Starting school is a major milestone in yours and your child's life, but it often comes with a lot of crying, uncertainty and heel-digging. For your child, the main source of anxiety around starting school can be the fact that they have no idea what to expect. It's not just like any other date on your calendar, so proper preparation is required. Giving your child the best start to their school life can have a positive impact on their entire education. So how do you get it right? Here are a few tips that you can follow:

Explain What They Can Expect

Explain to your child what they can expect their first day of school will be like. Tell them the games they will be introduced to and other kids they will get to meet. But, the trick is to not over-hype it and not make promises about things you can't control. If your child's initial experience at school is not able to match their expectations, it can set a sour tone in their mind instead of excitement.

Take Them To Meet The Teacher

An in-person visit to school and meeting teachers can help your child mentally prepare for this big change in their little lives. Campus tours like in GIIS, Abu Dhabi can help them create mindmaps for the bathroom and where they are supposed to put their backpacks. This is important as generally kids are very shy in their initial days at school and might hesitate in reaching out to adults when they have queries. The advanced familiarisation can alleviate these fears and create a comfortable transition.

Shop Together For School Supplies

Shopping for school supplies with your child, following the list given to you by the school is fun and should be a shared experience. Often there will be ways in which you can personalize your child's things to make them more comfortable in school premises. Schools generally provide the main supplies, but you can still get some personalized items like a pencil case or a backpack for your kid.

Read With Them

One of the main things your child is going to learn in the first year of school is to read simple words and sentences. However, you can help expedite the process by exposing them to books, language, and stories from a young age. Before learning to write or read, your child will first learn to recognize patterns and shapes of the letters they see. You can start by getting them familiar with their name to begin with. This will help them find their belongings when they start school, introduce themselves, and recognize the letters in their name in other contexts. If you think your child is ready, try getting them to write their name too!

Through everything, remember that it is completely normal for kids to have a meltdown when it's time to separate. Don't get scared and take them back home. The chances are that even if they are howling and crying and clinging to you, they will be fine five minutes after you walk out the door. If you see that it is taking some more time for your little one to adjust, don't panic. School teachers have seen it all, and they know just what to do to help. Trust them!

	Created by Shreya Singh about 4 years ago