Whether your child has attended nursery school or not, preparation for pre-school (also known as Kindergarten) is equally important.
During this transition children who attend nursery face a huge challenge since the nursery environment is almost as familiar as home. Children who have not attended nursery school may experience the same feelings of fear as well as an increased chance of separation anxiety.Our role as mamas is to prepare our child for this journey to make it as smooth and as pleasurable as possible. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Tips to help prepare your child for pre-school:
- Storytell about their day at pre-school on a daily basis. Children thrive on predictability. Letting them know what to expect is the easiest and most effective strategy.
This is an exercise I repeat with Nina often. I make it fun, and she loves my animated stories! My narration kicks off with mornings and getting ready for school. I explain to Nina that I will leave the house before she and her daddy do. She usually she leaves the house with me and making sure she understands this will help avoid any moments of panic on the day. Stories about her teacher, new friends, and the structure of the day, including bells ringing for lunchtime, and assembly in the morning follow. - Involve your child in the fun part – shopping! Let them choose their schoolbag, lunchbox, water bottle and other bits and pieces. Chances are they’ll be excited to use their new goodies.
- Save one item for the day before your child’s first day. We ordered Nina’s schoolbag online and gave it to her on the eve of the first day. She was aware that she didn’t have her bag yet and was asking for it quite often. Nina was over the moon when we presented it to her and could not wait till morning so she could use it!
- If you have the opportunity, take your child with you to the school every chance you get. Pass in front of the building and point it out several times. If you can see the schoolyard from the outside, point out the play areas and show your child the entrance or exit.
- Have a fun uniform tryout session! Take photos and enjoy watching your child sharing them with friends and extended family. A lot of oohing and aahing will make your son or daughter feel proud.
- Have an older sibling or friend go on about how fun school is.
- As soon as you know your child’s teacher’s name, or the headmistress’ name, drop it in the middle of conversations. ‘Miss so and so would be so proud of you!’ or ‘Miss so and so is looking forward to having such a good girl in her class!’ Such comments breed familiarity and a positive attitude.
- The day before your child starts Kindergarten, take him or her to the gates at entrance or exit time. If you can, opt for exit time. You can bet on your money that all the kids will be in a good mood! Explain that tomorrow, he or she will be dropped off and picked up from those very gates. ‘Look at the happy children coming out from school!’ ‘Mummy/grandma/auntie will be waiting for you to come out!’
- There’s no day like the first day to get your routine into practice. If you’re not the one dropping your child off in the morning do not do it on the first day of school. Children are creatures of habit, and if you do it once, they are bound to expect you to do it daily. Do not feel guilty about not doing so. Dropping your child off yourself will satisfy your needs but will only throw your little darling off track.
We’ve got two weeks to go! So far I am feeling more teary-eyed about Nina’s transition than she is, and I have no problem keeping it that way 🙂
Good luck to all the little children going to big school this upcoming term! Good luck to all you nervous mamas too!
Nakita xxx
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