To get your children ready for school, start preparing a few months before they start:

• Visit the school several times with your child.
• Organise some days with friends when your child can get used to being separated from you.
• Encourage them to be able to tell someone their name, address and phone number.
• Teach them to put things away after finishing an activity.
• Teach them to tie and untie their shoelaces and buckle/unbuckle their shoes.
• Let them practise putting on and taking off their outer clothing – raincoat, jumper, shoes and socks.
• Invite their friends over for a pretend school day, when they can have lunch outside from their lunch box, play ball games, and sit and draw.
• Buy their school bag well in advance, so that they can practise packing and unpacking their lunch box, raincoat, etc.
• Show them how to cough or sneeze in to the crook of their arm.
• Make sure they can flush the toilet and wash their hands by themselves. (Check for soap and paper in the school toilets.)
• Make sure they know how to open their drink bottle.

Handy hints for the first year of school:

• Mark with a pen or label all items of clothing, lunchboxes, etc. Try to make schoolbags and lunchboxes distinctive in some way, as they will need to be able to recognise them.
• Be cheerful when you leave them each morning, and don’t linger too long.
• Be on time when taking them to school and picking them up – they get upset if you are late.
• Take a little time at the end of each day to listen to your child, talk about their day, and admire what they bring home.
• Children are often tired after school, especially in the first few months, so dinner should be early. Try to prepare a meal the night before if you are working. Bedtime should be about 7.30 pm.
• Get involved in school activities if you can afford the time.

This article was written by Ella Walsh for Kidspot New Zealand.

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