Preparing Your Child for Their First Day of Kindergarten

Your child is heading off to kindergarten! You may feel equal amounts of pride and panic with this big, momentous leap into academics. Help your child have a stress-free first week (and beyond) by making preparations that ease anxiety and pave the way for success.

Helping your child prepare by developing routines, having a plan for positive communication, and playing educational games together helps make going back to school a smooth ride!

Talk About Kindergarten Early

Start to discuss starting kindergarten a few weeks before it begins. Let your child know what a school day will look like, from meeting teachers, playing with friends, and learning. Reassure your child in a fun and reassuring tone that starting school is great!

Be honest with any of your child's worries; listen when he/she has worries and let him/her know others are worried too! Stories about starting school can ease many anxious feelings by letting your child read and experience school in a known, comfortable medium.

Visit The School Before The First Day

If you’re able to, visit the kindergarten as a family prior to day one. Have a stroll around the playroom, outdoors and playground area. Mention some of the amazing play zones where children gather as a group. A meeting with educators prior to day one can also ease apprehension.

Having a familiar face on the first day means all will be well. Open days many parents looking for the best kindergarten in Kurmond will choose to attend open days. These provide the opportunity to experience the environment and philosophy before committing.

Build Daily Routines

Create a schedule. Getting children into routines makes them feel safer. If it feels like this process won’t happen naturally, then you’ll want to slowly phase in an earlier bed and a more punctual rise time about one to two weeks before school recommences.

Establish a set time where your child will get dressed and eat their breakfast and have time to practise preparing their school bag and cleaning their teeth.

This all goes to relieve the pressure on the first few days of school and allow an earlier bedtime where both kids get adequate sleep and become much happier, less worried and more alert to the day ahead.

Encourage Independence

There is a host of different activities kids can do for themselves at kindergarten. You can make your child comfortable going to school with a variety of skills, such as: Putting on their own shoes, open lunchboxes to remove food, pour water and feed themselves. Use the toilet. Wash hands. Pack their own toys at the end of the session and many other skills (encourage polite behaviour when they need assistance and celebrate successes).

Develop Social Skills

Kindergarten in Kurmond is not only about academics. The academic activities are the most important, but what about friendship and learning how to get along with others? Do you not care? Set up a play date or invite them to parks.

Our child would get lots of chances to meet with kids of the same age. You can try giving kids a chance to play and share toys, take turns with games, listen to what others say and also say polite words. Such a simple way helps in the classroom. Play role-play in many such situations too, e.g., introduce ourselves, join a game, ask the teacher for help, etc.

Make Learning Fun at Home

You can learn all there is to know about kindergarten readiness before children attend school with little formal instruction required. Every experience a young child has offers learning opportunities.

Whether you're counting shopping carts while out for errands, reading stories as a family each night before bed, singing songs, or building with blocks and assembling easy puzzles, kids develop key skills in a fun and meaningful way.

It’s in this safe, play-based learning childcare centre environment that children foster curiosity, imagination, problem-solving, motor development and early learning centre through exploration, interaction and creation.

Prepare for the First Morning

Do it the day before. Pack school bag, make lunchbox, and choose school clothes. A good, organized day start. Get out of bed with a little time, and don’t run for the bus. Eat breakfast at ease and maintain a positive vibe.

When reaching the school, keep a smile and happy faces on. Kids can sense how the parents feel. So, a happy smile and good-bye would assist in settling in. Refrain from long good-bye, a short hug and an encouraging word might be enough.

Support Emotional Readiness

Your child will take time to adjust. Children are all different – your child may be fine with all of this from the outset. Other children will take a few weeks to adjust. Every day you could chat about how their day has gone with some simple questions like 'What was your favorite thing today' or 'Was anything scary?' 

The most important things is that listen patiently and acknowledge the positives, even discussing the tricky things gently. Most children will settle after the initial few weeks.

Stay Connected with Teachers

Talking with your child’s teacher helps them succeed. Get to know the classroom teacher and communicate throughout the year to keep you updated on what’s happening in the class. 

Share anything relevant regarding your child’s interests and behaviours and what supports your child feeling comfortable. Parents appreciate a good communication channel to reinforce learning at home and to ensure we can offer holistic learning support for your child.

Early learning centre like ours enjoy close ties between educators and parents and value the opportunity to work collaboratively to promote the success of each child.

Conclusion

Getting your kids ready to start the kindergarten year will involve time, patience, and positive reinforcement from your side. Making a few positive routines and learning how to encourage their independence will go a long way to having happy learners in kindergarten this year.

Getting there will not be stressful and it can be incredibly enjoyable for both of them to go on their learning adventures in kindergarten!