by Joan Celebi, Ed.M., CLC
Founder, SpecialNeedsParentCoach.com

This article appeared earlier today in my FREE Overwhelmed No More! Newsletter. To subscribe, enter your name and email address in the sign-up box to the left. You'll get practical tips and inspiring ideas every month to help you successfully navigate life as a parent of a child with special needs.

The end of the school year is often a whirlwind of activity.  I hope this checklist will help these next few weeks go smoothly for you, your children, and your family!

1. Check with your child’s teachers:  are there any skills your child could be working on over the summer, either to maintain or to improve upon?  This could include academic skills like math or reading, as well as social skills, behavior goals, etc.  Your child’s teachers may have some suggestions for how your child can continue to learn and grow in these areas over the summer. 

2. If you’re concerned that your child may lose valuable academic progress he or she made this past school year, it’s not too late to discuss summer services.  If your son or daughter needs services over the summer to prevent regression on his or her IEP goals, now’s the time to be investigating options and making arrangements. 

3. Will you be requesting to meet with your child’s next teacher(s) before next school year starts in the fall?  If so, you may want to run this by the school principal now, as scheduling for late August and early September often takes place in June. 

4. Thank those who make a difference for your child.  For a great article on this, with some wonderful suggestions, visit http://ow.ly/1N347

5. Are you looking for ideas for teacher gifts?  Here are some nice, simple suggestions:

http://www.specialneedsparentcoach.com/blog/2010/5/21/8-great-gift-ideas-for-the-teachers-and-professionals-in-you.html

http://www.specialneedsparentcoach.com/blog/2010/5/25/more-great-teacher-gift-ideas.html

6. Get contact information for the parents of your child’s classmates and friends, for summertime playdates.  You may even want to talk about starting a weekly playground meetup, or a rotating playgroup that meets at different families’ homes each week.    

7. Check with your local library to see what summer programs they’ll be running.  The children’s department may offer a summer reading program with fun incentives and activities.  There may also be story hours, craft activities, puppet shows, and more!  Make visiting the library a regular part of your week during the summer months.  It’s a great way to continue exposing your children to the joys of books and reading! 

What's on your end of school year checklist? Post a comment and let us know!