Tips to Prepare your Child for School

While most of us don’t remember, it can be a pretty traumatic time for a toddler, as they try to make sense of the world around them and going from the safety of mum’s arms and the family home to a strange place, full of other children and adults. Not only the change of environment, there are new skills to be learned, new things to experience and in order to assist your son or daughter, here are a few tips for preparing a child for formal schooling.

Enrol your child in a school readiness course

This is a great way to introduce your child to learning in a group environment; the course would develop fine motor skills, essential for holding a pencil or pen, while also doing special exercises that develop those essential fine motor skills. Practical issues are addressed such as:

  • What is included in the school bag – Lunchbox, school supplies, snacks and any other items they might require. The children would open their lunchboxes and are shown the correct way to close an airtight plastic box, plus they are instructed in disposing of waste in the right location.
  • Shapes & Colours – These are introduced through a range of short fun activities, which gives your child a head start by familarising them with colours shapes and other vocabulary.
  • Getting into a Routine – School is all about routine and one aim of the school readiness course offered by the Central Coast occupational therapist is to help the kids understand the new routine.
  • Emotions & Social Skills – This is yet another aspect the school readiness course deals with, helping the child to respect other people’s property and having the patience to wait your turn. These things can be very confusing for a young child and can add to the feeling of unease, especially during the first few days of real school.
  • One on One Supervision – This is ideal as the carer can devote all of their time to helping the child to prepare for their introduction to school life and in no time, your child will be ready for their first day at school.

Check the School Timetable

Of course, you want to know as much as possible about the daily schedule and this can help you familiarise your child with these times. From getting up in the morning to doing the homework set by the teacher, you can try to base your day on these times; while it won’t be apparent, your child will benefit from this, thanks to a little familiarity and change of routine.

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