Starting School: Getting ready

So you've decided that your child is ready to start school, great! It's normal to still have some worries, every parent does. We want them to thrive, build confidence and develop a positive attitude towards learning from the start.

How you support them will depend on their personality and needs, but here are some of my top tips to prepare for a successful start:

Connect with the school environment

•  Meet their teacher and take advantage of orientation days
•  Visit the school a few times, even if it's just driving or walking past
•  Arrange play dates with their peers
•  Get them involved in preparing uniforms, stationary, lunch boxes and other equipment

Build confidence and independence

•  Help them learn to problem solve by discussing what ifs, modelling behaviour and working out solutions together
•  Give them opportunities to dress, toilet, eat and drink independently
•  Practice gathering and packing their belongings when at home and out and about
•  Build daily routines to enable enough time for sleep, getting ready, meals and activities

Provide opportunities to develop their intellectual skills

•  Read together often
•  Learn songs, listen to music as a family
•  Play games with letters and numbers
•  Encourage them to create or recount experiences by both story-telling and drawing

Help them feel secure

•  Talk about what to expect during their day and reassure them about the plans for pick up
•  Follow their lead in discussions about school, too much talking about it can make them feel anxious
•  Talk about what to do if they need help with something
•  Speak enthusiastically about school, tell them stories about some of your wonderful experiences

Starting school is a big transition for both of you, so please don’t worry if there are a few bumps along the way.

Soon your little one will be have settled in, had an explosion of amazing new skills and bound home full of the exciting stories of their day.