Starting school is a huge milestone for your little one. It’s also a huge milestone for you. You need to help your child prepare for school, but you also need to prepare yourself. If you feel prepared, this will help your child also feel prepared. Here’s a few suggestions on how to get ready for your little one starting school.
Get your little one excited
You can help your little one get excited about starting school by talking about it. Talk about all the things they’re going to be able to do now they’re going to ‘big’ school. If they’ve been able to visit the school, you can talk about what the classroom looks like, what the teacher looks like, and how the school day will go. If they haven’t been able to visit the school, check the website for photos and videos to look at, or ask if the school can send you some.
There are also several child appropriate books on starting school. Reading some of them together can help your little one prepare for the next big step. Framing this as something to look forward to, rather than a daunting and enormous step can help.
The week before
The week before school starts is going to be busy making sure that uniforms, shoes, schoolbags, books, lunchboxes, and everything else your little one needs is prepared and organised. However, you should also take some time to do dry runs of the journey to school. If your little one will be taking a bus to school, walk to the bus stop and talk about what will happen in September.
It’s also a good idea to have them try on the full uniform. It will help you to see if everything fits properly and use it as an opportunity to take photos as well. The first day of school is going to be stressful and emotional for everyone, which can mean that you forget to take pictures. Doing them beforehand can be much easier.
Prepare yourself
Preparing yourself is vital. If you show your child that you’re feeling emotional on the day, they may pick up on it and become upset. It’s ok to be upset, or feeling emotional, but you need to keep it to yourself. Think about things you can do while your little one is enjoying their first day at school. Plan to meet friends for coffee, book a session at the gym, or try a new course or project.
There are a few other things you should think about preparing in advance. If organisation is part of what makes your household work, then you could buy some of these items now, so that you’re never caught off guard.
- Crayons
- Colouring pencils
- Pencils
- Ruler
- Sharpener
- Rubber
- Selection of birthday presents
- Selection of birthday cards
- PVA Glue
- Gluestick
Once your little one has started school, there will be missing school supplies, last minute projects and numerous birthday parties to go to. Being organised now could save you a few headaches later on.
