Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- We have less than a week before many Midlands children go back to school.
If you're a parent, maybe you've noticed some back to school jitters leading up to the big day.
News 19 talked with an expert to learn how the children can ditch the nervousness and just have fun.
"I'm really excited to go back to school because I'll be learning new things and making new friends," said 8-year-old Payton Brown.
"I'm excited to go back to school," said 5th grader, Kingston Maxwell. "My favorite thing about school is probably ELA."
"Everybody's feeling nervous and excited at the same time," said 9th grader, Kyn Maxwell. "For the people that's watching [News 19], have a great year...for high school, middle school and elementary."
It's not easy staying calm on the first day of class, especially if you're attending a new school.
"I'm kind of nervous!" said 2nd grader Tara Ferder. "People might be acting like bullies to me and I don't like being bullied around like that."
After learning about local students' feelings ahead of school, we were curious to learn the best ways to de-stress and ease the anxiety students face around this time.
Dr. Eva Monsma is a professor at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Physical Education.
She says the best thing families can do to stay calm is have a plan.
"Get a good night sleep, have a good breakfast, give a kiss goodbye," she said. "A new school with new people, it can be scary."
By rehearsing what the first day of school will be like, Monsma says it can help ease the nerves.
Local mother, Roberta Roberts, tells us she has a nightly routine with her daughter during the school year.
"I give her a little pep talk and every night before she goes to bed, I'll talk to her and say, 'Mommy daughter time! Tell me how was school? What happened at school?' To free her mind, that way when she goes to sleep, she'll sleep peacefully," said Roberts.
In her Sports Psychology class, Dr. Monsma teaches students mental exercises they can practice and take with them to the real world.
"[I tell them] Any type of situation is like driving down a road. If they're on a road, quite frequently in their lives, those roads always tend to have a dotted line in the median," said Monsma. "Those dotted lines represent thoughts. Sometimes they're positive thoughts and sometimes they're negative."
She says it's healthy to acknowledge those thoughts, but it's important to let them pass and stay in the moment.
She also encourages students to envision what they'd like to happen.
"If you want to make a new friend, then imagine yourself walking up with a smile and getting a compliment to break the ice and see where things go," said Monsma. "If they don't go [as planned], it's just a thought you have to let by and maybe walk on to another person."
She recommends students focus on deep breathing, imagine themselves being successful, and try to practice self-confidence by observing positive role models.
Those mental exercises, Monsma says, can help stray from the negative.
"Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is one of the cliches we have in Sports Psychology," she says. "Then all we have to do is wait for a situation to happen, reach into our toolbox of psychological skills and deal with them."
As News19 interviewed families Wednesday evening, we asked students and parents for any final thoughts before stepping through the school doors.
"I think they're gonna do well! I am a little nervous because I have a 5th grader and a 9th grader," said Shambra Maxwell. "[I'd advise students to] get plenty of rest and ask questions. Most of all, enjoy your learning experience."
"Don't get intimidated by the 8th graders, and focus on the books," said Kyn, as a piece of advice to younger students.
"Mrs. Rachel Tompkins was the best Kindergarten teacher," said Ferder. "She makes kids learn and have fun at the same time."
If you'd like to learn more about the mental exercises taught by Dr. Monsma, there are different companies that provide parents, coaches and athletes with psychological skills training. One example is Mental Training Inc.
"Companies like this take athletes who are good and help them become great by teaching them to make psychological skills a habit...like goal-setting, relaxation, stretching your breath, attentional shifting, mental practice or imagery, these are all skills we have and they improve with practice," said Monsma. "Often times we use them, but do we know how to use them most effectively?"
To learn more about Mental Training Inc., you can e-mail Dr. Monsma at Eva@MentalTrainingInc.com or visit www.mentaltraininginc.com.