September brings the end of lazy days, relaxed routines, and spending countless hours outdoors! It brings forth set schedules, appointments, and the constant rush, rush, rush to fit everything into our kids’ waking hours.

Preschool is the first step in child’s lifelong adventure of learning, so parents want to make it as positive as possible.  It is also a big transition for parents so preparing together will help ease this new step for both of child and parent.  By using these eight tips you may ease some of the anxiety.

  1. Take your child to visit the school they will be attending. Meet the teacher, see the classroom, and visit the playground
  2. Read stories about going to school. Here are a few ideas:
  1. Partner with your child’s teachers. She will be a great resource and you can fill her in on some of your child’s favorite activities that she can have available to help ease transitions.
  2. Use pretend play where your take turns being the teacher.
  3. Make a special shopping trip to let your child pick out their lunch box, backpack or a school supply.
  4. Send in a photo of Mom and Dad that the child can look at during the day if he or she is missing you.
  5. When the time comes to drop your child off you can plan a goodbye routine, a special hug or song but be strong and resist the back-and-forth rescue as that will only make your child anxious by feeling you’re unsure about this first experience.
  6. At the end of a long day, you want to know what your child has been doing! Asking your child “What did you do today” might be met with “Nothing” or “I don’t know”, no matter the age of the child. It’s important to keep communication open so your child feels comfortable talking about all aspects of their day, whether they have been good or challenging. Here are some tips to help extract aspects of your child’s day and keeping the doors of communication open.  Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer:  Instead of asking, “Did you have a good day?” try asking a question that requires more than a yes or a no like, “Who did you play with today?” “What was your favorite activity today?”. Be prepared to answer the same questions from your child too! After all, they wonder what it is you do when they aren’t around!

It’s Back to School season and here is a great article with some tips to help us to get back into the season and keep the lines of communication open with your child. http://thehighlyeffectiveteacher.com/essential-back-to-school-tips-for-parents/

For further information on Back to School Tips see visit www.kangarookkidschildcare.com or like Kangaroo Kids on Facebook or call 908-231-7800