812-Lancaster Farming. Saturday, August 14, 1993
TAKING HfH|
TIME
by Rebecca Escoft
Extension Home Economist
Easing Back-to-School Blues
Will your children be returning
to classrooms at the end of the
month? Do you have a youngster
who is preparing for school for the
first time? Parents of school-age
children have an important chal
lenge to face during the next few
weeks easing the transition to
school.
Going back to school is a tough
adjustment for kids. And going to
school for the first time or to a
new building is even scarier.
These anxieties are normal. The
trick is to take positive steps in ad
vance of the first day of school to
tighten the tension.
For children who are returning
to school, you can help.
• Resume a regular bedtime and
wake-up time two weeks prior to
the start of school.
• Involve your children in back
to-school shopping for clothes,
notebooks, lunch boxes and other
school supplies.
If possible, take a relaxed walk
around the school building and
talk about the new classroom and
teacher or the anticipated activi
ties of the new year.
• If you child walks to school or
walks to meet a bus, you may
want to time the walk so that you
allow enough time on the first day
“I Can’t
Get Enough
Forage
Into My
Cows!”
at AG PROGRESS DAYS!
( Tttreil )
of school. If your child has a prob
lem or is frightened, where are
“safe places” they can go for help?
This may be a neighbor’s house or
a community business.
• Arrange “practice sessions”
during the day where your son or
daughter sits and works quietly at
a task at a table for a period of
time.
Then during the first weeks of
school, clear the family of as
many obligations as possible. Get
ting back into the swing of a
school routine is stressful. The ex
perience is intensified if the eve
nings are also filled with tasks and
time lines. The structure of a
school routine may be a frustrat
ing change for your child. When
they return home, offer a healthy
snack as a tide-me-over until meal
time. Then encourage them to play
outside. This play time will help
them release excess energy and
bridge the switch from summer
freedom to controlled school pat
terns.
Do yourself a favor. Plan meals
that take few preparations. Any
thing you do to relax will make the
transition back to school a more
pleasant one for both you and your
child.
If this fall’s classes will be a
first-time experience for your
STOP and SEE the
(ftrtreft) TEAM
1-800-347-1566
Box 265
Bainbridge, PA 17502
child, you have probably already
taken steps to introduce them to
the idea and setting of school. If
your child has not met their teach-,
er yet, do this during the next two
weeks. Often teachers may be
around the school building during
the week before classes preparing
their room and materials. Call and
arrange a visit.
Create opportunities for your
child to spend time with future
classmates. Invite some of them
for a sleepover or a trip to a play
ground. Having a few familiar
faces in a new group makes the-in
troduction to school easier.
In A Pickle Over What To Eat?
(NAPS) Trying to figure out
the new Food Guide Pyramid?
Worrying about what to feed a
baby? The American Dietetic
Association, the nation’s food and
nutrition authority, provides time
ly advice on these and other topics
through its Consumer Nutrition
Hot Line at 1-800-366-1655.
Consumers can speak directly
with a registered dietitian (RD) or
listen to the pre-recorded mes
sages, including one in Spanish,
featured each month.
By listening to the “Whole
Grain Goodness" message, sche
duled for July, September and
November, consumers can learn
Remember a child’s image of
school is created from previous
messages they've heard from bro
thers add sisters, neighbors, you
and other adults. You should take
time to talk about how many days
during the week they will be at
school and during what hours.
Showing your child these days on
a calendar may be helpful. Also
review how your child will get
back and forth to school and
where they will spend before and
after-school hours.
Some children may resist the
ide| of going to school—perhaps
a use of teasing from an older
I about how “awful” it will be.
how whole-grain foods provide
adequate levels of fiber and other
necessary nutrients. A message
airing in August and September
makes it easy to adapt the princi
ples of the Food Guide Pyramid to
any lifestyle and explains why
some foods such as rice, bread,
cereal and pasta are the foundation
of one’s diet. And, the importance
of proper infant nutrition is
explained in the October message
entitled “Feeding Your Baby Dur
ing the First Year.”
Here’s a schedule of upcoming
recorded messages:
August: Diabetes and Food,
Water The Forgotten Food,
The Dealer Makes The Difference
Plan yo
Harv
Not the
Weat
Be better prepar
year by combinii
Harvestore High
Grain structure w
Force Flo™ Powf
Auger Unloader
Now is the best
to make a decisi
Call your authori
Harvester© Prodi
dealer today.
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HARVESTORE* SYSTEMS, INC.
“Your local, Independent, authorized Harvestore Systems Dealer”
BRANCH OFFICE:
Rt. 15 South (Dow Building)
P.O. Box 612
Lewlsburg, PA 17837
(717) 523-6600
I remember bursting into tears in
my first-grade classroom because
I was afraid of my teacher—Mrs.
McCann. My older brother and
sister had told me repeatedly how
mean she was. Don’t allow this
kind of teasing. You may have to
pull the older children aside and
instruct them directly about this.
Finally, even if the first day of
school results in a tearful separa
tion, be comforted. Most chil
dren’s tears subside within a few
moments and the child has a suc
cessful day. Our anxieties may be
the ones we have to work on giv
ing upl
Learning About Food Sources of
Vitamins and Minerals, Diet and
Cholesterol (Spanish).
September: Whole Grain
Breakfast Cereals. Learning
About Cholesterol, Using the
Food Guide Pyramid, and Food
Guide Pyramid (Spanish).
Operated by ADA’s National
Center for Nutrition and Dietetics
(NCND), the hot line operates
year-round and features recorded
messages 24 hours daily. RDs are
available to answer questions
from 10 a.m. to S p.m. (ESI).
Callers also can get referrals to
local RDs for individual or group
counseling.
MAIN OFFICE:
Route 6, PO Box G
(Across From Sinbad's
Restaurant)
Wysox, PA 18854
(717) 265-2200