The First Day of School

6 tips to prepare for kindergarten

by Rachel Howard-Collins

 
Summer days are heating up, which means that kids will soon be heading to school. For kindergartners and their parents, this is a special year, complete with excitement and anxiety.

“Going back to school can be a very exciting time for children, or it can be a time of great anxiety, apprehension and uncertainty,” said Michelle Kees, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Health System. “With any change that we experience in our lives, natural emotions such as anxiety can emerge. For children, this becomes more pronounced because every year they have this new experience of returning to school or starting at a new school.”

“Young kids who are anxious might avoid talking about going to school, or about school supplies, or about going to get their new school supplies,” said Kees, who treats children with anxiety disorders at the University of Michigan Health System’s Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic.

Be Prepared
When the first day of school arrives, be prepared for nervousness to manifest in different ways. Some children may claim to have headaches or other illnesses that “vanish” when Mom decides to keep them home from school. Some may throw temper-tantrums. Others may hide when it’s time to leave, or they may refuse to let go of a parent.

What One Expert Mom Suggests
The first day of school is an important one, said Carol Nutt, a former Air Force wife and mom of four who is a schoolteacher in North Little Rock, Ark. Parents should try to take their children to school for that milestone. However, sometimes a parent’s work schedule gets in the way.

On Nutt’s daughter Melissa’s first day of kindergarten, Nutt had to work in her own classroom, and Nutt’s husband, Vic, was flying. Nutt found a family friend to take Melissa.

“If you can’t take them, that’s a big deal,” Nutt said. “Find somebody important to take them.”

Melissa, now 22, graduated college with an elementary education degree this year and will soon be welcoming children into her own classroom.

Parents sending children to kindergarten often have a lump in their throats as their babies leave; children can sense this and may interpret it as nervousness or anxiety.

Military children can become quite resourceful at making these connections themselves, Nutt said. “Military kids are a little more savvy than you think they are,” she said.
 
Tips For Getting Kids Ready For The Big Day:

• Open a line of communication, even with young children, about school experiences and expectations and about a child’s thoughts and feelings about school.
• Help children connect with their school by visiting it before school starts, especially if it’s a school they haven’t attended before.
• Find a friend. “If a child knows someone who is going to be in the same classroom, that can greatly reduce their apprehension and fear of the unknown,” Kees said.
• Teach them basic skills before starting school. These skills include holding a pen or pencil properly, following simple instructions, recognizing shapes and colors, sharing toys, and counting from one to 10.
• Encourage children to try to write their names, and children should recognize their names when written and should know how old they are.
• Parents can help children get excited about school by shopping for school supplies and talking about how each item will be used.