It’s back-to-school time and our children are preparing for school. This brings out mixed emotions for both parents and children. Here are some ways to talk about feelings and help prepare your child for school. We all have feelings. Now’s the time to bring them out, talk about them, and address the excitement and fears (both yours and your children’s)
It doesn’t matter if your child will bePreparing for School Brings Mixed Emotions for both Parents and Children
- starting preschool for the first time,
- is headed off to their first day of kindergarten,
- or will be starting their homeschool curriculum.
Preparing for school sets off a mixture of emotions for both parents and children. Know that your emotions during the preparing for back-to-school time may run on overdrive. Reach out to family members and friends to share in your excitement and discuss any concerns you may have. You are not alone!
My friend said it best: “I am excited and sad at the same time”
The kids may be feeling some of the same emotions. Make time as you are preparing for school to address these feelings together.
My 5 year old will be attending kindergarten. He is thrilled to be going to school at the same place as his big sister. We keep reminding him that they will not see each other during the day. He says, “don’t worry, she will bring me to my classroom every morning.” <tear>
My 9 year old will be entering 4th grade. Oh where did the time go. I’m already hearing the buzz about middle school. She’s a voracious reader with an advanced vocabulary and a thirst for knowledge.
I am not a homeschooler. We afterschool. Meaning, when my children come home from public school we play board games, do science experiments, go on educational field trips, sew, garden, read, write letters and do all the academic and life lessons we feel may not be covered to the full extent during the classic school day. For us, it’s the best of both worlds. We have friends who send their kids to public schools, private schools, homeschool, and even ones that unschool. No matter what school you have chosen, we hope you are finding it a good fit for your family.
Preparing for school can be exciting.
Yes, starting school is a new and exciting adventure for you and your child. It’s O.K. to be giddy happy as you see what an amazing person your child is growing up to be and all the possibilities that the world holds for them. Preparing for school brings out new clothes, new backpacks, and new supplies. It’s an exciting new beginning for both you and your child.
We just got back from Target and my 5 year old picked out his own “big boy” backpack to use for the next few years. His little brother (2 1/2 latched on to a Paw Patrol backpack) He put it on and said it was his new back-pack for school. My heart got so warm seeing them running through the isles all smiles for school and learning.
Share the excitement together. Smile. Talk about the new adventures your child will go on.
– I’m looking forward to helping you learn your letters this year.
-This year will be a great opportunity to make some new friends. Let’s make sure to plan some park playdates!
– You can draw a triangle, but I bet you will be able to draw even more shapes by the end of the year.
– My favorite class at school was math. I can’t wait to see what your favorite subjects to learn will be.
Tips for children
- Ask your child what they are excited about.
- Let them select their own water bottle or backpack.
- Have them draw a picture of how they are feeling.
- Make up and sing a silly song:
Sarah had a blue backpack she brought with her to school.
She filled it up with paper and pencils, paper and pencils, paper and pencils.
She filled it up with paper and pencils and took them all to school
Really LISTEN to what they have to say. Respond to their excitement. (Maybe even write it down, because that’s the stuff that you really want to remember when they are older, but may forget the exact way they said it. Here is the interview and writing prompts we use every year. )We also like to have a space to feature our children’s school work. This display hangs up year round and helps us to keep the excitement going. Now would be a great time to set up this area with your child.
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Preparing for school can be sad and nerve wracking.
- Do a routine walk through the week before school starts.
- Pack a family picture in a backpack.
- Write a love note and put it in their lunch box. Even if they cannot read, they can see a heart or smiley face.
- Explain to them the new schedule, when and where they will be picked up.
- Show them the calendar and mark the day it is right now and when school starts.
- Give them a hug and tell them they can talk to you about anything.
- Read the Kissing Hand.
Preparing for School Activity
When I first started teaching kindergarten, we met with each kindergartner and their family prior to the first day of school. During that time, our team of teachers brought a little snack for the kids. It was a small bag with 26 teddy bear snacks 13 graham flavored and 13 chocolate bears. We explained that the room was going to be filled with the same amount of children as there were bear snacks. With only one teacher, we talked about how to problem solve, get a teachers attention, and make friends.
You can do this activity with your child too. Take any small snack that has 2 different flavors (Cheddar Bunnies have cheddar and pretzel) and count out the number of children that will be in your child’s class. One color represents the boys and the other color represents the girls. Thankfully, due to class size reductions our early childhood classrooms are at 18! Although most classrooms are not an even 50:50 boy-girl mix, the little bunnies just help children get an idea of what to expect.
Once you have your small group of bears or bunny snacks:
- Count the snacks together.
- Explain that there will be the same about of children in the class as there are bunnies.
- Discuss how all the children (bunnies) would get from place to place. Line the snacks up in a single line. Yes it takes time! It does in real life too!.
- Talk about how they might get the teachers attention if they needed help. (raising a hand is most commonly used)
- Pretend to have one bunny as another one if they wanted to play.
More Preparing For School Tips from the Early Childhood Education Team:
Teaching Preschool at Home by Raising Lifelong Learners
Prepare a Hands-On Preschool at Home by Life Over C’s
"I don't tell my child that everything will be ok, because they are not always ok. I always reassure them that I am and will be there to help them navigate through life and that I trust they will make good decisions."
I LOVE THIS!!!
The teddy graham activity is genius. I love the concrete way of helping kids learn about the number of kids in the class and the logistics of a classroom running smoothly.
I love that you used to get together with children and their families prior to the first day of kindergarten. What a fantastic idea! I don't think that is done any more and I hope that concept gets re-introduced to help families with this big transition.
So much great advice here! We are doing traditional preschool two mornings a week too. I love the backpack song! 🙂
That back to school song is so cute! There are so many big emotions to deal with when it comes to back to school time, for parents included! These are great tips on how to handle those feelings <3
As a homeschooler, I totally agree that there is still a wide range of emotions involved with that. Great advice to get involved with some other homeschooling families!
As you know, we love songs. Starting school or just returning back to learning from the long summer break is very emotional. I never really worried about them making friends but I did worry about them thinking that I was abandoning them. I've always had to be the class parent to make them feel more comfortable.
Great advice – our youngest heads off to the UK equivalent of Kindergarten this year and we've already have parent and child settling in sessions and individual sessions. She has 3 days including me joining her for lunch in September before starting full time the following week. I am so excited for her.
I love that your class size is 18 that is a fabulous number she will be in a class of 30 – with 3 class entry to the school, it will be huge compared to what she is used to and that is where I am scared for her.
I love your back to school song 🙂 I am pretty happy that I do not have to go through those mixture of emotions because we are currently homeschooling but I still teared up at your son saying that his sister will walk him to class everyday.
love the song! my kids love their backpacks even though we homeschool 😉
So many things I love about this – especially the focus on every family member having mixed feelings about back-to-school time, and the acknowledgement of feelings without glossing over them! My son is entering the 3rd grade this year, and both of us definitely have mixed emotions about this step up! Thanks for the real-life ideas on working through those emotions!
Starting school IS bittersweet for kids and adults. You given so many great thoughts and suggestions here to help with the big transition emotions! Wishing YOU a successful back to school with your own family!
I love all the activity ideas and suggestions, Amanda. Definitely sharing this. 🙂