Starting School
Often parents and carers worry about the effect that starting school may have on children, but we don't consider the impact of this big change on ourselves as caregivers. As adults, we know all of the highs and lows that can come with school life; making friends, arguing with said friends; learning rules and breaking those rules, as well as learning about consequences. Children, however, have no experience of the classroom environment, even if they attended pre-school or nursery. This gives us the perfect opportunity to prepare them for what's to come, without projecting our own anxieties onto them.
Having been nannies for many years, we have seen numerous little ones progress from nursery to primary school, and even primary school to secondary school.
We wanted to share some of our top tips for preparing your child for this new chapter in their lives.
Prepare!
In the summer weeks leading up to the start of school, make sure you have bought all of your child’s uniform and that it fits to reduce stress on both sides. It's important to note that a lot of school uniform shops have delays, especially if you have to get specific uniform pieces.
Create a space within your home where your child can do homework and formulate an area where your child can keep their school uniform, bags and shoes. Creating these spaces will help your child create their own routine centred around school.
Talk positively about the prospect of starting school. It is especially important to talk about school with children who have never attended any educational setting previously such as nursery. There are many books available in book stores and online centred around starting school. Click here for a link to our book recommendations on goodreads.
Is my Child Ready?
One of the main worries we hear from parents of children soon starting school surrounds what their child does or does not need to know before heading into the classroom. There are definitely some educational steps that you can take to ensure your child feels confident in some aspects of their knowledge on that first day. However, we want to stress that every child is different. When starting school some children are almost 5 years-old whereas some have just turned 4. Developmentally this is a massive age gap. If you are concerned about your little ones being able to keep up with their peers in reception there are plenty of resources out there to help ready them. One of our personal favourite resources is Twinkl. This website has an abundance of games, books and worksheets to introduce your child to phonics and early mathematics. Their resources support learning from early years to A-level. Wipe-clean workbooks such as the Collins easy learning books are some of our favourite ways to get your little ones started.
Routine
Create a morning routine for your child that embodies consistency and organisation. Every morning try and wake your child at the same time, follow the same set of steps for getting ready and leave at a similar time each day. This will help to reduce the chaos of the school run for you and your little one, helping them feel secure and settled in their new routine.
Separation Anxiety
For some children starting school is the first time they would've experienced being separated from their parent/s or caregiver. Even if your child has attended nursery and thus experienced a similar period of time away from their parent/s or caregiver, starting school can be a daunting and nerve-racking time. To reduce their anxiety, try giving your child a 'hug button'. Purchase some heart stickers and place one under your child's jumper or simply draw a small heart on your child's wrist before they go to school. Do the same on yourself. Tell your child that if at any point they are feeling sad, overwhelmed or nervous they can press the heart and it will send a hug from the other person.
Worries and Anxiety about School
It is very common for a child starting school to begin expressing worries and anxiety about this new, unknown experience. An excellent tool to help a child overcome these fears is the use of ‘worry dolls’. ‘Worry dolls’ are small knitted people that come in their own little bag. The idea is that you give them to your child and tell them that these ‘worry dolls’ will make all their fears go away. The child takes the ‘worry dolls’ out of the bag and tells them their fears and worries before going to bed. The child then puts each doll back into the bag and places the bag under their pillow at night. During the night the ‘worry dolls’ will take away all their anxieties. ‘Worry dolls’ can be bought off of amazon.
It is common for your child to feel overwhelmed and anxious during the lead up to their first day, and even during the first few days. It is important to acknowledge and validate their feelings to make them feel supported in their academic journey. Don’t over schedule them during this period. Give them time to relax and process what they are going through. Downtime will be as essential part of the day. If they are nervous, reassure them that this is a normal feeling to be experiencing. Try telling them about a time you were nervous too so they can see it is a common experience. To make them feel less worried it can be helpful to think of times in the past that they experienced feelings of anxiety and remind them of how everything was fine despite them feeling this way. For example you could discuss a time they were nervous being left at nursery but how they had an amazing time in the end.
