What Children Bring Back to School

Dr. Peter Folan | Published in the Boston Herald | August 24, 2026

For many families, summer arrives like a long exhale. The calendar opens and bedtimes stretch. Children have time to swim, travel, read, work, play, visit grandparents, go to camp, explore their neighborhoods, and use their imaginations.

Then August turns toward school. Store aisles fill with notebooks. Class lists arrive. The air feels different, and our inboxes grow fuller. Summer is still with us, but we can sense the next season waiting.

We often describe the return to school as an ending: the end of freedom, unstructured days, and summer fun. But school is not the opposite of summer.

We can begin a new school year by inviting children to bring the best of summer with them—their curiosity, growing independence, new stories, renewed friendships, and willingness to try—and put it to work in new ways.

Think about what your child learned this summer that no one assigned. Maybe it was how to dive, ride a bike, prepare a meal, read a book series, play a song, care for a younger sibling, speak up in a new group, recover after a strikeout, or notice fireflies in the yard.

Perhaps your child discovered that they could overcome something difficult, that asking for help is a strength, or that the people beside them sometimes matter more than any plan.

Educators worry about summer learning loss. Reading, mathematics, and academic practice matter. But if we focus only on what children may have forgotten, we can miss everything they gained.

The lessons of summer are not a detour from education. They are part of it. They help children develop confidence, patience, empathy, resilience, and wonder. Patience learned while fishing can help with a difficult equation. Courage discovered at camp can help on the first day. Kindness practiced with family can help create a classroom where everyone belongs.

There is great joy in the work of school.

This does not mean every assignment will be easy or every morning effortless. The joy of school is deeper than constant fun. It is the satisfaction of stretching toward something that once felt beyond us. It is the moment a difficult problem finally makes sense, the moment a team, cast, or ensemble comes together, the pride of completing a draft after many revisions, and the quiet confidence that grows through practice.

These moments transform students’ lives.

As children prepare to return, parents can help by talking about school as an invitation. Recall a favorite summer story and choose something to carry into the year together. Restore sleep and morning rhythms with patience. Talk about the opening of school as a return to friends, ideas, and possibilities. That simple shift can ease anxiety and build anticipation.

The questions we ask matter too. Instead of asking only, “Are you ready?” try asking: “What are you excited to discover? Who are you excited to meet? What will you be brave enough to try? What do you hope for this year?”

Transition is an act of trust. For children and parents alike, it requires effort, patience, and the belief that what lies ahead can become as meaningful as what we leave behind. New beginnings take time. A new school year is also an act of hope: more to learn, more to become, and more to give.

When late sunsets fade and the first bell rings, children do not leave their joy and wonder behind. They carry that joy and wonder forward in shells, stories, scraped knees, library books, new skills, and vivid summer memories.

Summer gives children time to notice, explore, and discover who they are becoming. School invites them to build on those discoveries—to understand, create, and contribute.

There is great joy in the work ahead.

Bring the wonder.