Your child’s first day in school is a milestone for your family. It’s the beginning of a new adventure for your curious preschooler. However, introducing your child to a new environment can be quite challenging. Separation anxiety may arise that can make it difficult for your child to want to be left alone in the school. Here are some ways that you can prepare your newbie student for his first time in class.
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Prepare together. Get your child ready by buying school supplies together. Show your excitement in this new season of your his life. Let him choose the color or cartoon characters he wants for his bag, lunch box, and even his notebooks. Read together, color pictures, and make other school activities fun at home! By involving your child in the preparation, school becomes less threatening for him.
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Set routines. Around 2-3 weeks before school starts, establish house rules that would help them develop certain habits to prepare them for school. Set a specific sleeping time so that they’ll get use to sleeping early during school nights. Consciously pass by the school 2-3 times a week to get them familiarize with the school route. Remove the junk food in your fridge and replace them with healthy snacks, too.
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Visit the school together. It’s important that you explore the school grounds before classes begin. This is to lessen the overwhelming feeling of touring the school when other kids are all over the place. Get to know the teacher and introduce her to your child. Bring him to where the bathroom, cafeteria, and drop off points are. Allow him to run around and explore the classrooms to put him at ease.
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Talk to the teacher. Let her know if your child has allergies or other conditions that the school should be aware of. Tell her what your child likes. Give her a heads up on what triggers a tantrum and how you manage it at home. Ask questions about school policies and bring up all your concerns. Teachers understand that it is equally difficult for kids to go to school for the first time as it is for the parents.
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Have small talks often. Share your school experiences when you were your child’s age. Tell him stories about your friends and what you used to do before. Let him know that even if he goes into his classroom, he will still see you afterward. Ask him if there’s anything he’s afraid of about school and address those fears. Listen to what he wants to do in school and let the teacher know these activities. Pray with him about school, too!
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Bottom line, there’s nothing to fear in sending your kids to school. It’s a moment worth capturing and reliving when they’re older. As a parent you need to prepare both your child and yourself. There will be a lot of enjoyable moments in school that you will share together. Savor this season of life of your kid because this is when he will socially and mentally mature one school day at a time.
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Nicole So is a freelance writer, regular runner and a former backpacker. Her hobbies are writing, photography and traveling. Follow her escapades in google+.
