Preschool is a “big step” forward for you and your little one! Stepping into preschool for the first time; it will be filled with lots of wonderful new experiences for your child, it could be scary also for few of the kids as it is new. Parents play a very important role to prepare their child for this new experience; it is never too early to start providing the kinds of experiences that will help your child to be ready for preschool. Here are few important points that you can refer for smooth transition to preschool:
- Make few visits before school begins: Take advantage of “front bench day” at preschool and let your child be familiar with new environment, meet & talk to the teacher. So that at an extent child will be familiar to the new place.
- Read stories about going to preschool: Read some exciting stories which talks about a child going to school like “Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School” by Herman Parish. Give them a hint what to expect in class.
- Set a routine & plan a day before: Try getting into a routine at least a week ahead from the big day. Kids need time to adjust to new morning and bedtime routines. Don’t rush in morning; prepare bag & dress in advance to have smoother start.
- Talk about school with enthusiasm & go for shopping together: Talk about positive aspects, asking open ended questions and engaging in conversations is also a great way to make them comfortable. Go for shopping of bags, lunchbox to kick start the first day at school. Pick color or cartoon character that gravitates your child.
- Plan a short goodbye: Children have a harder time with loner goodbyes, so try to keep it personal, positive, and short. Let you child know that you will come back soon to pick him/her.
With the tips listed above take some small steps that can help children to start fostering independence before the start of school like putting toys at proper place, preparing bag etc. Starting school is an important milestone and keeping an upbeat attitude will help your child look forward to making new friends, learning new concepts, and growing into right direction.