While some kids may be in daycare year-round, others take the summer off from preschool, or may be beginning at a new preschool this fall. Our five tips will help you to transition your children from lazy summer days to the back to school routine.
- Take the tour.
Nothing is more frightening to a child than the unknown. Take your child on a tour of her new daycare or preschool. She can learn where she’ll eat, play, and use the bathroom. She’ll meet her new teachers. She can even familiarize herself with some of the games and toys she’ll be playing with when she starts school. After your tour, talk about the childcare facility, what her daily routine will be like, and which teachers she spoke with. Your relaxed demeanor about her new routine will make her feel at ease.
- Independence is key.
Some children may be starting preschool for the first time this fall, and will need to take on new responsibilities that they’ve never known before. Carrying their own backpack, taking off their coat and hanging it up, and following their school’s rules themselves during mealtimes and playtimes may feel odd at first. Talk to them about packing their backpack for school. Show them how to hang up their own jackets. Let them help you make lunch. And talk about their school’s expectations for their behavior. This will allow them to feel more confident operating independently once they’re on their own at school.
- It’s all about the rhythm.
Have your kids been waking up late, spending the morning in their pajamas, and whiling away the hours watching cartoons or playing in the backyard? That’s what summer is all about! But if you’ve got a new preschool or childcare routine starting this fall, get those kids in the rhythm now. A week before school starts, get your kids out of bed at a specified time, make sure they are dressed and have eaten breakfast, and get them started either on a project or on their way to the playground or to a play date. It’s important for them to ease back into a more structured day.
- Hit the shops!
A new suit, a new dress, or a new pair of shoes can make an adult feel more confident, whether the outfit is meant for a job interview or a formal wedding. Kids feel the same sort of confidence when carrying a new pencil case, lunch box, or sporting a new sweater or pair of sneakers. Boost your child’s confidence with a small shopping trip.
- Remember that learning is fun.
Help your child look at school as a fun, enjoyable experience in which learning is a source of excitement. Does your child love to read? Talk about the different books at his new school, and remind him that his teachers will be reading to him and to the other kids everyday. Did he love his last visit to the aquarium? Tell him that he’ll be learning about science hands-on with his new schoolmates. Build up some anticipation, and he’ll go into this new experience feeling excited and ready to learn about new things.
These last few weeks of summer are a crucial time. You want your kids to enjoy them, but you also know that you’ll need to ease them back into a routine. What has helped your kids make the transition from lazy summer to back to school? Let us know in the comments section!
Summit Kids Academy
Lake Worth Florida