Preparing your child for the transition to school
Preparing your Child for School
Your child has already successfully made that first step into the world when they started pre-school. Whist moving on from pre-school and starting school may feel like another big step it is a much easier transition if a child is used to attending nursery.
This is an exciting time for children and their parents, as children take that next step on their journey into life. With a little preparation and encouragement, most children will settle into school easily and will be ready to learn, discover, and make new friends.
At The West Finchley Pre-School, we aim to help make the transition to school as exciting and enjoyable as possible for all our children, and go to every length to prepare them. However, there are also plenty of ways that you can help make the transition as smooth and positive as possible.
Here’s our guide to preparing your child for the transition to school…
There are a variety of emotions at play when your little one is preparing to start school – from the excitement of growing up, taking the next step, and making new friends, through to sadness at leaving their pre-school behind and becoming more independent.
With emotions running high, it’s important to prepare your child (and yourself!) emotionally for starting school.
Visit the school together
In the run up to starting school, arrange a visit for you and your child. This will allow you both to see where they will be and what they will be doing. Make sure that, during this visit, you ask to be shown all of the places and facilities that will be important on a fay-to-day basis, such as the bathroom, the cloak room, the playground, and so on. This will help with the settling in process once they start and also make their first few days a lot less daunting.
Meet the teacher
If it’s possible, arrange for you and your child to meet their future teacher together. Ask lots of questions about the school day and what sort of things your child will be doing during their first few weeks. You should also encourage your child to tell the teacher some things about themselves. Some schools now offer a home-visit system to allow the teacher to see the child in their own environment. If you have the opportunity to do this, we’d highly recommend taking up the offer!
Try to arrange for someone from the school to visit your child in nursery, some schools do this as a matter of course.
Starting School Books
Borrow lots of starting school books from the library and read them to your child. If your little one seems worried about starting school, you can use the books to draw out and discuss their concerns and reassure them.
Arrange an exciting shopping trip
Go on an exciting shopping trip together to buy your child’s new uniform and other school essentials, such as shoes, a school bag, and a lunch box. Make sure it feels like an adventure and a treat, rather than a chore. If possible, you should make this a one on one trip to ensure it’s all about your child!
Encourage them to make friends
One of the biggest worries that your child will have about starting school will be making friends. Most children are absolutely fine at making friends, and they will have developed their own friendships at West Finchley Pre School. Teach them to make new friends by playing a game together, looking at their eyes and smiling, asking what their names are, and introducing themselves.
If you’d like to discuss how we prepare our children for the school transition at The West Finchley Pre-School, please do not hesitate to contact us.