Below are helpful tips to help prepare your child for the first day of Kindergarten:
Getting Ready for School
• Establish routines by introducing an earlier bedtime several weeks before school starts.
• Practice the morning routine of dressing and eating breakfast.
• Review several times with your child how he or she will get to and from school.
• Make sure your child understands and obeys safety rules such as:
1. Crossing the street only at crosswalks.
2. Walking on sidewalks.
3. Remaining seated until the bus is completely stopped.
4. Listening to teachers, bus drivers, crossing guards, principals, etc.
• Teach your child:
1. To recite his/her full name, address, and phone number.
2. To be responsible for and to recognize his/her own belongings. You can help by labeling ALL of his/her belongings (clothes, lunch box, backpack, coat, gloves…).
3. To attend to his/her own personal needs: toileting (visit a public restroom; this enables your child to feel more comfortable with using the restrooms at school), using a tissue and washing face and hands, covering nose or mouth with arm to sneeze or cough, zipping/buttoning/snapping clothes.
• Choose clothing for your Kindergartener that is “easy on, easy off”. Choose pants with elastic waistbands if your child has difficulty with zippers, snaps, and belts. Children should be able to put on their shoes independently if they come off.
• Read to your child daily. Reading increases vocabulary. Read everything, from
books to signs, even cereal boxes!
• Make sure that your child has time to play after school and on weekends. Now that your child spends more time in a structured school environment, you should allow more free time at home for play. Kindergarten homework includes playtime!
• Help your child develop strategies to resolve peer conflicts and to know when it is appropriate to ask an adult for help.
• Promote the attitude of respect for rights and properties of others.
Supporting the Learning Process
• Be calm and positive when you speak about school in your child’s presence.
• Encourage your child to share school experiences with you. Take an active interest in your
child’s schooling. Ask specific questions about what happens at school each day and how your
child feels about it.
• Treat going to school as part of the normal course of events that will be a positive experience for
your child. A calm, matter-of-fact, positive attitude will best help your child get the most out of
Kindergarten. Give a kiss and hug, then say, "Have a
GREAT day!" The quicker this morning transition is, the quicker your child with adjust to the school day.
