How do i prepare my child for preschool by emily valentine and priscilla garcia

How Do I Prepare My Child For Preschool?
By Emily Valentine and Priscilla Garcia - Emily Valentine currently teaches the toddler class at Discovery Child Development Center and Priscilla Garcia is a preschool teacher at Discovery.

While the first day of school can be stressful for children and parents alike, it can also reap great rewards, even in the early days when your child might be upset at having to separate from you, the parent or caregiver.  Some children may have a negative reaction to the first day of school, and how you respond can help your child work through those negative emotions and experience success at school.

One way to prepare your child for school is to read books about going to school and relate the book content to the child’s upcoming entry into school.  Once you have been able to tour the school and classroom and meet your child’s teacher or watch your teacher’s welcome video, you can talk with your child about the details of their class. Some books we recommend at the beginning of the school year:

• Bye-Bye Time by Elizabeth Verdict
  
• Rosie Goes To Preschool by Karen Katz
  
• Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
  
• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
  
• The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing
  
• Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems
  

As a parent, it is important to be consistent with your drop off routine.  Develop a routine for saying goodbye to your child.  This can be something that you decide on with your child and could include a hug followed by a kiss, high five, etc.  It is important that even if your child is upset and crying that you say goodbye and not try to sneak out.  If your child is unaware that you left, they can feel insecure and more upset the next time you drop them off at school.  In my toddler classroom for example, it is okay for a child to bring a small security item such as a small stuffed animal, small car or other small toy from home.

Now that you’ve gotten your child in the door, let’s talk about some skills that can be very helpful to practice at home. These are not skills that we expect the children to have mastered, but familiarizing them with these concepts will help them when they are entering the classroom.  A lot of these skills are learned through repetition and modeling by the teachers and children will pick them up even more quickly when the teachers and parents are on the same page, working on the same skills together.  

• Socializing - Exposure to other children and activities outside the home are a great way to prepare your child for school.  While the current pandemic closed down a lot of opportunities such as library storytime and other indoor activities, outdoor experiences such as park playdates, nature walks, etcetera are great opportunities for children to begin to develop their sense of self. If you are entering the preschool or pre-k classroom it would be a great idea to look into the summer camps offered at discovery. It’s a great way to familiarize your child with the school and maybe meet some friends that could be in their class.
  

• Reading - As mentioned above, reading is a great way to talk about entering school.  It’s worth mentioning again because reading is also a great way to foster development in children in a variety of areas.  Reading to children daily develops their language and early literacy skills, increases brain development, stimulates creative play and imagination and gives them a way to learn about the world.  Reading also fosters relationships between child and caregiver and serves as a foundation for future learning and development as they grow.
  

• Create a routine - Creating simple routines such as consistent bedtimes, wake up times, and meal times helps to provide structure to a child’s day. Developing a daily routine for children can help them to feel confident and secure in their surroundings and teach children what is expected of them.  
  

• Handwashing - Some children show fear of the water at school, so it is good for them to be familiar with washing hands at the sink with soap.  Model for them how to rub their hands together.  We sing a handwashing song at school that can be helpful to teach them how to wash for an appropriate amount of time.
  
• Sneezing/Coughing - When your child sneezes, teach him/her to sneeze into his/her elbow, instead of on his/her hands or out in the open.  Also encourage them to get a wet wipe or tissue to blow their nose.  Afterwards, have them wash their hands.
  
• Snack - Have your child practice sitting and having a healthy snack at a table.  You can help foster independence by encouraging your child to feed him/herself. If you have a picky eater on your hands oftentimes it helps to have your child go with you to the store and pick out some healthy foods themselves.  If they’ve had a hand in picking it out they are more likely to be excited about eating it at snack time.
  
• Bathroom - If your child is entering a classroom that requires them to be fully potty trained you can help them be successful by fostering independence in the bathroom. Encourage them to pull down clothing, use the potty, wipe and pull up clothing again independently. In the preschool classroom there will be a teacher at the bathroom door for a few weeks making sure everyone is doing alright, as well as giving constant reminders through the day. For kids this age it is common for them to get so enthralled in what they’re doing that they forget to or put off using the potty.
  

Focusing on these things with your child will foster independence and confidence in your child and will help them have a great start in preschool.  A lot of these tasks take practice so don’t be discouraged if it takes a lot of reminders.  We as teachers will be there to support you and your child and will do all we can to help them get off to a great start!