Here are five steps to help ensure a smooth and enjoyable transition as your child prepares to head to school this fall.
- Create a daily routine. This allows your child to know what to expect. You can provide verbal prompts about might come next. This allows your child to prepare for the next transition. For example, after breakfast we will be leaving for school.
- Establish a sleep pattern. Help your child establish a routine for going to bed. This might include brushing teeth, reading a book, and a consistent bedtime.
- Talk. Talk about what might happen at school (centers, snack, outdoor play), feelings they might experience, and questions they may have.
- Read books about going to school. This might be an opportunity to talk about the
character’s feelings and how they explored those feelings.
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and Ruth Harper
- If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
- The Crayons Go Back to School by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
- Llama Llama Back to School by Anna Dewdney
- The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems
- How Do Dinosaurs Go to School by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
- Have fun! Celebrate the start of school.