Are you gearing up to send your toddler to school for the first time? If you are anything like me, you are excited for your child to learn and grow but you are anxious about sending them and want to be able to help prepare your toddler for preschool.
Colton will be starting full-day preschool next week. Last year he did a two-hour program twice a week. This year, he will be attending Monday through Friday.
To put it lightly, I am overwhelmed. It’s a longer schedule than I would like but he was approved for a program through the state, for which we are very grateful, however the program is five days a week.
So in light of this, here are five simple steps to help prepare your toddler for preschool.
Introduce Them to the School
Colton’s previous nursery school has a distinct church steeple and he always exclaims “my school!” when he sees it. I have started to excitedly reply, “Yes! That is your old school. You will be going to a new school this year!”
When we drive by his new school, I mention excitedly, “Look, that is your new school!”
We have taken Colton to play at his new school’s playground. I wanted him to have fun, run around and explore the playground on his own terms so that when school starts, he’ll already have some familiarity.
If your preschool will allow you to take a peek inside, even better! We got to do this in the spring when we were choosing a program.
Books
I love to use our story time as a opportunity to convey new and important things to Colton. From holidays, to becoming a big brother, books serve as a fun and organic way to educate and expose your child to new ideas, concepts and events.
Books about going to school can be a great way to introduce your child to the specific kinds of things they will be doing (or feeling) when they are there.
Here are some suggestions to help prepare your child for preschool.
If you’re looking for more suggestions, you local library (and librarian) are a great resource whenever you are in search books on a specific topic.
Practice Lunchtime
At home, I prepare Colton’s lunch and sit with him while he eats. As such, Colton has never had to serve himself lunch.
After realizing this, I did not want his first day at school to also be the first time he has ever used his lunch box or containers.
This week, I have prepared his lunch in the bento box and lunch box that I will be sending with him. I also let him know that we are practicing how he will eat lunch at school.
As hard as it is, I am refraining from helping him unzip or open the containers unless he asks me.
Here are some bits of information I have mentioned to him about eating lunch at school:
- If he needs help with anything he should ask his teachers and make sure that they hear him.
- He and his friends will have different things in their lunch boxes depending on what their parents packed for them.
- He can choose the order in which he eats his food but I would like him to try a little bit of everything.
- He does not have to finish everything in his lunch box.
Our practice was just as helpful for me as it was for him. This is because it gave me a sense of how much food I should pack and also tipped me off that I should pack the stuff I want him to eat in the top of the lunchbox.
Calendar Countdown
Now that we are at the one-week mark before school, I have printed out a calendar to cover our last week of summer. I understand that time can be a confusing concept at this age and I want him to have a visual of the days leading up to school.
We are checking off the days and treating it as though we are leading up to an exciting event.
Give Them (Just Enough of) A Say
If you are trying to prepare your toddler for preschool, getting them excited about it is helpful. One way this can be done is letting them choose their school gear, clothing or supplies.
This is the first year that Colton will need a backpack and lunch box so of course, I headed to Target! I did a quick scan of the options while Colton was distracted with a box of crackers. I pulled two options off the shelf and presented them.
The contenders were sharks versus dinosaurs. It was a quick knockout, “dinosaurs!”
If I had just set him loose in the aisle to decide, the task could have gotten out of hand, quickly.
By giving him two options, he was able to feel like it was his choice and I was able to avoid the meltdown that would have occurred if he had chosen something that wasn’t the appropriate size, style, etc.
I have done the same thing with his lunch box, thermos, water bottle, and bento box.
The Roundup
To recap, my five simple steps to prepare your toddler for preschool are:
- Introduce the school
- Read books
- Practice eating lunch
- Keep a calendar
- Give them a say
While I am anxious about this transition, I keep my tone lighthearted and excited when we talk about school. I try to make quick mentions and not harp on any of these concepts for too long as that tends to create anxiety in Colton.
I’m sure there are countless other creative ways to prepare kids for preschool. Do you have other ways or ideas? Please share them with me!
For now, I am savoring our last few full days home together. And of course, we are squeezing in one last trip to the beach.
If you are also headed to the beach before the new school year, check out my earlier posts for helpful Tips for Taking Toddlers to the Beach and Seven Items for a Better Beach Day with Kids.
