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Are Your Kids Ready for Kindergarten?
How to Get Your Kids Ready for Kindergarten
Starting school is hard for kids and parents alike. If your child has ADD, ADHD or a sensory processing disorder, the transition can be extra difficult.
When you’re faced with getting your child ready for school, especially if they’ve never attended day care or preschool, the keys to success are clear communication and setting expectations.
It also helps to start early with gradual preparations in the way you structure your child’s daily routine and ability to cope with learning in a group setting.
Don’t wait until kindergarten starts! Children with hyperactivity or sensory integration dysfunction need gradual transitions to be ready to start school.
We’ve collaborated with parents and teachers to create a list of top tips for getting your child prepared for entering school for the first time.
1. Take a tour of the school with your child – or 2 or 3! The more familiar you both get with the physical location and layout of the school, the easier the transition will be.
Some schools even offer open houses or activities you could sign up for. See if they offer after-school activities or events that you and your child can do together before the school year starts.
One Mom we spoke to told us, “We signed up for a Mommy-and-me craft afternoon being held at the school the summer before my son started kindergarten there.
We had fun together, and now when we talk about what kindergarten will be like, he can associate it with the crafting fun we did.”
2. Meet their teachers to discuss your child’s specific needs. Every teacher is different, just like every child is different. Get to know the faculty and their early childhood education styles.
Tell them some of your child’s challenges and any tips you’ve learned for coping with meltdowns and tantrums. Also be sure to tell them about your child’s motivators and strengths, too.
3. Start discussing with your child what the expectations will be like at school. How are they different from being at home? Transitions are difficult for children with ADHD or sensory dysfunction.
Clear communication and setting expectations are both key components to helping your child succeed in these difficult situations. One way you could solidify these messages is by role-playing various interactions that might come up at school.
Write out a few scenarios onto a piece of paper and put them in a jar. Each day, pull one or two from the jar and take turns acting out the storyline.
You can even trade out who plays the role of the teachers/ adults at school and your child/ classmates so that your child can see what proper behavior might look like from students in class.
4. 4. Get the list of classroom rules and start practicing them at home. One of the mothers we spoke to said, “My son is 6 now, but in kindergarten, he got in trouble a lot for not following the rules of the classroom.” Getting children used to new rules will make the concept of following rules in general easier for them.
5. Practice group learning and social situations by signing up for community events. Even if the school your child will be attending doesn’t offer any public preschool activities to try out, you can give your child a preview of group learning situations in other ways.
Your local library might have free story-times. Community centers offer a variety of day or afternoon programs for children like art classes or dance. YMCAs, gyms and fitness centers typically have children’s health awareness days with free fitness classes and activities.
Any of these programs would offer your child a chance to experience being part of a class and following instructions from teachers and adults.
Additionally, you will get an opportunity to observe your child’s social interactions and ability to learn in a group setting so that you can continue to prep him, his teacher, and yourself for the schoolyear.
6. Create a morning routine chart. If your child has not attended a regular preschool or child care, he or she (and you) might not be habituated to getting ready for school and out the door by a certain time each day.
Start practicing now, while you have the luxury of taking your time to go through the routine. Many parents say their children are more successful with visual charts that show all the activities that need to be completed each morning.
Cartoons representing eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and gathering school supplies are easy to find online. There are lots of great DIY morning routine chart ideas on Pinterest or those you can purchase from Etsy.com.
“My son does better with a handheld booklet that he carries around with him in the morning, following the instructions step by step,” says mom Tara.
You can reward your child with 10 minutes of TV or playtime if they finish by a certain time each morning. Liz says, “Personally, I find it very helpful to have 10 minutes to myself to do my hair and makeup alone after my son has completed his morning routine chart!”
7. 7. Try out school clothes in advance. A child with SPD is often sensitive to textures in clothes. They might have only one garment or one texture that they prefer to wear. The young ones might even prefer to go naked!
That won’t fly at school, will it? If your school requires a uniform, your child might find it extremely difficult to wear. You can help your sensitive child by buying the school uniform as soon as possible.
Encourage your child the wear it at home and/or wash it many times to soften the texture of the fabric. There are compression garments on the market which might make it easier for your child to cope with the issue.
These clothes provide constant deep pressure to calm him or her. Seamless socks, soft textures (your child will have strong preferences, accommodate these), and comfortable ‘worn in’ shoes will all help your child.
Mum Mary posted on a FB page today that her 3-year-old son took all his clothes off at school and had a meltdown when they tried to put them back on. He said the clothes were uncomfortable – which is true for him, unfortunately!
Wear, trial and experiment with clothing options and have a range of comfortable clothes ready for your child to use when going to school.
A constant irritation, such as uncomfortable feeling clothes, can create a meltdown at school or at home as soon as the child returns from school.
8. Practice noisy cafeteria meals. This tip came from Sarah, whose son with SPD had the hardest time with lunch. She said, “My son struggled with lunchtime almost the entire year.
The noise level was too much for him, he often came home without eating.” Parents of children with SPD could use white noise during mealtimes at home and gradually raise the volume day today.
There are even sites like Coffitivity.com or Youtube.com where you can play restaurant and cafeteria ambient noises for free at home to help desensitize your child.
Talk to the school about the use of noise-cancelling earphones. If this is an option, trial them at home and in any noisy environment. Do not use them all the time, but they might be useful for extreme circumstances.
Alternatively, investigate the option of having meals in smaller groups in an outside area.
9. Start a daily journal. This suggestion came from Pam, whose 10-year-old son has ADHD. “My son and I started journaling together every night after school.
He would tell me three reasons he was proud of himself that day, and I’d fill the rest of the page with why I was proud that day. Even on his worst days, it reminded him that I’ve got his back and that I still see the good in him no matter what.
He knew we weren’t sure how his brain and body work together or how to help him have “green light” days every day and he got so self-conscious, it broke my heart.
Today at almost 10 he’s having perfect days every day and things are going great, but the beginning was rough, and that journal really helped us both.”
10. Create a 504 Plan or IEP/IES for your child. Each of these are formal child development blueprints created for schoolchildren who need special attention or education requirements.
An IEP/IES is specifically for children diagnosed with a disability according to the US Disability Act (which includes certain attention issues and learning disorders), while a 504 Plan applies to a broader range of learning and attention challenges.
You can request an evaluation for an IEP/IES through your school, in which a team of special education teachers and early childhood counsellors will determine the specific goals and accommodations your child needs.
A 504 Plan can be developed by any childcare provider who is familiar with the child and the special service options at schools.
11. Practice toileting/potty time. You can talk to your GP and/or OT to address the issues now, before your child has to face school. You’ll be surprised at the large percentage of school aged children who have issues with toileting.
The most difficult issue for a child is wetting or soiling pants – usually without warning to the child. Many children are just too occupied with the task at hand and don’t realize the need.
And in some cases, this might not resolve itself, so talk to a professional and try to solve it. At the least devise some strategies to avoid uncomfortable and embarrassing situations.