Getting Ready for the First Day of Kindergarten

Starting kindergarten is something I’ve gone through twice already with my own kiddos, and there’s definitely some things you can do to help prepare your kiddo for kindergarten, aside from simply ensuring they’re ready for kindergarten.  Getting your child ready for the first day of kindergarten can help make the day, and your morning, go smoothly.  Here are my best practical tips for making the first day of kindergarten a success!

Getting Ready for the First Day of Kindergarten

• Start working on a bedtime schedule now.
  • Get him used to going to bed by a certain hour – you can start pushing bedtime back in 15 minute increments, but definitely have him going to bed by desired time for at least a few days before hand (a week is ideal.)

• Allow for extra time to get ready in the morning.
  • If you think you’ll need an hour, give yourself an hour and a half, especially as you all are adjusting to a new routine. Start getting up early, at the time you would get up for school. I spent the week before school getting out of the house and to a particular destination each morning by 7:20-7:50 (which was school drop off time for my daughter’s school). Even if it is just down the street to Kroger, it got us used to getting up and out by 7:00.

• Prep as much as you can the night before,
  • this includes snack and lunches, clothes for the day (for everyone, yourself, and the kids). Even breakfast prep if you can.

• He will be exhausted the first few weeks when he gets home.
  • Just be prepared for it. He is adjusting to a long day at school, verses summertime and a half day at preschool before that. (But this may make getting him to bed a little easier at night.) When my daughter started kindergarten, I deliberately kept her busy during the summer between 8 and 3, to help build her up for longer school days. We had to ax “quiet time” for her while her little brother napped. We would go outside and play, or even just go outside and read a chapter book together. Jut had to keep her going…

• My lunchbox hack:
  • I bought a box of yogurt tubes from Costco and stuck them in garage freezer. I pre-made a bag full of PBJ Sandwiches, sliced in half, and put in individual baggies, and stuck back in big bread bag. Tossed this in freezer. Kept pre-bagged “crunchy” snacks (goldfish, veggies straws, etc) in pantry. Bags of baby carrots, raisins, apple slices, orange slices, etc on hand. Tossed items in lunch box in the morning or evening, and lunch was made. I also allowed my daughter to buy lunch on Fridays because that is pizza day at her school.  I use a refillable water bottle for kids’ lunches.  (These water bottles are great for school lunches!)

• For your mental health:
  • it is so very very hard to watch your first baby walk away to a big school. However, try to keep YOUR emotions at bay in front of him. Keep your departure short and sweet – do not linger.  It was day two with my daughter that it hit me. I dropped her off, and then pulled out, pulled over, and just quietly cried while my son sat in the backseat. For some reason, that little cry was all I needed. Cathartic, perhaps?

• If your child needs a little comforting
  • for the first day of kindergarten, give him something small, like your pony tail holder to keep on his wrist.  Tell him he can touch it whenever he starts to miss you or feels uncertain.  (You could even add a drop of your favorite scent, even.)  It’s a small item that can comfort him, but shouldn’t be a distraction during the school day.

• If he’s nervous,
  • remind him it’s everyone’s first day of kindergarten, and it’s a new adventure for everyone there. If he/you don’t know anyone yet who will be in his class, role play what he can do to introduce himself to other friends. If he/you will know a few other kids in his class, remind him who all he will see at school, and encourage him still to seek out other new friends, too. Maybe invite the boy who is playing by himself to join him and his group at recess. Also, you ca find some good “first day of school” books and start talking about it.

• If you have specific questions
  • about the class or school, don’t be afraid to ask. Reach out to the teacher, and if she can’t help you, she will point you in the right direction.

• Oh, and also, make it his responsibility
  • to get his lunch and backpack each day. He needs to have a designated spot to put backpack each afternoon, and he needs to be able to empty his lunchbox when he gets home. You will have enough on your plate: this is a good, simple “big boy” task for him to take on. (Ok, so I may have also had my 2 year old doing this when my daughter started kindergarten too. I guess that’s the preschool teacher in me.)  Make sure everything has a specific, designated spot and consistently put things where they go; that will make it that much easier to gather your belongings in the morning!

Before you know it, you and your kindergartener will be breezing through the year like old pros.  You’ll blink, and you, too, will be saying goodbye to kindergarten.  Do any of you veteran parents have additional advice to offer for parents for preparing for the first day of kindergarten?