Preparation for school starts at home

Starting school for your child is one of the most important and big milestones and at the same time it can be one of the most challenging and daunting things they will encounter.

Preparation for starting school can start at home well before school starts.

This will support and promote a positive, smooth transition to school.

A child who has a positive start to school is more likely to succeed and be more engaged in school and learning.

There are some activities that you can do with your child prior to them starting school that can help them to become more prepared and to help make the transition to school a little easier.

The preparation at home should be relaxed and not forced. It should not be a stressful experience, but rather a perfect opportunity to empower your child.

• Spend quality one on one time. This facilitates open conversation so if they have any fears they can feel free to voice them and share them with you.
• Read books together
• Sing songs
• Give simple instructions for them to follow as practice
• Encourage and promote the use of new words such as mathematical concept words as more, less, a lot, many, less than, etc
• Ask and answer questions
• Talk about opposites; be observant to similar and different, etc
• Encourage problem solving
• Promote physical skills through playing at the park and building their physical skills and stamina
• Provide experiences that promote the child to build on their readiness skills such as recognizing their name, scissor skills
• Make some simple rules and get them to try to follow them ready for school rules. Explain the reasons behind them and they could help in making the home rules.
• Encourage them to look after their belongings
• Help them to learn their full name, address and if possible their phone number too. Also, their parent’s names.
• Visit the school
• Talk about starting school
• Involve them in decisions relating to school such as choosing their lunch box, school bag, etc
• When buying school uniforms make it a relaxed, natural experience
• Practice. Provide opportunities to practice skills that will be required at school. pack their lunch and have a picnic where they can practice using their lunch box
• Promote the refinement of self help skills. Putting on their own shoes, dressing themselves, tending to everyday things that will assist their success at school
• Start to get into a routine ready for the school hours. Develop a bedtime routine that lends itself to a school day. Be aware of the morning routine to accommodate being ready for school. This may mean starting to be more sequenced in the routine and time frame for breakfast.
• Participate in the school orientation process
• Encourage your child to be aware of their belongings. Yes, labeling your child’s belongings is important. There is a lot for a child to remember therefore often their belongings take a back seat.