Whether your child has attended nursery school or not, preparation for pre-school (also known as Kindergarten) is equally important.
During this transition children who attend nursery face a huge challenge since the nursery environment is almost as familiar as home. Children who have not attended nursery school may experience the same feelings of fear as well as an increased chance of separation anxiety.
Our role as mamas is to prepare our child for this pre-school journey to make it as smooth and as pleasurable as possible. I’ve been there twice, and my brain wanted to explode with all the worries and nagging thoughts that ran through my head. But ultimately, both my kids’ transition into pre-school was extremely smooth.
Here are a few tips to help you with just that.
Tips to help prepare your 3-year-old for pre-school
- Storytell about their day at pre-school on a daily basis. Children thrive on predictability. Letting them know what to expect is the easiest and most effective strategy.
This is an exercise I repeated often with my kids. I used to make it fun, and they loved my animated stories! My narration kicks off with mornings and getting ready for school.
In Nina’s case (my most recent experience :-)) she usually used to leave the house with me and making sure she understood that helped me avoid any moments of panic on the day. Stories about her teacher, new friends, and the structure of the day, including bells ringing for lunchtime, and assembly in the morning followed. - Involve your child in the fun part – shopping! Let them choose their schoolbag, lunchbox, water bottle and other bits and pieces. Chances are they’ll be excited to use their new goodies.
- Save one item for the day before your child’s first day of pre-school. We had ordered Nina’s schoolbag online and gave it to her on the eve of the first day. She was aware that she didn’t have her bag yet and was asking for it quite often. Nina was over the moon when we presented it to her and could not wait till morning so she could use it!
- If you have the opportunity, take your child with you to the school every chance you get before they begin pre-school. Pass in front of the building and point it out several times. If you can see the schoolyard from the outside, point out the play areas and show your child the entrance or exit.
- Have a fun uniform tryout session! Take photos and enjoy watching your child sharing them with friends and extended family. A lot of oohing and aahing will make your son or daughter feel proud.
- Have an older sibling or friend go on about how fun school is. My daughter Nina is currently taking on this role for her cousin, who starts pre-school at her same school in just a few weeks!
- As soon as you know your child’s teacher’s name, or the headmistress’ name, drop it in the middle of conversations. ‘Miss so and so would be so proud of you!’ or ‘Miss so and so is looking forward to having such a good girl in her class!’ Such comments breed familiarity and a positive attitude.
- The day before your child starts pre-school, take him or her to the gates at entrance or exit time. If you can, opt for exit time. You can bet on your money that all the kids will be in a good mood! Explain that tomorrow, he or she will be dropped off and picked up from those very gates. ‘Look at the happy children coming out from school!’ ‘Mummy/grandma/auntie will be waiting for you to come out!’
- There’s no day like the first day to get your routine into practice. If you’re not the one dropping your child off in the morning do not do it on the first day of school. Children are creatures of habit, and if you do it once, they are bound to expect you to do it daily. Do not feel guilty about not doing so. Dropping your child off yourself will satisfy your needs but will only throw your little darling off track.
- Teach them the basics. Zipping and unzipping their schoolbag, lunchbag, pocket, and jackets. Pulling their pants up and down (the actual uniform). Opening and closing their lunchbox. Using their water bottle. Wearing their backpack. You’d be surprised at how much more confident they will feel when they know they’re capable of doing all of it themselves!
I remember all of this like it was yesterday, and I know how hard it can be! These tips truly help, and II hope you’ll find some solace in knowing that we all worry, and that kids are resilient beings and adapt wonderfully, despite our million worried thoughts and reservations!
Good luck to all the little children going to pre-school soon! And a big good luck to all you nervous mamas too!
Love,
Nakita xxx
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