| | These children at the University Lab School in Baton Rouge participated in the LSU AgCenter's Body Walk activity to learn about good health and nutrition. (Photo by Mark Claesgens) |
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| | School children need to eat a healthy lunch. (Photo by Mark Claesgens) |
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| | Exercise and good nutrition are important for school children. (Photo by Mark Claesgens) |
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From pre-K through college, LSU AgCenter experts offer advice about preparation and survival skills for a successful school year. Getting ready involves more than students. It’s important to the family, the community and, ultimately, the nation.
Read the stories from the 2008 back-to-school news.
School Success
School success or failure affects not only the student, but the community. Lack of student preparation can cause problems years later. For example, in one chilling forecast, poor third-grade reading skills are associated with future juvenile delinquency. A good education for all students should be everyone’s concern, says LSU AgCenter family resource management specialist Karen Overstreet. She urges parents to become involved. “Children often emulate what they see. Take a look at your attitudes. Children absorb a lot from those around them.”
Children adopt parents’ attitudes about school
Set Up Study Area
With the start of school comes the reality of homework. To start the year off right, help students make the most of their study time with a productive study spaces, advises LSU AgCenter 4-H youth development expert Dr. Janet Fox. When planning a study area, remember that all students are different. Some need a quiet room free from interruptions, while others study better when listening to quiet music or taking several breaks.
Set up for school success with a study area
Eat Breakfast
Children who eat breakfast are more alert and perform better on school tests than children who do not eat breakfast. Hungry children just can't do their best work. They're easily distracted, and become fidgety, irritable and tired, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Beth Reames. The nutritionist offers breakfast advice, even for those who don’t have time to eat.
Skipping breakfast impairs student
Pack a Safe Lunch
Whether you're going back to school as a student or a teacher, be extra careful in packing your take-along lunch if it sits a long time between the time you make it and eat it. LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames warns about the danger of foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins that grow in food. You may suffer from upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea and headache.
Avoid illness from sack lunches
No Need to Panic
Where does the time go? With mixed emotions, you and your child will be preparing for the start of the next school year. But you don’t want one of those emotions to be one of panic. "Making plans for the start of school in advance can help both parents and students," said LSU AgCenter family and child development professor Dr. Diane Sasser. She poses and answers questions on ways to avoid panic.
Avoid back-to-school panic
Pay Attention to Preschooler
Is your child ready for preschool? In Louisiana a child must turn 4 years old by September 30 to be eligible for preschool services. Preschool in Louisiana is not mandatory; it’s an option. “Child development research tells us that children develop at their own rate,” said LSU AgCenter early childhood education expert Cheri Gioe. “This means that some children may be stronger in one area of development than others their age group.”
Get your preschooler off to a great start
Money and Your College Student
The emotional days of watching your young child board the big yellow school bus for the first day of school may be long gone, but now you’re watching your young adult embark on an even bigger adventure – going to college. “College is a completely different existence from what your child has known,” said LSU AgCenter family economist Dr. Jeanette Tucker. She explains that at college, no one tells students what to do or when to do it.
Money tips every college student should know
Join 4-H
More than 224,000 young people in Louisiana and 7 million across the country have found a home in 4-H. The new school year offers the opportunity to join the most popular youth group in the nation, according to the LSU AgCenter’s Dr. Mark Tassin, director of the Louisiana 4-H Youth Development Program. “4-H was once considered an organization primarily for rural and farm youngsters,” Tassin said, but noted that for many years the program has offered a wider range of projects, including aerospace, communications, computers, the environment, electrical energy, horticulture, entomology (insects), photography, vet science and more.
Join most popular youth group in state, country
Read these other stories in 2008 back-to-school news:
Reading to young ones benefits everyone
Help your child develop financial skills
Back to school is not the end of hurricane season
Strategies offered to find affordable colleges
The LSU AgCenter is one of 11 institutions of higher education in the Louisiana State University System. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, it provides educational services in every parish and conducts research that contributes to the economic development of the state. The LSU AgCenter does not grant degrees nor benefit from tuition increases. The LSU AgCenter plays an integral role in supporting agricultural industries, enhancing the environment, and improving the quality of life through its 4-H youth, family and community programs.
(This AgCenter Lead was updated on July 24, 2008, by Linda Benedict.)