subject: Getting your child ready for school [print this page] Getting your child ready for school Getting your child ready for school
Starting school can be one of the most exciting times in a child's life. After years of watching their older siblings go off to school each day and return at the end, it's like they're finally able to join the big kids' club themselves. For those without siblings, it can also be a daunting and frightening experience.
To prepare your child for the changes that accompany the transition to school, it's important to foster excitement in your child and encourage their growth and learning. Children will follow their parents' lead, so by making the get ready for school' process a fun occasion, your child will be more likely to eagerly anticipate the first day of school and embrace their school life.
Here are a few must-do steps to get your child ready for school:
- Supplies. If funds permit it, let them choose a few school supplies such as a lunch box and a pencil case. This will get them excited for using them in the school setting.
- Practice the walk/trip to school. Before the big day, travel the route that they will take to school with your child. Whether that will be by car, train or foot, practicing the trip will make it more familiar, and will be one less new experience to overload them with on the first day of school.
- Get them learning before they get to school. When school starts, it's the first learning situation that they will be placed in. Try to teach them a bit yourself before they head off for their first day so that they have an idea of what to expect. For example, teach your child to write their name, learn a few numbers and count. You might even teach them the alphabet.
- Can they tie their shoelaces? Send your child to school with a few skills up their sleeve so that they won't be distressed if their shoelaces or buttons come undone. Whether your child is wearing girls or boys' school uniforms they will likely need to wear laced school shoes, so make sure you help them grasp tying before their first day.
- School uniform. In Australia, kids' school uniforms are the most obvious external signs that they are of school age. Getting their first school uniform, therefore, can be very exciting. Get them to walk in their school shoes and let them show off their outfit to family and friends before the big day.
Starting school for the first time is a new and exciting experience for children. It can also be overwhelming. But making a conscious effort to prepare your child for school will make the transition as smooth as possible. If your child is starting school next year, then start your preparations early by collecting kids' schoolwear and giving them a head start on their ABC's.
