How to Prepare Your Child for the First Day of School

Preparing for preschool or kindergarten/Casa doesn't really have anything to do with academics. That's what school is for. 

Reading, writing, and math are what your child's educators are trained to teach so there's no need to worry about "being behind" on any of these skills. 

However, there are some very real skills that you can teach your child in order to help them transition better.

And with school just weeks away, now is a great time to start. 

We've broken the recommended skills into two groups:

1. Preschool/Pre-Casa (18 months - 3 years)
2. Kindergarten/Casa (3 or 4 - 6 years)

Note that all the Preschool/Pre-Casa skills are applicable to the older group - Kindergarten/Casa.

If your child is starting Kindergarten/Casa, I'd recommend reading both lists.

Preschool/Pre-Casa (18 months - 3 years) 

1. Spend time with other family members or trusted caregivers

It is completely normal for young children to experience separation anxiety when first starting preschool.

A helpful way to prepare your child for this separation is to practice ahead of time.  Leave your child with other family members or trusted caregivers for short periods of time, working your way up to the length of time they’ll be at school, so they can learn “I’m okay without my parents.” 

Doing so doesn’t guarantee that your child won’t experience any separation anxiety while at school but it can help them adjust a little easier and quicker.

2. Establish a Routine

Establishing a consistent daily routine before preschool starts can help your child feel more secure and adapt more easily to the structured environment of school.

A regular morning, meal time, and bedtime schedule will help your child to understand routines, that one activity can be expected to follow another throughout the day.  

Routine cards like this can help: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/16j2t2wutg8nqrvu3azvn/Routine-Cards.pdf

3. Language Development

Encourage language development by engaging in conversations with your child, asking open-ended questions, and expanding on their responses. This not only helps with communication skills but also prepares them for understanding instructions and participating in classroom discussions. 

This is a great post from last year on how to develop your child's language skills: The 6 Dos and Don'ts of Developing Your Child's Language Skills

4. Go to Playground or Participate in Group Activities

Going to a playground or participating in group activities helps young children to develop important social skills, such as sharing space with others, cooperation, and communication. 

5. Develop Emotional Vocabulary

Give your child a rich emotional vocabulary by acknowledging and naming their emotions "I can tell you're really sad right now". 

This will help them to do the same when they're with other caregivers. 

You can get emotion language cards here: https://themontessoriroom.com/blogs/montessori-tips/emotions

6. Work on Independence with Self-Care Tasks

At 18 months, children typically start to show an interest in independence so it’s a perfect time to start working on independence with self-care tasks like washing hands, putting on outerwear & shoes, pulling up pants, etc. 

This will also give you a chance to see what kinds of clothing is manageable for your child. Give them time to practice putting on and taking off their indoor shoes.

During these years, function over fashion is recommended:

• Choose elastic waisted pants rather than tight pants with buttons or zippers.
• Closures should be in the front of clothing, where your child can reach them.
• Avoid putting your child in clothes that are too big, in anticipation of them "growing into it". This just makes it harder for them to move around.
• Choose velcro or slip on shoes, no laces yet
  

Note: Your child will not be expected to get dressed on their own, wash their own hands, use the toilet, etc. at this age.

The teachers will be helping them with these tasks but it is very helpful to the child and the teachers if the child has had some previous experience at home.

You may be thinking at 18 months your child is too young, but don’t underestimate them, they’re very capable. Use these guides to see how these skills are introduced in a Montessori classroom: 

A Montessori Guide to Hand Washing

How to Teach Independent Dressing - Step by Step

The Montessori Jacket Flip 

7. Read books

Reading books has a lot of benefits for preparing your child for preschool. Being able to sit and listen is something that will be required during their day so starting this at home will be beneficial. 

The other benefit of books is that you can introduce concepts like separation anxiety, using the toilet, and the first day of school well before school starts, like these titles:

• Mommy Always Comes Back to You by Christine Yeung
• Bye Bye Time by Elizabeth Verdick
• A Potty for Me! by Karen Katz
• Germs are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick

Kindergarten (4 - 6 years)

1. Toilet Independence

Toilet independence is typically expected at the beginning of kindergarten and sometimes Casa (depending on the school).

Before full toilet independence is required, make sure you’ve taught your child how to wipe their own bottom. At this point, teachers no longer check to see if a child has wiped properly and you want to avoid your child having a soiled and itchy bottom throughout the day. Itching their bottoms, leads to dirty hands which can result in illness.  

The Busy Toddler has a great "wiping" guide: https://busytoddler.com/how-to-teach-your-child-to-wipe/

2. Self-Care

Encourage your child to take responsibility for their basic self-care tasks, such as washing hands, using tissues properly, and eating independently. These skills are not only important for hygiene but also for building confidence and self-sufficiency in the school environment.

3. Gross Motor Activities 

Gross motor skills aren’t just for recess or gym class.

Inside the classroom, gross motor skills and core strength are essential for sitting upright on a chair or on the carpet for longer stretches, moving around a crowded classroom, carrying a backpack, carrying activities around the room, working at an easel, and more. 

At home, you can simply get outside this summer - climb, run, scooter, bike, swim. Get in as much movement as your child is interested in. 

Gross motor development will help with balance, coordination, and proprioception. 

4. Fine Motor Activities

Your child does NOT need to know how to write before they start kindergarten/Casa but it is helpful to their learning if they have good fine motor skills.

Introduce them to fine motor activities that require the use of their pincer grasp and pencil grip. You can do this with transfer activities with smaller objects, knobbed puzzles, art activities (holding paint brushes, crayons, peeling off stickers), playdough, or bead stringing. 

5. Shop for Clothing and Outerwear Your Child Can Manage

Similar to the Pre-K suggestions, ensure your child can manage their own clothing.  Avoid shoes with laces and stick to shoes with velcro or slip on shoes the child can put on and take off on their own.  

6. Choose Lunch Bags, Backpacks, and Food Containers Your Child can Manage

Upon entering kindergarten/Casa, your child will likely be expected to open/close their own backpack, lunch bag, and lunch containers so choose ones that will make it easy and start practicing now!

You want big zippers and zipper pulls on backpacks and lunch bags, like these ones: https://themontessoriroom.com/products/zipper-lunch

And snack containers that can easily be opened: https://themontessoriroom.com/collections/fluf/products/zip-snack-bag

7. Play Cooperative Games

Cooperative games are important for kindergarten prep because they teach children essential social skills like sharing, communication, and teamwork. These games also help kids develop problem-solving abilities and emotional regulation, which are crucial for successful group interactions in a classroom setting.

Peaceable Kingdom has amazing cooperative games for this age group. 

8. Listening Skills

Games with rules are a great way to help your child develop their listening skills.  They also help children understand structure, follow instructions, and develop self-control. 

Board games are great but you can also play games like:

• Red light, green light
• Simon Says
• Freeze dance
• Follow the leader

9. Emotional Regulation

Just like pre-k prep, it's still very important to continue developing emotional vocabulary. You can do this by acknowledging and naming all their emotions "I can tell you're really sad right now". 

This will help them to do the same when they're with other caregivers, as well as other children. 

Kindergarten can be an overwhelming experience with new routines and social interactions. The language to be able to discuss all their emotions will help them navigate this. 

The emotion language cards from this post can also help:  https://themontessoriroom.com/blogs/montessori-tips/emotions

Good luck to your family this upcoming school year!

You might also like this popular post from last year: 8 Tips to Make School/Daycare Drop Off Easier