How to Prepare Your Child for All Day School
Starting Kindergarten, or all day school, is a big transition for children. Not only is this a huge change for a child, but also for moms and dads alike. You and your child may feel excitement or nerves, or just all the feelings. This can be an overwhelming and exhausting time for a child. To help with this transition, we have a few ideas to help make it easier.
photo: iStock
Visit the school early
Take your child to visit the school before the school year begins. Most schools have back-to-school nights or you can call the office to ask for a tour of the school. This can help your child learn the layout of the school and figure out where they need to go, without the rush of the first day of school. This is also a great time to practice your pickup routine. Will your child walk, carpool, pickup line, etc. You can walk around the school and show them where to meet after school.
photo: iStock
Talk about school
Help your child feel more comfortable by talking about school before the beginning of the year. Discuss friends they may see, fun new experiences, who their teachers are, or ask what they are excited about. This is also a good time to help talk through anything your child is worried about.
photo: iStock
Read books about starting school
When a child reads a book about someone they relate to they are more likely to enjoy the book. This will also help give a boost of excitement and help your child feel more comfortable about the first day. There are a lot of great books, for all ages, about starting school or jitters about a new school year.
photo: iStock
Establish routines
As a parent, you know how much your child thrives on having a routine. This is also true for a school routine. Not all routines will look the same for every family or every child. Find what works best for your child and go from there. Have a consistent routine morning and evening to help your child be able to quickly and successfully transition from breakfast to school and after school to bedtime.
photo: Imperfect Families
Encourage confidence, resilience, and independence
Children need to feel good about themselves in order to believe in themselves and succeed. When a child is more confident, they are generally more willing to try new tasks, and try again if the first time doesn’t work. Help your child learn to do basic self-help tasks on their own. Let them work on activities independently as well as together with you.
photo: AdobeStock
Make afterschool plans
Make sure you and your child know what the afterschool plan is. Will they be going to an afterschool care program, an activity, or home? Put some plans into place to help your child unwind after a long day at school. Depending on the child this could mean running around a park, or quietly doing an activity.
photo: YourTango
Get for a successful year
Teachers or schools will provide a list of items your child needs. Make the idea of picking out school supplies exciting for your little one. Perhaps let them pick a school supply item that stays at home, or a special item for their backpack. This can help them look forward to the start of the school year.
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https://www.startearly.org/post/ready-for-kindergarten-10-tips/
