New school, new room ~ ideas for summer holiday decorating

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I’m certainly looking forward to the summer hols (hubby works in a school so that means time off for the both of us!) but the holidays are also a time a lot of my friend’s children will be savouring the last summer break before they start secondary school. High school means a lot more responsibility, some daunting ideas of making new friends and the dreaded increase in homework, so it’s best to make sure they’re prepared for the changes to come.

One way you could make it easier is by decorating their room over the summer break and giving them their own grown-up ‘office space’, to help manage the bigger workload. Cabin beds are great for this, as they are really space efficient, so the room won’t be too crowded, even if the sister got the bigger room! There are various different types and heights, but the ‘high sleeper’ designs mean that there’s plenty of space to sit under it with a laptop or notebook. For a selection of cabin beds, check here – I had a cabin bed when I was younger, and it was definitely the most useful piece of furniture I’ve had – why don’t they make adult ones?!

Image by Elle Collins

Now they have their own work space they can stick all the new info they get to the inside of the bed. In The Telegraph, Rachel Halliwell talks about the importance of them being prepared and getting into a routine. Once your child starts at high school they will suddenly have to cope with having different rooms and teachers for every subject. You can help here by making several copies of their weekly timetable and the map they will have been given of the interior of their school. So, they can start with a pin-board of timetables and info, and, as they get more stuff to do, they can add their homework deadlines and things to read, leaving plenty of room for posters of the new band they discovered, without ruining your walls!

Another thing that well help everyone in the house is making sure they’ve prepared their clothes and bag the night before. With all the added extras, you don’t want to be running round even more so in the mornings, so giving them the responsibility of preparing will help you both.Once that’s done, they’ll be one step closer to a running start in September. There are still loads of things about the transition from primary to high school that can’t necessarily be predicted, but most require you to just be as supportive as you can. Mumsnet have a great article on what else to expect, and is worth checking out if you want more information. Otherwise, enjoy the impending summer holidays!

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