Bigging up school
How you and your family talk about school with ( or in earshot of ) your child will have the biggest influence on how they feel about going . Show lots of enthusiasm for the learning and experiences they will have in the first year of school . Even if your own memories of school aren ’ t happy ones , make sure you talk in a positive way to your child about what school will be like for them .
A perfect opportunity to big up school is when you ’ re driving or walking past the building . You could point it out and start a conversation about how exciting it ’ s going to be , or even cheer and give the building a little wave !
Not the only new kid
Remind your child that their classmates will be new too , and the teachers will be looking after all of them to make sure they settle in – it might comfort them to know they won ’ t be the only one !
Skilling up
Practise listening skills and following simple directions with your child , such as asking them to fetch something or put something away . Talk to them about how they should never be afraid to ask for help or let an adult know if something bad has happened
Getting to know their future besties
Ask your child to think about the new friends they will make , even if they ’ re joining school with friends from nursery or pre-school .
If you can find out who else will be in their class ( induction days are a great time to do this ), invite one of those children over to play with your child during the summer holidays . That way your child already has a friend from the start of term . This will put them at ease when they go into class on that first day . If you ’ re not sure which child to invite , choose one whose parents you have met and get on well with . If the children become best friends , you ’ ll be seeing a lot more of them !
Kids + routines =
To ease your child into the idea of school and new routines , have as many conversations about them as possible . Get your child to try on their school uniform a few times and tell them how smart they look . Talk about the journey to school and the snacks they ’ ll have when they get home afterwards ! You could even have practice runs to and from school in the summer holidays to see how fast you can get there !
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