Helping Your Child Get Ready for
the First Day of Kindergarten
We’ve given
birth and nurtured our children and watched them begin to grow into wonderful
little people in awe of the world and all their surroundings. Now it’s time to
prepare for them for the first big step in their lives – preparing for the
first day of kindergarten.
Getting
ready is probably the most difficult part. You have likely already been working
to instill good, healthy habits into your child’s life but it’s even more
important as they prepare to enter school to instill healthy habits like
getting enough sleep – at least 10-12 hours per night and eating right – a
healthy breakfast and lunch will help your child get through the day.
Once your
child is in school on a full-time basis, it’s common to think that after school
activities are all part of the process. We want our children to be well-rounded
and involved and in our quest for making this happen, we tend to get our
children wrapped up in many after school activities. Children can become as
burnt out as adults can so it’s important to fight the urge to let them get
involved with everything and keep these after school activities to a minimum.
The next
step in helping your child adjust to school is to help them foster
independence. Allowing your child (within reason of course) to pick their
outfit and dress themselves will help give them both independence and
confidence. Keep in mind that this doesn’t include tying their shoes. It is not
uncommon for children not to learn to tie their shoes until their kindergarten
year.
You also
want to address things like making sure your child understands the importance
of putting away things when they are done using or playing with them, putting
the lids back on paints and markers and putting the crayons back in the box
when they are finished.
Finally,
make sure you have the “potty” talk before your child heads off to the
classroom. Make sure they are able to take care of themselves after using the
potty and don’t forget to stress the importance of washing their hands when
they are finished.
Talking over
these few tips will help your child be better prepared for their school day –
take the time to make it a positive one!
