Bridging the Gap: The Summer Reset

When saying goodbye to the school year, students say goodbye to routines, predictability, structure, and schedules. Kids thrive on routine, so work together to create predictable “Anchor Points” around wake-up times, meals, and bedtimes. Giving teens space to make decisions creates confidence and independence.

This is also an opportunity to reinforce skills for teens with an IEP or 504 plan by scaffolding supports like breaking tasks into manageable chunks and using graphic organizers. Talk about meal routines, family calendars, weekly planners, responsibilities, flexibility, and prioritizing mindfulness and movement.

Setting ourselves up for success in the upcoming school year isn’t just time to clean your room: think bigger. If you noticed your teen struggling last school year with their homework spot, now is the time to search for a new one.

Conduct a full 'clean sweep' of backpacks, school papers, computer desktop files, overflowing emails, study desks, bedrooms, planners, and school supplies to prepare for the new year.

Working on long-term projects helps teens learn how to plan, think about what comes next, organize materials, project steps, and manage time while remaining flexible and adapting to change.

Encourage impactful summer experiences like internships or summer jobs, volunteer work or community projects, learning a new skill, creating and tackling a summer reading list, and practicing mindfulness or journaling.

Use your time off during the summer to get ahead of projects for the new school year. Getting a head start on upcoming to-do list items alleviates stress when other demands arrive in the fall.

Dedicate low-stress time to preparing for standardized tests, college exploration, researching career options, preparing fresh school supplies, and setting up planners for the upcoming year.

Remember: At the end of the day, we’re not looking for perfection. This is summer vacation. Some days will be lazy, filled with fun, maybe a nap or a movie. Other days will be productive. Both are great.

Our goal is not to work so hard that we have turned summer break into an extension of the school year. The goal is to create enough structure that students feel confident, capable, and prepared when the new school year begins.