Summer vacation is almost over – no, actually, it is. Binge-watching TV, procrastinating summer packets, and sleeping like a nocturnal animal – yeah, those days are ending. And it’s sad to see the months of vacation slip away. But we all knew this was coming. However, it’s definitely not too late to slip back in the school mindset.
In fact, now is the time to get your mind ‘back in shape’ before school starts.
Why? It’s not easy having the rigorous schedule of a high school day disrupt your summer lifestyle. You DO NOT want to wait for the first week of school to throw you off. Prepare now. And I’m going to explain how.
Take it Day By Day
Summer packets. I always hated those – especially the math ones (still do!). Reading lists…yeah, I was a fan of AP American Lit and drooling over a good book. But when it came to packets and to-do things for AP classes or regular ones, my first response was to procrastinate.
I’d always tackle my reading requirements first – because I loved reading. But anything else…I wasn’t a fan of. It didn’t matter if I was a fan or not – I still had to do it. And I got it done 2 weeks before school started.
How?
We’ve all heard teachers and parents tell us not to squeeze things for the last minute – that results in mediocre work (crap, basically) and a big headache. And I’m going to tell you – DON’T DO IT!
As soon as you get a packet or to-do list for school, write down what you have to do. Do a little bit of something everyday – read a chapter, take notes. The next day – read a chapter, take notes.
Before you sit down to watch TV or play video games or surf the Internet (it’s always the electronics that gets us) – take just a pinch out of your day to do your required work. It doesn’t hurt – trust me.
Get Ahead
My mother taught me a tactic, back in middle school, of skimming through the textbook to be prepared for class. I don’t mean looking at pictures and letting information go from one end to the other – I mean digesting information. I took that tactic to high school.
The year I had to take Pre-Calculus Honors, because it was my least-favorite and when-i-am-i-going-to-use-this-in-real-life subject (and because I was really anxious), I used Khan Academy to prepare myself.
Khan Academy definitely helped me. I just start a mission, that has a bit of review from Algebra II, and learn new concepts day by day.
First Day of School
So, for the first day of school (even though you probably won’t be storming up notes), you should be prepared. And when that day comes – look around you. Who’s excited and who’s not? Who looks like they just got out of bed, grumpy? Again, don’t let the typical crazy day of high school throw you off-balance. And don’t forget to comment to tell me how the first day of school went!