Prepping Your Pre-Schooler for School: A Quick Guide for Parents of Pre-School Kids

Your baby is done with the ABCs and 123s at home so get ready for the next level of your child’s education, Pre-school. This is an exciting time for both parents and child because going to pre-school is their entry to formal education. With the school year just around the corner, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start prepping your pre-schooler for school. Here are some tips on how you can prepare your tots for pre-school.

Start with a Small Talk. You can start prepping your pre-schooler for school by casually talking about it. Sometimes parents get too excited in talking about pre-school that their kids may get overwhelmed even before school begins. A casual talk about pre-school life will let your kids know what to expect from school without undue pressure.

Practice while Playing. Reading and writing lessons are part of pre-school. You can start preparing your kids for these activities by reading to them at night and playing with toys that work on their fine motor skills. Play-Doh and Mega Sketcher are handy tools for these activities.

Set Rules and Routines. Discipline is also part of your child’s school life. This means compliance to rules and schedules. You can help your child prepare for this by setting an example at home in the form of rules and routines. For example: setting a schedule for daily routines and rules for gadget and TV use.  One of the basic routines that you need to set is the bedtime and morning routines.

Give Your Kids a Tour in School. The school is considered as the second home of students. Thus it is important to make your kids feel safe and secure in their school environment. To prepare pre-schoolers in “moving in” to their second home, parents can accompany them in exploring the school before school starts. This will also be a good opportunity to meet school personnel that your kids are likely to interact with during the school year. These may include teachers, school nurse, cafeteria lady, or librarian. It’s pretty much like moving to a new house and saying hi to the neighbours.

Prepare for Separation Anxiety. Kids clinging to their parents with tears streaming down their cheeks is a common first day of school scene in pre-school. While hoping that your small talk will work in avoiding this scenario, it is also best to be ready for tears. In case tears happen your assurance that you’ll come back for them after class can help ease their anxiety. Remember to keep your goodbyes short because the longer you linger the more you prolong the agony.

Prepping your pre-schooler for school doesn’t end at the first day of school. Parents need to be there every step of the way until their child gets fully adjusted to their new environment. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to hover around your kids. It is equally important to foster your child’s independence when they start their schooling. Just let them know that you are there to give them support whenever they need it.

1 comment
  1. Thanks for the advise Ms K, papasok na daughter ko at helpful etong tips. Next Monday na ang pasok nya at nakapag tour narin sya sa school dahil lagi sya kasama noon kapag hatid sundo at may activities ang kuya nya. Will exercise setting rules and routines.

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