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It was interesting
to discover when researching this article on starting school for the
first time that it appeared that parents were more anxious than the
children. While the children seemed wide-eyed and excited about starting
school, the parents were concerned about how their child would fit in
and cope with their new environment.
Leading up to a
child's first day at school can start some six months beforehand.
Parents will be making hints about certain behaviours that they feel
would not be acceptable at school and therefore must be modified by the
child before they start. The mental preparation for both parent and
child is often reflected in the words, "Only six more weeks until James
(substitute your child’s name here) is a schoolboy (or girl)."
The common
questions raised by parents are as wide and varied as the types of
children. With children that are 'on the go' all the time, parents’
fears are that they will get into trouble because sitting still was
never one of their strongest points. With the quiet child, there’s often
the fear of bullying, while the parents of children that were socially
slow at preschool wonder if they will be ready in time.
The best solution
to any of these fears is to talk to the new entrants’ teacher. It is
this teacher's job to make sure your child is integrated into the school
system as easily as possible. The more information that you give them
about your child the better.
Here are a few
ideas to help you prepare your child for their first day at school:
School visits
prior to starting school will help your child become familiar with both
their new teacher and the school itself. One parent tells us how, in a
visit with the school principle, the parents were advised that sunhats
were a must. However, because the kindy type hats with the flap at the
back were not considered ‘cool’ they were advised that the baseball
style would be a better idea as this would help the child fit in with
other pupils. This proved to be solid advice.
Make sure that
your child can open their lunch box and drink bottle on their own
before they start school. Often these items are bought on the child's
fifth birthday, without them ever getting a chance to use them prior to
starting school. A child may feel overwhelmed and afraid to ask for help
if they cannot open up their lunch box or drink bottle. It will only
take you a few minutes to show them and it is well worth the effort.
Ensure that the
clothes that your child wears on their first few days are easy for
them to put on and remove. This is especially important if they start
school in summer with swimming on the programme. Shoes should be
able to be put on and removed by your child without any assistance.
If your child has
been slow at becoming toilet trained, make sure that they can
clean themselves properly. It is an awful thing to be known as the child
that smells. During our research, the following comment was made by a
year 2 child about another child. "We just don't like playing with her
because she smells." When we asked her why she didn't say something, the
reply was, "No, that might hurt her feelings. We just don't play with
her."
Being able to
recognise and write their full name is a good start for every
child. A mistake parents often make is to write the name all in
capitals, because at school your child will be taught to use capitals
only at the beginning of their first and last names and to write the
rest in lower case. So show your child the correct way by writing James
Miller instead of JAMES MILLER.
Lastly, reading to
your child will give them a familiarity with books that is always an
important start for any child.
In addition to the
above here are some other useful things to think about when your child
is starting school for the first time.
Getting
to school safely
Schooling
in New Zealand
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