’ve made contact, it’s time to plan the play date:
- Create a fun event to invite the kids to, especially if you don’t know them well. Some examples are a craft day at your house where you invite several kids to do a pre-planned project such as tie dye t-shirt making or dream catchers. Have a playlist of upbeat, kid-friendly music playing to set a festive mood.
- If it’s a nice day, ask the guests to bring swim suits and towels and prepare some water balloons or turn on a sprinkler.
- Have slice and bake cookies or raw cookie dough ready to go. Cookies in the oven create warm feelings with the delicious fragrance wafting through the air.
- If your child likes to be active, plan a hike on a nature path with a scavenger hunt. Just hiking might seem too boring for some kids but if they have a list of things to find, then the hike takes on a whole new level of interest. For example, have the group search for heart-shaped rocks, orange leaves, sticks that look like animals, etc.
- Try to organize a time when a group of kids meets at the school playground they are attending in the fall. This reacquaints them with the play structures as well as the other children. Follow it up with ice cream and the kids will love it.
- Some kids might need social coaching prior to social events like these so that the play time goes well. Encourage them to think about what their friends like to play and which activities others would enjoy. The outings should be things that your child enjoys as well, but it’s important for them to consider the interests of others when planning a social event.
Making fun memories now will set the stage for kids to seek each other out at recess once school starts. Hopefully this will be the beginning of long lasting friendships and a successful, less worrisome, launch to the school year.
