How to Help Your Child Adjust to the Differences Between Elementary and Middle School
The transition from elementary to middle school can be daunting for both parents and children.
Starting middle school is a big adjustment for any child. They have to get used to new teachers, new classmates, and a new building. It can be tricky for parents to help their children adjust to middle school from elementary school. The transition from elementary to middle school can be daunting for both parents and children. But with a little planning and communication, it can be a smooth process.
As your child makes the transition from elementary to middle school, it is important that they are prepared for the increase in students.
Elementary schools tend to be much smaller than middle schools as the focus in most communities is to keep elementary schools smaller. When children are smaller, they need a lot more attention to ensure that they are safe and being cared for appropriately. When students move to middle school the school tends to be larger thus leading to larger class sizes as well as more students in common areas such as the hallways and cafeteria. As your child makes the transition from elementary to middle school, it is important that they are prepared for the increase in students. For some children they will welcome the idea of more people to interact with and more friends while others may shudder at the thought. For children who are hesitant about the increase in students, you may want to see if it is possible to get a tour of the school before they start to help them to get an idea of what it will feel like to be in the school.
There is an increase in the level of freedom between elementary and middle school.
There is an increase in the level of freedom between elementary and middle school. Students in elementary school tend to go to the restroom in groups, move to their extracurricular classes in groups and have a relatively small amount of independent movement in the school building. As students transition to middle school, they will see that they have much more freedom. They will get a pass and go to the restroom when they need to and will change classes with everyone else but not isolated in one group. This is usually something that really surprises students who are new to middle school. For most students it is a welcomed change, and they really enjoy being able to get up and go when they need to.
Not only are the academic expectations increased but the expectation that tasks can be completed independently is increased.
The expectation level is drastically increased from elementary to middle school. Not only are the academic expectations increased but the expectation that tasks can be completed independently is increased. A part of the increased academic expectations is the fact that your child will have many more teachers than in elementary school. Children usually have a few teachers in elementary school if you consider teachers such as their art, music and physical education teachers. However, in middle school there is a teacher for every subject. So, a child may go from having 4 teachers to 8 teachers in middle school. It can be overwhelming for a child to adjust to the expectations, assignments and deadlines of 8 teachers. As your child is transitioning to middle school you will want to sit down with them and help them to organize. They need a way to record assignments, take notes and store papers for each class. This will be very helpful as they work to keep up with all of the new requirements of their new teachers and new school setting,
They are also expected to complete tasks independently such as going to their locker and getting the items that they need for their classes, bring their physical education uniform to school on the correct day and change for physical education class, pay attention to school announcements so that they know when school events are coming up and when clubs are scheduled, etc. As you can see there is a variety of multitasking that is required. Most students adjust without a problem, as your child transitions to middle school it will be important to help them understand that there are lot of moving parts in middle school and that the key to being successful is staying as organized as possible.
Friendships and interactions with new peers may be a change that will take some adjustment as your child transitions to middle school.
Friendships and interactions with new peers may be a change that will take some adjustment as your child transitions to middle school. Very often when children move to middle school, they meet new friends and may outgrow the relationships that they once had in elementary school. It is important that your child understand that this is completely normal. Also, with the amount of new people that they will interact with, they may find that there is conflict that they never experienced before. In most middle schools there are students from several different elementary schools that have converged together in one school. It is not just the group of kids that they have been with, in most occasions, for 5 or 6 years. They may witness or experience bullying behaviors, they may see or be a part of fights and these behaviors may be new to them. It is important that your child knows who they can go to when they need help in school, and it is important that you remind them that they should always communicate any concerns that they have with you so that you can ensure that they feel like they are in a safe space.
Moving to middle school can fill children with anxiety and nervousness, it will make parents worry also. However as long as you work with your child to help them get organized, stay organized and communicate it will make the transition much smoother.