How to prepare your child for starting school

Last Updated on April 17, 2024

I can’t believe that Ryan starts school next month! He turned four this month, which will make him one of the youngest in his class.

Like so many kids, Ryan’s start to school will be different due to Covid-19.

For a start, some of the key things to prepare him for starting school like parent information sessions, induction days, visiting the school, and meeting the teacher haven’t been able to take place.

When he does start school, he will go for 45 minutes the first week, one full day the second, and then full time hours from week three. Once full time he will be split into a group that does different hours to the rest of the school starters.

This may change, but at the time of writing this post this is what I’ve been advised.

Given that we haven’t been able to do these critical things to prepare him for starting school, I still need to prepare him as well as I can in other ways.

If you also need to prepare your child for starting school, here are some tips on how you to do so.

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START TALKING TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT STARTING SCHOOL

The best time to start talking to your child about starting school is when you start the process of looking at schools.

Let your child know that the process is starting and take them with you to school open days, or school tours. I also find that this is a great way to gauge how the people holding the open days or tours interact with your child, when they may not be on their best behaviour, or when they are in an environment that’s new to them.

Once you know what school your child will be attending, let them know the name of the school and look at the school’s website together, showing them pictures of what key areas look like, and reading to them some of the information that you feel may excite them about starting school.

Whenever you receive information from the school, such as your child’s start date, teacher’s name, and class name tell your child.

I recently received a letter and a book from Ryan’s school. The letter was written from an older child telling Ryan how much fun he’ll be having, and the book was a cute story about what a day at school would look like.

Tears were about to come when I read Ryan the letter, it made it very real for me and a definite sign that my little boy was about to start a new chapter in his life. Which leads me to advise that no matter how emotional you are about your child starting school, try to hide any tears and keep everything as anxious free and upbeat as you can, so they don’t think you’re sad about it, which makes them feel like they should be sad too.

DISCUSS FEELINGS ASSOCIATED WITH STARTING SCHOOL

As well as telling your child how fun school will be, tell them that it’s okay to have other feelings as well.

Remind them that they may feel scared, nervous, or sad on their first day, which is okay too. Remind them that whatever feelings they have, they can always tell the teacher about them, who is there to help them and make them feel good about their new adventure.

READ BOOKS ON STARTING SCHOOL

Over the summer break, read your child books on starting school so they can visually see what starting school entails.

When you’ve finished reading ask them if they have any questions, or go back to some pages and explain things further if needed so any of their fears are minimised.

Some books on starting school are:

• Starting School, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• Starting School Sticker Book, by Felicity Brooks
• My First Day at School, by Ellen Crimi-Trent

DISCUSS ANY CONCERNS YOU HAVE WITH THE SCHOOL

If you have any concerns about the feelings your child may have on their first day, or first week, or any skills you feel like they need to develop further discuss them with the school before your child starts.

Your readiness for your child starting school is just as important as your child’s readiness levels.

DO A SCHOOL RUN BEFORE THEY START SCHOOL

Do a few practice runs of getting to and from school before your child starts school.

This will enable them to get excited about starting school, and allows them to become familiar with the route so they know what to expect.

Related post:
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GET INTO A SCHOOL ROUTINE

Over the summer before your child starts school, start getting them into a school routine.

This means getting them to bed at a time that gives them enough sleep to wake up at the time you’d have to wake them on a school day, eating lunch at the time they’d eat lunch at school, avoiding naps, and getting them to go out without comforters.

PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE

Two things I constantly have to remind Ryan to do since toilet training him is flushing the toilet and washing his hands.

Each time he goes to the toilet I now tell him that these are things he has to do when he goes to school, and somehow that makes him do it.

Other good hygiene practices that your child should know before starting school include pulling up their pants, using a tissue when they sneeze, and covering their mouths when they cough.

PRACTICE LIFE SKILLS

Some life skills that you can practice with your child before they start school where they’ll have to do them without your help include putting their shoes on, hanging up their bag and coat, putting their coat on and off, changing into their PE uniform, and tidying up their own mess.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN’T DO

Don’t worry if your child can’t recite the alphabet, read, or write their own name, or whatever else you’re told children should be able to do before they start school.

All children will have different skill levels, as some children are 5 when they start school, and some, like Ryan, have just turned four. There’s a big difference in skill levels in a year of age.

All children will all catch up to each other at some point, and the teacher will let you know if they have any concerns about your child’s development, which you can work on if that happens.

THINGS TO DO ON THE MORNING YOUR CHILD STARTS SCHOOL

Try to make the morning your child starts school as relaxed as possible.

If you work take the morning off, and whether you work or not wake up early so you can get their uniform ready, spend some quality time with them before you have to start getting ready, make a special breakfast, and take some first day of school photos.

THINGS TO DO AFTER YOUR CHILD’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

After your child’s first day of school, they are bound to be starving. So on their first day, and any other day after that, you may like to take a snack and drink with you when you pick them up.

When you do pick them up, make sure you are early or on time so your child isn’t the last one at the gate.

My brother and I were ALWAYS the last to be picked up, we often had to wait inside the school office until we were collected. Decades later and this is still something that sticks in my mind.

A nice way to celebrate the end of their first day of school is to take them out for a special treat, where you can also ask them questions about their day.

Try not to ask them too many questions though, as they won’t remember everything that they did, and will probably be exhausted and not in the mood to talk too much.

Once you get home let your child unwind however they would like.

I hope you’ve found some tips on how to prepare your child for starting school.

Starting school is a big step, not only for our children, but for us mums as well so the smoother it can be for everyone involved, the better.

What tips do you have for preparing your child for starting school?
I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.