If you are a mom or dad of a (future) first grader, you probably have a lot of questions to ask. What to expect? How to prepare your child? What will it need? Keep reading and find the answers to all these questions in the following paragraphs.
How to Prepare your Child – the Talk
The first step in preparing your child for school is the talk that is supposed to announce that it is going to start going to school every day. Even though it will be slightly different from the familiar surroundings, your child needs to understand that change is good and that it will be fun.
It is perfectly natural for your child to have concerns about it – you may even expect it to cry when you hit the brakes – but if you explain that it is going to be fun to learn new things and meet new kids – the two of you will not have any problems.
What your Child will need
- Backpack – Every first grader needs a backpack to put books and notebooks in it, so make sure that you provide your child with their choice exclusively – if they like it, they may like school as well.
- Snacks – You can keep maintaining the relationship with your child even when it is at school via food. Include your child into the process of preparing the lunch – just to make things more interesting. Prepare a sandwich together and fill the lunch box with natural snacks – fruit and veggies, and do not forget to write a special note to your child – of how much you love it and cannot wait to get home to hear all about the first day at school.
- Rehydration – Since your child will probably spend the day jumping around with its new friends (or run after them to become friends), it is going to need to rehydrate, so make sure to include a bottle of water and some fresh orange juice, too.
- Timetable – Even though your child is going to have to learn how to be independent, the odds are that it is probably going to be scared about all the new things that await it, you can be in charge for just a little while. When invited to the welcome day, make sure to talk to your child’s head teacher and get all the data you think it is going to need, including the list with all the books and the timetable. If you think you need to prepare well in advance, you can read this guide for parents as well.
- Umbrella – Even though you do not want to overburden your child, there are some things that need to find their place in their schoolbag. Since the autumn is coming, and the odds of rain are high, your child will probably need an umbrella. Since kids need umbrellas of their size, you can find a practical branded umbrella that can easily fit into any schoolbag.
How to Prepare Yourself
Parents need some time to prepare for their child’s first day of school, too. Since a new era is upon you, the sooner you realise that things will change, the better. You need to realise that this is a significant milestone, which is like a first page in your child’s book of independence.
Even though your child is going to need you and your guidance for some time, you need to be aware of the fact that it is going to meet its peers and some completely new friends, and that you guys will not spend that much time together as you used to.
Nevertheless, your role as a parent will still be important – you will keep providing your kid with support and advice (and help with homework and studying, of course), but that time will practically fly by you, and your kid will be in college in almost no time. So learn how to enjoy these years and be as helpful and full of understanding as you can.