Starting the new school year can be frightening or exciting to both a child and parent. The transition from home to school to child care is a drastic change from the summer schedule. Here are a few ideas to make this transition fun!
TRAVELING TO SCHOOL
Draw or cut out a picture of a school bus or car, whichever transports the child to school. Glue a picture of the child in the vehicle. Draw a map of the route taken from to school to child care. Include landmarks familiar to the child. Use the vehicle to tell a story about the child leaving for school and coming home. The child can repeat the story or play with the vehicle and map. The vehicle and map can be laminated or covered in clear contact paper for durability.
TIME TELLING
You might want to include a schedule for older school-age children. Include coming to child care, school starting, school ending, child care, and going home. This could include drawings, cut outs, and an opportunity for telling time. For younger children, you and the child could make a clock out of a paper plate. You will need a paper plate, a paper clasp, magic markers or crayons, and two hands, one long and one short. For fun, you could draw human hands with arms, one short and one long. The child can move the hands of the clock to change the time to mark each transition.
JOURNALS
Create a journal to record events with drawings. You can also cut out pictures and paste them on paper. Older children could use the journal to express their thoughts in writing or through drawings. Journals can be as simple as a spiral bound notebook or as fancy as a cloth covered book.
VISIT THE SCHOOL
If the school allows, call and arrange for a visit. Meet the principal and visit the children's classrooms. Ask about necessary materials and the school's policy for providers visiting. A copy of the school calendar will allow you to plan for vacation days. In our area, school is released for a half day every six weeks for a teacher's work day. Schedules also vary for exams. Just a simple change in a child's schedule can create chaos. Having this information helps a parent and a child care provider to make the necessary changes.
STORYTELLING
Share with the children in your care a story about you going to school. Be creative and embellish the story. If you cringe at storytelling, check out books from the library written about children and school. The Magic School Bus series, The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, Timothy Goes to School, and Miss Nelson is Missing! are just a few of the many books on this subject.
School is an adventure in life: walking in straight lines, writing on the chalk board, surfing the internet, investigating creatures in science, making friends, and expanding the mind. Support your children and support the school. Find out how you can be involved. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our children.