If your child is starting school in September, this one is for you…
This term, we’ve welcomed a whole host of teachers from nearby prep and primary school to Two Hands. They’ve come to visit the children who will be starting school with them in September, to meet them in a familiar environment and to talk to their preschool teachers about them. Overall, these visits have affirmed what we already knew; our first cohort of children to leave Two Hands are heading off to school more than ready for their next adventure. Starting school is still a big transition for the child and indeed the whole family, so as our term draws to a close, here are 5 tips to prepare your child – and you!
1. Consider them ready
Wherever your child is in their development by the summer before they start school, consider them ready. Their preschool teachers have been supporting their development for the past year or more and preparing them for this transition. Your child is ready.
Of course if you read enough articles on school readiness, you are bound to find at least some things on there that your child can’t do confidently yet. But whether it’s using a knife to cut up their food, doing up buttons on a shirt, wiping their bottom thoroughly, let it go for now. Your child is unlikely to master any of these things in the space of a few weeks, but if you focus on any of them they will swallow the message that YOU think they aren’t yet ready for school. And that is more problematic for their readiness than whatever you were trying to address.
(And yes, no matter how casual and relaxed you are about it, they will pick up on what you are doing!)
Here’s a final point of reassurance: Almost all (all?) children start school not being able to get themselves fully dressed in their school uniform. And the same is probably true for most of what you are concerned about.
2. There’s more continuity than change
We often talk about starting school as if it is a huge transition. In many ways it is. Yet much of what is important to your child is probably staying the same and it can be helpful to point that out. Your child is staying in the same family and probably in the same house.
But there’s more.
If your child has been at Two Hands, they’re used to being in a preschool environment, away from their main carers, for most or all weekdays. They’re even used to wearing a ‘uniform’ of sorts and having a morning routine for getting out of the house. They’re used to having a mix of teacher-led activities and child-led play, just as they will have in Reception. The balance shifts, but there’s a lot of play still involved next year. They’re used to having meal-times with friends where they serve themselves and clear up after themselves.
Reception is the last year of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and so it is similar to their preschool years in more ways than it is different.
3. All feelings about school are allowed
The one area where you CAN still support them is their emotional readiness. Some children will share their worries with you about starting school. Others won’t talk about it, but you might notice small changes in their behaviour. Then there are some who seem totally fine, either because they will be, or because they’re just not thinking about it deeply yet. The feelings may surface in September instead.
By all means, talk to them about the positives about starting school and the things you think they’ll enjoy - but don’t overdo it. And if they bring up any worries or concerns, give those time and space, instead of immediately telling them why they should be excited instead. It’s also worth talking to them about mixed feelings, explaining that they can have two feelings about something at the same time.
4. Tell them stories
Use stories to explore your child’s emotions about starting school and to help normalise whatever they might experience in their first days here. There are a ton of great books on this topic and a quick google search will give you plenty of suggestions.
Don’t under-estimate the importance of telling stories about your own childhood too. It gives you the opportunity to explain how you felt and how you handled the situation, which might help your child consider new perspectives and possibilities. You might even see some relief on your child’s face as they hear about the person they most admire in the world also facing similar experiences to them!
5. Prepare yourself too
Your child starting school is a big milestone for you as a parent and possibly an emotional one too!
Then there’s the logistics. You’ll probably already have thought about the changing childcare requirements and the new school holiday problem! You’ll probably already have thought about drop off and pick up.
One of the biggest changes that you don’t often think about in advance is the amount of feedback you get about your child’s day. At school, you probably won’t get a conversation at pick up or drop off each day and even if your child’s school uses a platform to share photos, it'll probably be less frequently than you are used to. This takes some getting used to and can be uncomfortable at first!
Unfortunately, most of us can’t get much information out of our children either at the end of the day. The good news is that the two previous points can help here: if you’ve allowed all feelings about school before September, they know they can bring their worries to you once they start. And if you tell them stories about your school experiences, they might reciprocate with one of their own.
Finally, expect your child to come out of school tired and hungry. Snacks and free play – and not too many questions about how their day was – are key!
Want to read on? Try ‘7 things your child’s secondary school teachers will be glad they learnt in their early years’
At Two Hands Preschool, we have an after-school club for older siblings, which means they can come back to a familiar environment after school until they finish year 2. Here they’ll get a snack, plenty of free play indoors or outdoors and loving teachers who are delighted to see them again! It also means you get extended childcare until 6pm.
Get in touch with us at hello@twohandspreschool.com for more information.
