Helping to prepare your child for school
just 10 weeks your 4-5 year old may be starting school. Regardless of
what care your child has been receiving up until now this can be a huge change
in their life and the easier you can make this the easier they will find it to
settle in.
differences worth noting is that the classes are more formally set up then in
nurseries or preschool’s and children are on a larger ratio so they will not receive
the same attention as they would have received before. Both of these changes
can mean that some children self esteem and confidence may suffer within the
first few months. Here are some ideas which may help to get them ready for
school.
Buy some school
uniform early and hang it up with your child’s dressing up clothes this
will give them the opportunity to get used to it through role play. You
could even join in playing schools with them.
Ask the school to
take pictures of s/he’s class room, play ground and community areas. These
can be put into a laminated book to look at in the home and will allow
your child to openly discuss starting school.
Libraries hold
children’s reading book which cover the topic of starting school and these
make a great read for nervous little ones.
Make sure you
check if your child’s school will be holding visit opportunities for
children to meet up and explore their class room.
Ask the school if they would be happy to
send out a letter with planned dates for parents to meet up in a local
park in the six weeks holiday, this will also help the children to make
friends in a less enclosed setting.
Ask the school
what your child must know for when they start. In most schools this is simply
how to do their shoes up and to be able to recognise their own name.