Kindergarten is an exciting time for your child, but it’s a terrifying time for you as a parent. You are relinquishing A level of control that you’ve had over your child and their life since they were born. Of course, kindergarten teachers are not going to be parents and they’re not going to compare to you, but putting your child in a place where you don’t know what they’re doing, who they’re with, or who they’re speaking to can feel very anxiety-inducing for a parent.
It’s a big change and it’s a big transition, and when your child has been at home with you for so many years, they’re about to step into something completely new. Children will respond differently to kindergarten compared to their peers, and you may find it very difficult to let go but let go you must. Some are excited by the new experiences ahead and cannot wait. Some children have a very tough time letting go of their mother’s hand.
As a parent, you’re going to find it hard to let go of your child’s hand, but when you do, you get your hand back. Your child gets to grow their wings a little bigger and they get to have experiences and meet new people and learn what it is to be human, even from a kindergarten age. Let’s take a look at how you can get your children ready for kindergarten in a way that also gets you ready too.
1. Practice kindergarten skills. Finding a good kindergarten skills checklist is a must before kindergarten begins. You have the whole summer ahead, so you get to practice some activities that they’ll be doing in class, like forming letters and holding a pencil. You can even help them to understand more about taking turns and waiting in line. It’s absolutely fine if your child hasn’t really mastered these skills when school starts because they will learn, but it can ease the stress for them and help them learn what to expect. For an anxious child especially, learning what to expect of themselves when they go to kindergarten can really make a big difference in how they settle in.
2. Get a good bedtime and morning routine in place way before summer ends. There is a good chance that your child is going to have a brand new routine when they start kindergarten. So if they are a child who love to sleep late in the mornings, it’s time to start gently moving that clock back a bit so that they are getting up early every day. Starting a bedtime routine with the routine that you have but slightly adapted is important. So everything from making sure their shoes are ready, their clothes are ready, their bag is ready, they brush their teeth and their hair, they’ve read a story with you and they are into bed is important. A good routine at night sets them up for a great sleep, so once they’re up in the morning they can then get the routine down for going to school. They may not have any school to go to right now, but over the next couple of months, you can play pretend.
3. Bye bye nap time. If your child, by some miracle, is still napping at the age of four or five, then it’s time to start phasing out that nap. Kindergarten classes often have a rest time, but if your child is still sleeping, it’s going to be difficult for them to transition if they are thrown into the deep end. Start cutting down their length of nap time by a few minutes a day before school starts so that eventually they are able to go without a nap. This will help them to be ready for the school day where they’re not going to be taking time to lay down with their favorite blanket.
4. Start making directions for a fun game. You can practice having your child do activities with one and two-step directions before school starts. Children in a kindergarten class are expected to follow directions throughout the school day as said by their teacher. You could even introduce a sticker chart for congratulations on every step taken that they have done politely and smartly. Little things like this can make a big difference to a child, so lots of positive reinforcement and lots of changes happening now will prepare them for the changes happening later when you’re not around.
Ask them how they feel. Kindergarten is very difficult for a child if they’ve never been away from you before. Talk to them about what they’re feeling and buy some books to read to them to explain what happens in kindergarten and how they’re feeling about it is absolutely fine. Some children find it tough to express their feelings or even understand them, but you can ask questions that are child-appropriate about happiness and sadness to find out how they’re feeling about the whole change ahead.
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