Starting School
Or : Getting MUM (or dad) Ready for School!
Current Status: First child going to school
With only a term to go, you may be starting to think about your child leaving the carefree-world of play at preschool or daycare, to enter the bell-ringing, uniform-wearing and structured environment of primary school.
This time last year, I had a wave of despair sweep over me as I attended a school orientation night/information session for parents about whether your child was ‘ready’ to begin.
The truth - I came away from that session and cried for an hour.
I didn’t know how to make him ‘ready’ to sit at a desk for the majority of the day when he spent so little time at the preschool writing table.
I didn’t know how to prepare him for not being able to eat until 11:15am or hold his bladder for hours instead of being able to run in and out of the bathroom as he pleased.
I felt like I was sending a free-range chicken into a battery-hen situation. He would be 5 and a half - there was no option of holding back if not ‘ready’ by January 27.
And all this, coming from someone who had taught Kindergarten for years.
Then I went to the preschool information evening about starting school, and I was completely put at ease.
I realised I didn’t need to know the upcoming school timetable and he didn’t need to know how to be a school kid yet… all of that would come.
I realised I have two roles:
To help prepare him for what would be coming. The speaker at this evening - Danielle Mantakoul was fabulous and I would highly recommend visiting her site for starting school tips for a smooth transition.
This article is wonderfully helpful and very practical http://mummyweekly.com.au/ready-set-school-notes/
To get organised and work out strategies for how we would do this new world of school in an intentional way, with a preschooler, toddler and baby in tow.
So… after reading Danielle’s article about getting ready for school, here are some hacks that I have found to be helpful in terms of getting ME ready… for organisation and keeping things ordered and moving at home (keeping in mind that all schools will do things slightly differently)
What you (or your child, rather) will need:
Morning tea box
Lunch box
Optional but helpful: Cooler bag/s for lunch boxes and small ice bricks for warmer days
Drink bottle x 2 (choosing the same design for both makes it easier to identify)
Library bag*
Rain coat*
School-coloured socks
School shoes and sports shoes (leave this until January as kids grow over the summer)
Labels - stick-on labels for lunch boxes, drink bottles, etc https://www.identitydirect.com.au/shop/labels-name-labels/TGFiZWxzPj4_TmFtZSBMYWJlbHM= and a name stamp for clothing https://www.stuckonyou.com.au/labels/specialty/stamps
Bag tag (with name) eg https://www.bigw.com.au/product/spider-man-kids-bag-tag-blue/p/86230/ and familiar key ring/s from current bag (remembering that ALL bags look the same when at school)
*These items may be part of the uniform - check with your teachers
Laundry Sharpie for labelling school clothes In BIG LETTERS
From the uniform shop
Uniform and jackets/jumpers (more than one for ease of laundering)
School hat x 2
School bag**
**Note: In public schools, although you do not have to use the school bag, these are made well to support your child’s back, endure the day-to-day of being thrown around and have PLENTY of room for all they need to take to and from school.
Usually in Kindy, there is no list of items to bring in terms of stationery, as the school provides them. Check with your teachers at your orientation visits.
1. TO HELP PREPARE HIM/HER - START NOW
Independently getting ready in the morning - with the use of a visual aid
We introduced this DIY flip down chart in preschool (it didn’t end up being used/needed for the whole year) which helped our guy develop the habit of getting ready. As someone who likes following instructions this suited him perfectly (but it may not suit everyone). It served as a helpful reminder when he got a bit lost in what he was meant to be doing during the morning.
A visual aid such as this (inspired by one on Pinterest) saves you nagging and puts the responsibility for getting ready on them as you can just refer them back ‘to the chart’.
Image: Showing off his flip-down chart in preschool…
We use 8am as a time for stopping play (breakfast should be well-finished by then), getting dressed, brushing teeth/ hair and going to the toilet… then play can continue or he can go and jump on the trampoline until leaving.
Note about arriving at school: It is helpful for children to arrive at school BEFORE the bell rings for line up/going into class. If you are the ones arriving right as group time starts or has already started in preschool, it could be worth having a crack at getting there a few minutes early this term to help with this.
Arriving before the bell helps children:
Develop independence in unpacking their bags/belongings and finding their bag hook/spot
Allows time to go to the toilet
Allows time in the morning for play/developing social connections
Takes stress out of the morning rush
I made another flip down chart for him at the beginning of Kindy, but he didn’t really need it.
Child #2 though, now in preschool, isn’t a flip-down-chart -follower, but a lover of rewards…
If you have a child who struggles to follow a chart or get ready… add a little incentive to form a habit. We had a flower (reward) chart going for a while.
Flower chart --
When child #2 didn’t want to stop playing in the mornings, we started this flower. Each child got a petal on the flower (only the 2 biggies cared but it needed to include everyone) and added a sticker when they got ready at 8am. When they got to 10 stickers they got a little prize. After that it was to 20.
This helped motivate and establish a new pattern of behaviour for the next child who needed to get into the rhythm of having a morning routine.
Unpacking at the end of the day
This is a habit to get into now. In our house, there is no afternoon TV (4pm) until the school and preschool ‘jobs’ are done.
This consists of each child getting out their lunch boxes, putting them on the bench and putting the ice brick away (if used). Drink bottles from the day should also be taken out of bags as well as any notes given to me. Bag is put away in their ‘locker’ (pigeon hole) and they are good to go. No risk of bags being tripped over!
(You can find lots of ideas for storage on Pinterest)
Reading books and talking about school
Now (final term of preschool/daycare) is the time to start talking about school and reading books about it.
Remember, your child doesn’t have a firm concept of time, so talking in general terms could be more beneficial, or talking about school starting ‘after Christmas’ as a marker for them.
Some lovely books include:
Doing a drive-by of school and talking about school-related things in a factual way are also helpful, to avoid disappointment eg “Do you know, they have a bell at school?” or “You’ll get to wear a uniform when you go to school!” rather than “You are going to LOVE school”.
Preparing for lunch at school:
Practise opening and closing lunch boxes. Have a picnic at home where they have to balance their boxes on their laps to eat over the Christmas break.
Practise opening packets/yogurt pouches/poppas, if they will be in their lunches (teachers do not have time or want to be opening yogurts or chip packets). If your child finds opening things particularly hard, snip the top of a packet before packing or unscrew the yogurt so the seal is broken, making it easier for them.
Preparing for school toilets:
Use the holidays prior to school to prepare your child for what they will encounter at school.
I’m sure you can remember the school toilets from your own childhood… not much has changed.
Show them what to do WHEN there is wee on the seat - how to wipe it and flush the toilet.
Practise locking and unlocking cubicle doors, if that isn’t something they have had much experience in.
If you have a boy, practise using a urinal so that he doesn’t think the school urinal is a magical waterfall to touch and play in. Show your boy how to pull his pants down without touching the urine-soaked floor, to avoid messy mishaps!
And for when they are at school…
Knowing their own schedule and taking responsibility for it
It’s important that your Kindy child takes responsibility for their week. It cannot be your job for their schooling career to be packing certain things on certain days into bags, if you have multiple kids.
We bought a whiteboard planner from Kmart that sits next to our guys’ bed and has the important things for the week on it.
Eg.
Sport on Wednesday = sports uniform
Library Wednesday = packing library bag into backpack Tuesday evening
Friday = reading log uploaded for teacher
Etc
2. GETTING YOURSELF ORGANISED
If you’ve been at daycare, you may have never had to consistently pack lunch boxes and it can be a daunting thought. The good news - if you have some systems in place, it doesn’t have to be the burden of the century.
Packing lunches
Danielle speaks about lunches in her article - check it out http://mummyweekly.com.au/ready-set-school-notes/
I have found that packing the lunch the night before, really reduces stress and time in the morning.
As soon as lunch boxes are unpacked in the afternoon, they are washed and dry by the time I am ready to pack them after dinner (or you could have two identical ones going so drying time is never an issue).
Hacks:
Freeze sandwiches - use fresh bread to make and cut sandwiches. Separate with layers of baking paper in a sealed container and pop into the freezer. Place cut sandwiches into lunchboxes while frozen and they are thawed and ready to eat by lunch. The key is FRESH bread and remember, most schools are nut free - this includes peanut butter and nutella.
Pre-cut up veg sticks - cut up and store vegetable sticks such as carrots and capsicum in water, in a jar. Wash and dry whole mini-cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and store in a jar/sealed container in the fridge. You can also cut cheese cubes or slices/shapes and store. Pre-cutting at the start of the week saves you time and vegetables last a few days. This way, you can just pop them into the boxes in the morning without dirtying a knife or chopping board!
Batch bake and freeze in labelled containers.
Pre-fill drink bottles - have drink bottles full at the end of the day so they are ready to be grabbed in the morning.
Lunch Boxes
We’ve tried 2 ways of doing morning tea/lunch boxes at school
A. Yum box Panino for ‘lunch’ at 11:15am and a Minisnack box (also Yumbox) for break time at 2pm.
Our school does ‘reverse lunch’ where the main meal is the first one. They have more eating time during this session so there is more in the first box. The great thing about these boxes is that they are rubbish free and have sections that help take the guess work out of packing as they are labelled to help create a balanced diet! Helpful for personality types like mine. I put these in a cooler bag with an ice brick - keeps food cool and protects the boxes from being damaged. I have found good-sized and durable cooler bags at MiniSo.
Note: See if you can suss out what the seating is for Kindy at your school. Ours sit at tables, but balancing a Bento box on a kindy’s lap can lead to disaster if it gets knocked over and their lunch ends up on the ground.
B. One larger bento box (Smash) that he chooses from over the two break times. He prefers this as he feels he has more choice and autonomy in the process. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/55940/smash-bento-bite-lunch-box-blue
(These particular ones don’t seem to be available currently, but may come back over the summer before school begins??)
Drink Bottles
After many different drink bottles, the thing I’ve realised is important is a mouth-piece/spout that won’t grow mould easily. The spout needs to be cleanable and breathable. The chewable variety of straw is more conducive to growing mould.
Stainless steel, like the Zak! bottles are good, as well as the Tritan drink bottles which are BPA free plastic and also don’t leak when closed. Best & Less seem to have a good range of them (or Woolworths/Big W at times). Don’t get a massive bottle - Kindy kids are unco at the best of times so juggling a bottle and lunch box is enough of a task.
School Uniforms
I found that getting the ‘beginning school pack’ from the uniform shop was really helpful (although this will vary from school to school). In addition to this, my friend introduced me to the second-hand section of the uniform shop which is a fraction of the price and great for having back-up options if something gets lost.
Some people like to have a uniform ready for every day of the week. As we have sport in the middle of the week I only do 2 days of uniform at a time and the break in the middle allows for time to wash/dry for the last couple of days.
School shoes - a local podiatrist recently explained that the best shoes for children to be in all week are black runners, so if your school allows them, give them a go!
As sports runners are only used once a week but have to be white (as in, he wouldn’t choose to wear them on the weekends), we get ours from the Shoe Warehouse at Top Ryde. I’ve heard Kmart also have good, white/basic runners!
Tips:
Depending on what your uniform is, if you dry it on a coat hanger (eg shirt) it will dry quite flat and is ready to hang!
Wait until Orientation Visits to purchase uniforms as they often offer them at discounted prices for Kindy kids.
Library Books
Library books have a way of finding their way into your book collection and never being found again. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! School librarians can be scary, people!!
We have the rule that library books do not leave the library bag, other than to be read… then they go straight back in. This hangs on the bed post for the week then is packed back into the school bag the night before library day.
Home readers
Same goes for home readers and the reading logbook. The reading logbook stays in a clear folder and hangs on a hook in the kitchen area, to be taken down each night and written in. No chance of getting lost!
Tip:
The time of day to do reading will vary from family to family. It took us a while to find when this worked for us. Morning was too busy, afternoon too tired. We have found that just before or after a bath/shower as a wind-down at the end of the day is a good time for us and our family, when our guy can have quiet one on one time while the other parent wrangles, for relaxed reading.
School Notes
My friend Deb has a ‘one touch’ system, which I have adopted.
Although a lot of communication is digital, there are still many notes that come home in paper-form, from permission notes to school fees.
As soon as you get a note, fill it in and put it straight back in the school bag or read it and file it. We have a communication file with a file for each person - notes/info go into here if they need to be found.
As I don’t have time to be filing every night, we also have a ‘dump file’ which is a magazine file (sitting next to the big file) where I throw things once I’ve actioned them... then when it gets full, I put everything into each person’s section. It’s kind of the ‘step between’/a ‘light touch’ in the one touch system!
Screen use during the school term
This is going to be different in every household. Some families have screens on all the time while others have total screen-bans during the week.
Before school - In our family, we have NO screens before school. This helps our kids focus on the task at hand or do some playing with their siblings before the day starts to get those creative juices flowing!
If your child is bored and ready early, one friend of mine created a little area of activities for before school to keep their little person occupied. This could also be an opportunity for home readers.
After school - we watch TV for half an hour, at 4pm (or there abouts) once all school ‘jobs’ are completed on Thursdays and Fridays. This allows for play-time at the front end of the week, but also some wind-down time after busy days of being switched ‘on’ later in the week.
Label EVERYTHING
YOU CANNOT OVER-LABEL, PEOPLE!! At school, everything and everyone’s uniforms look the SAME. Even shoes. Label. Them. All.
See previous blog post about labelling.
Leave swiftly
For the benefit of your child and their teachers, don’t be the parent who hangs around school and seemingly can’t let-go or say goodbye. Covid was a sure-fire catalyst for this change in many families, and it is beneficial to students, as they are able to transition more smoothly into the school environment.
Even if you feel the sense of loss of your little side-kick, don’t let them know.
Send them off with a happy smile and remind them (and yourself) that you’ll see them again in the afternoon. Your child needs to know that school is a positive and safe place and that you are happy for them to be there.
Do yourself a massive favour… Read the article about starting school here http://mummyweekly.com.au/ready-set-school-notes/ Your mind will be put at ease.
For additional information you can visit the raising children network https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/school-choosing-starting-moving/starting-school
Final Tip: When choosing anything, from labels to lunch boxes, bag tags to drink bottles, make sure you don’t get a ‘toddler’ design eg paw patrol
This will be ok for Term 1, but by mid-year your little person will most likely be asking for something more grown up. Sticking with super heroes and princesses seem to be timeless at this age.
You can do this!
Like all new things, there may be a few bumps at the start, but you’ll find your groove and you won’t believe you were never part of the mechanism that is primary school!
Good luck!