School

School is a big part of your life. You spend lots of time at school and many activities take place there. Some kids like everything about school, some kids like only some of it and some don’t like it at all.

If you’re having trouble with school – with the work you have to do, the kids in your class, or during gym or recess time, you’re not alone.

It can be helpful to tell an adult about how you’re feeling. Read on for how-to ideas.

School Stress

• Try to be honest and talk about the things that are bugging you. (It’s hard for adults to help you if all you say is “school sucks!”)
• It’s best to give as much information as you can so they can really understand.
• Try to figure out what about school is bothering you – is it the tests, a subject, other kids, the group work, recess time or a certain teacher?
• Maybe something going on at home is making you worry. Worries at home can come to school with you and that makes it harder to have a good day. Try to talk about it if this is the problem.
• If you can figure out what the problem is, it’s a lot easier to fix. But if you don’t know what is bothering you, even just talking about your feelings can help.
• If talking it out isn’t helping make sure you say that too. Sometimes another way is needed to solve a problem. And you can look for it together.

If these hacks aren’t working, you may need to try some fixes.

Making School Better

Try to get ready! If you are ready to go, things are less rushed and hectic. Do you have a backpack or bag with the things you need for school in it? If not, can someone help you with this? Do you have something to eat before you go to school? Something to eat for lunch? (If you don’t have food for your body, it’s harder to learn and pay attention.)

Many schools have breakfast and lunch programs – does yours? Ask someone if you don’t know.

Can you get help? If there are parts of school you don’t understand or aren’t ready for can you ask a school person for help?

Maybe you have tried to ask for help, and did not feel it worked very well. Can you try another person? It can take several times to get the right help. Try not to give up if the first effort didn’t work out.

If it’s help with your schoolwork, parent /teacher interview time is a good time to let your parent and the teacher know you are not understanding the work. They can work together to get you extra help in that subject if that is what’s needed.

Note that you don’t have to wait for interview time if you know right now that you aren’t keeping up in class – ask your teacher to talk you privately (before or after class) and tell them you are finding the work hard. Ask for help with this.

Take a deep breath! Sometimes it’s hard to feel OK when things are hard or confusing. Taking a few deep breaths or time by yourself for a few moments can help.

Does your classroom have a reading corner you can go to for quiet time? Is there a quiet corner of the playground you can go to? Finding quiet in the busy and loud parts of your school day can help.