*This is an extension of the blog post How to Support Dyslexic Students' Self-Confidence. Read more about dyslexia strengths here.

When the Excitement of the New School Year Wanes

The beginning of the new school year can elicit all kinds of emotions. Do you remember the excitement and nervousness that comes with starting something new? Those butterflies in your stomach flutter between feeling sick to your stomach to a little twinge of adrenaline? For many, the beginning of the school year can feel like this. 

As we move into the daily school routines and schedules, the new school year's excitement may be waning or bringing into light some different emotions. For many students with dyslexia and learning differences, as the newness of school wears off and the lesson pace increases, the academic pressures and demands can leave students feeling more anxious than excited. The feelings of anxiousness and frustration may arise due to academic hurdles, new routines, inappropriate...

When our children enter school, it is often filled with excitement and a desire to learn. Children, their families, and teachers begin their journey into education with the idea that reading will be unlocked as the lessons unfold. This reminds me of one of my favorite books, Thank You, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Pollacco. The book's family gathers around a little girl as she is about to embark on her year in kindergarten and shares how she will learn to chase knowledge through the pages of books. 

Reading is ingrained in us at a very young age with great importance. We know this is true for many reasons, but the student struggling with acquiring this skill may begin to feel anxiety and stress surrounding their struggles to unlock the words on the pages. 

These students see their peers choosing chapter books while they are still reading from an assigned book basket. They recognize that their peers complete writing assignments when they have just gotten their ideas...

Summer is usually one of my favorite seasons filled with daytime adventures, the delight of a more laid back schedule and late nights relishing in the laughter of my children and friends around the pool. This summer is unlike any other, and the amount of stress and trying to plan for the unknown has weighed heavy on me. 

I was looking through my blog posts and I came across the one that I wrote as a guest blogger for the amazing Emily Gibbons, owner of The Literacy Nest. I originally wrote the post for the immediate emotional response to schools closing in the spring, however, I feel that so much of it remains true even today as we begin to try and plan for what fall schooling will look like. If you haven't had a chance to read it, or even if you did and need a little boost in strategies to help navigate our children's anxieties about school and these unusual times, check out my post that gives 9 tips to help you navigate the emotional response to school closings. 

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