My top 10 tips on how to get your child ready for Kindergarden (or Big School)

Now that we have hit November EVERYTHING seems to be happening at once and so fast too.  I sometimes feel like everyone saves up all events until the last two months of the year and then our calendars just get invaded.  Luckily it's all fun stuff, but it's still so exhausting and so hard to keep up - well for me anyway as I've never really been too hot on organisation.

A big event for us this week was my little (or not so little anymore) Miss H has started her preparations for school next year.

Miss H and her pre-school buddy. They're be starting Big school together next year and I just LOVE how excited they are.

It was so cute to see how excited she was about her Orientation Day and meeting her big buddy.  I wasn't too worried about her as she has been in and out of the school a thousand time over the last two years since Master J started that it's a very familiar place for her.  (Poor Miss L will have spent almost every day of her entire life at school before she even starts).  I couldn't help getting a little lump in my throat watching her skip off - it's like the end of another era for me.  I think I'm getting worse as I get older and will definitely be needing the tissues when she actually starts. Luckily Master J won't be around as he will be mortified!

I don't feel quite as 'new' as I did when Master J started school but this week has reminded me of all the things our budding little big school people need to prepare for the new year.  It really is a big deal for them (and us) and good to be as prepared as possible, so I've put together a few tips that I found helpful.

10 helpful tips to prepare your child for Big School

1. It's helpful for them to be able to read or recognise their own name in print.  This will really help them on their first few days to be able find their own bag hook and seat in the classroom, for example, which will all be labelled with their name.
2. If you are able to, it's a great idea to visit the school grounds during the weekend or the holidays with your child to help them familiarise themselves with where their classroom is and from there how to get to the toilet blocks, the office and the playground etc. This way they are less likely to feel totally disorientated on their first day.  The school should have provided you with a map in your welcome pack, otherwise you could find it on the school website.
3. Make sure your child is able to recognise the toilet symbols for male and female so that they know which one to use.  Also make sure that they are able to wipe their own bottoms and wash their hands without help.  
4. Make sure that they are able to put their shoes and socks on by themselves.
5. Make sure that they are able to put their jumper/jackets on and off by themselves.  I once picked up Master J from school not long after he first started and he was freezing.  I asked him why wasn't wearing his jumper and he told me that he had got hot in the classroom so had taken it off, but that had turned it was inside out and he couldn't get it the right way to put it back on. Teaching him how to do that just hadn't occurred to me.
6. Make sure they are able to open everything that you put in their lunch boxes.  At home I often just automatically open a packet of crackers/teddies before handing them out, but at school they will have to do it themselves.  There is not enough time during morning tea for the teacher to open 24 packets of teddies!
7. Make sure they know how to put their own sunscreen on.  Sunscreen is always available in the classrooms but the children are expected apply it themselves.
8. Chat to your child and make sure that they understand that their current routine is going to change dramatically and go through the new routine with them before it starts.
9. Make sure they know how to put their uniform on and what needs to go into their school bags every day.  Believe me you won't want to be doing it for them all the time, especially if you have more than one child at school.
10. Try on their school uniform and shoes well before the big day so that you can iron out any issues that may cause them problems, like blisters from new shoes or a zip that is scratching them.

All of these may sound pretty obvious but it's actually amazing how much we help them out at home without even realising.  A lot of these things would also have been covered as part of their school readiness program at pre-school, but it's good practice to start doing them at home too.  It just gives them that little extra boost of confidence and independence before they start school.

Having been through this process before, my one bit of advice would be to not plan too many external activities for your child during the first term.  They are absorbing and learning so much, that during the first few weeks of school they are absolutely exhausted.  In my experience anything extra could just tip them over the edge, and really - do you want to living in tantrum city?????.  Once they have settled in and are used to the new routine they will be able to cope with so much more.

Do you have any little people starting school next year?  How are you feeling about it?

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