Back-to-school is such an exciting time for all our kiddos and for our littlest friends starting Kindergarten, it’s a huge milestone! To help ease them into busier days, we’ve put together a few easy ways to make the transition to Kindergarten as smooth as possible.
Establish Good Routines Before The First Day
We talk a lot about the importance of a solid weekday routine for our families. Regular and predictable bedtime, morning and after school routines will help ease stress, lessen transition anxiety and make busy weeks just a bit easier for the whole family.
For our Kindergarten friends this is especially important as they adjust to earlier mornings, longer and more demanding school days and added after-school activities.
Start the transition in the weeks leading up to the first day by creating a solid bedtime routine that allows kiddos to wind down in the evening and be in bed with plenty of time to get the recommended 9-11 hours of sleep. Incorporate calming activities – book reading, listening to music, a quiet game and establish those good sleep habits.
Practice New Skills
For Kindergartners there are a lot of new tasks and skills they will encounter in the school day. Help them feel confident and ready by practicing in the weeks leading up to the first day.
- Opening lunch boxes, pencil cases and other supplies independently
- Putting on shoes (tying laces in necessary), taking jackets on and off, getting backpacks on and off independently
- Review any personal info that’s good for them to know – parents first and last names, phone numbers, addresses, etc
- Find out how long lunchtime is and practice eating lunch in that amount of time.
Attend Kindergarten Open Houses & Get Comfortable
For many of our young kiddos, Kindergarten means a bigger classroom, more kids and a larger school building. Help smooth the transition by getting familiar with the physical space they will be in. Attending any preschool events, open houses or even requesting a tour of the school are great ways to do this!
- Visit the classroom, find their seat and from that spot help them orientate where the teachers desk is, where the door is and any other important areas of the room
- Tour the building and find the bathrooms, school office, nurses office, cafeteria, drinking fountains, etc. Their teacher and class will most likely do this again when the year starts but doing it with you will be a comfortable and reassuring experience.
- Walk around the outside of the building; find where your kiddo will be dropped off and picked up or where they will get on and off the bus.
Great Books for Kindergarten Back to School
Start the conversation about heading to school by reading a favorite book.
Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes
The Pigeon Has To Go To School
Make a Celebration Plan!
Kindergarten is a big deal, make sure you celebrate accordingly!!
Make plans for a Friday night pizza party or Saturday morning donuts run to celebrate their first week of school. When we model excitement, confidence and pride around school, trying new things and working hard our kids follow suit. So share in that big excitement and make those first days a big deal!
Those first days of school can be a bit nerve wracking for us and our kids, especially our new-to-it-all Kindergartners, but it doesn’t have to be! With a solid plan in place and the expectations that there will be a few bumps along the way, it can be smooth sailing into a great school year!