Tips To Prepare Your Kid For First School

Sometimes, it is really interesting to see young kids neatly dressed into their uniforms and going to playgroups. Most of them would be seen crying incessantly as, for majority of them it is the first time that they are stepping outside of their comfort zones. It is quite important that you prepare them for their very first encounter; so they find it easy to adjust in the new environment.

A mother of two and a pre-primary school teacher for 14 years of my life; I have been into pre-primary education, wherein I have spent most of my time with some of the leading nursery schools in Mumbai. All this years of experience has helped to gain some insight into the young and budding minds. In this article I have tried to articulate some of the techniques which you apply to prepare the kids for their first day at school.

Articulate more about the positive aspects of going to school:

As stepping into the preschools marks the child’s first step outside – it is important that you articulate the positive things that the child will get to do there. Talk about the new toys that they would get to play or talk about the creative activities. This will create an enthusiasm in the kid therefore, would not find it difficult to adjust in the new and unfamiliar environment.

Using examples of other school going kids:

In my little tryst as an instructor in Playgroups in Mumbai I saw that kids who had elder school going siblings are very prone to accept the new setting and get easily along with the changing environment.

Introduce them to books:

Introducing young kids to colorful and illustrative books can help you to prepare them psychologically to step outside the cozy environment of their home. Buying colorful board books and make the children familiarized with the basic like alphabets, shapes, colors, animals, birds, vegetables, fruits will be interested to find the same in playschool too.

Create a routine and change their timings:

There is no such thing like routine for kids – Therefore, it become very difficult for them to get up early and follow a strict routine such as going to the school. So, the best way to prepare the child is to bring a change in their routine at home according to school timings. Change the time of their meals according to the preschool. A sudden change in timings of rest and food will certainly led to resistance.

Visit the school a few times with your kid:

I have personally seen in metro cities; especially with kid going to the nursery schools in Mumbai that most of them are dropped and picked up either by the caretakers or drivers. No matter how busy you are, take out some time for the first few days and make sure to visit the school with the child. Make the kid acquainted with the teachers, so that they do not find them as strangers on the first day.