With children heading back to school or already back to school - you may be wondering if your child will cope and have fun. There are many things you can do with your children to remind them that school is coming up and reassure them that it will be okay. They may be just as anxious as you and if you are both panicking about it then that isn’t good for anyone. Spend some quality time together before they go back and give them some nice memories to focus on. Check out the article below to find out how you can prepare your child for starting school.
Routines Are Important
If your child hasn’t been in any sort of routine before then going to school can be a bit of a shock to their system. It is essential you get them into a routine of going to bed at a reasonable hour and then wake up easily for school the next morning. Getting your child into a great bedtime routine can be incredibly tricky, especially if they are not used to it. Try and wind them down with no technology and maybe a hot chocolate, this will show them that bedtime is approaching. If your children are younger then it can be handy having a bedtime clock that you set before they go to sleep. This will show them the difference between bedtime and morning time.
Start Learning Early
Your child is never too young to start learning, this begins from the moment they are born. Stay on top of their learning journey by reading regularly to them and with them. Reading is the beginning of learning new words and being able to spell. You can even practice phonograms with your children before they start school. If you are unsure how to go about this then take a look online at What Are Phonograms: A Helpful Guide & List for Parents. When your child starts school they may be given homework to further their learning. Help your child with this if and when they get stuck with something.
Enroll In A Nursery
One thing you can do for your child to prepare them for school is send them to a childminder or a nursery setting. This will ensure they get into a familiar routine and get used to being around other adults and children. Nurseries and childminders also follow statutory learning so your child will learn the beginning stages of reading, writing, and math. Make sure you do your research on childcare settings and speak to other parents about where they send their children. You want the best for your child so finding the right setting is important.
Find Comfortable Shoes
Shoe shopping is something many children dislike before school as it makes them realize that they are going to be starting school very soon. Shopping for shoes can be extremely busy as many parents are going to be doing the same thing. It might be worth making an appointment with your local shoe shop, this can be helpful if your child is particularly anxious or overwhelmed. Ideally, you need hard wearing shoes for your child as they will be busy running around the playground and wandering around their classrooms for long periods. Boys also have a tendency to slide along the ground so the toe parts of shoes need to take the brunt of this.
Pack Lunch Or School Dinner
Speak to your child about whether they want packed lunch or school dinners when they go to school. They may be used to having school dinners already, especially if they have attended childcare settings previously to school. There may be free school meals or reduced meals available to you if you are a low income family. However, if you have to pay for school dinners then it might be more cost effective to give your child a packed lunch.
Teach Them It’s Okay To Get Things Wrong
As your child heads off to school they may be worried or anxious about making friends or getting the work wrong. It is important that your child knows it is okay to get things wrong, that is how we learn. Teaching this from a young age will give your child the confidence they need to get through school and other education. If they get it wrong, try again, and don’t give up.
We hope you found this article helpful and that it gave you some ideas on how you can get your child ready for starting school for the first time or returning to school after having a long time off for summer.