How to Transition your child to kindergarten
Kindergarten can be a great time for many. Your baby is in school! They are probably just as excited- and nervous- as you are. It’s a lot to take in, and they will be starting out on a whole new part of their lives, as will you. Help your child transition to school with these great and helpful tips.
Talk to your kids about school
Sometimes all it takes is a bit of talking and listening to have your kids ready for school. Talk to them about being able to make new friends, learn and do new things, and all the things the year will entail for them. If there are any anxieties about starting a new school year, address them early on. The more your kids feel mentally prepared for school, the better off they will be.
Ask yourself Are they ready for school?
There are many online sites that help you test your child’s academic skills. Take advantage of these and get your child up-to-date for school. Start addressing any weaknesses you see before school begins so that your child isn’t behind his or her peers and has the confidence to excel in school.
Set a schedule
The old schedule bit- it’s an old tip, but it works and for good reason. Schools operate on a schedule and the more your kids start getting into the habit of sticking to one the better off they will be in class. Get them ready for school with a simple routine that wakes them up around the time they need to wake for school and keep them busy throughout the day with tasks.
Set up a rewards system
Have your kids may a reward chart with you so that they can know what behaviors will be expected of them during the year, and what rewards they will receive for living up to those expectations. For example, if they must do homework each night, make a homework clipboard (let kids decorate it) and then set up a system where they get a star each time they finish homework and place it on the clip board for you to check. At the end of the week, they can get a treat (specified ahead of time) if they have at least 4 out 5 days showing stars (or 5 out of 5, if you choose). This will get them excited about school and the rewards they will receive during the week.
Transitioning to school is not an easy thing. But it’s our job as parents to make it as easy as possible on them. They need plenty of rest, a good breakfast and then starting school should be a fun time for them. Get involved as a family and make a cake for the one who’s off to kindergarten and let them enjoy that milestone.
We still have a couple of years before we have to deal with kindergarten. I’m probably more anxious that my son will be. These are really great tips and ideas, though.
Maybe my next article should be how mom should prepare for K? lol
Kindergarten is such a FUN time for kiddos. It can be stressful to though, for them and for us! These are great tips.
Great tips! Kindergarten is such a fun year and big transition for little ones.
Great advice. This is a great time of learning for kids.
Great tips! I remember when kiddo started K. She was excited though having gone through Pre K and Headstart.
What great tips! My son is starting Pre-K in just a few days and we are so excited and nervous at the same time! I will book mark this for next year! Thanks for posting!
Kids are much more resilient than we sometimes give them credit for. They will be fine. Both my kids transitioned very well
These are wonderful tips. I will definitely be pinning this to reference back to when my daughter is about to go into kindergarten!
I don’t have kiddos but I was a Special Ed Teacher, the more parents do to prepare their little ones, the easier it is for teachers that’s for sure!
my youngest daughter starts preschool on Monday 🙁 I can’t believe it is happening already. This post actually hits some notes for her starting school too. Thanks for sharing your tips.
Awesome post. I have one going into pre-k so this was really helpful to me. She’s so excited to go but I already know she will cry for the first month or two. Or every day for the rest of the year. Pray for me 😉
Ugh it’s so hard when it’s so hard on them!
These are wonderful tips! Very insightful.
Great tips! My youngest starts kindergarten this year.
You’ve got good tips here. Kindergarten is big time these days. It’s nice the half day playtime it was when I was a kid. 🙂
thank you for the tips! my son will be there in two years! yikes!
My grandson is starting kindergarten this year (sad). Good tips for starting!
These are great tips! I will have to keep them handy when the twins go off to school in a few years.
These are fantastic tips. I am going to pass this post along to some friends with kids in this age category.
I can’t believe my little kindergartener goes next week! We are doing much better after meet the teacher
Sharing this with my cousin— her oldest baby is heading to kindergarten in a couple of weeks!
These are some really helpful tips! Starting your children in kindergarten is always hard!
I have been a kindergarten teacher for nine years. When parents take the time to help their children adjust to ‘big school’…the year is a much better one for both kids and parents.
These are great tips. It can be a pretty big transition for not only the children, but for us.
Kindergarten is such a fun year but can be a little scary. Great tips!
There were some good tips in this post.My experience has showed me that children adjust to school much easier when parents let them know they can handle it.
These are great tips for transitioning kids to Kindergarten. My youngest finished Kindergarten this past year and is going into First Grade. My niece is going into Kindergarten and I think this list would be really helpful for my sister (her mom). 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
My soon to be 5 year old is going to kindergarten this year. I think it will be harder on me than her! These are great tips!