The first day in kindergarten is an important milestone for both the child and the parents. There is something about being in a space with children of similar ages that can improve their social development significantly. And they will be able to widen their social circle to include instructors and other parents which allows them to create meaningful relationships.
Your child may not be the best fan of kindergarten especially if they are used to close family members only. So you have to make sure that the transition to kindergarten goes as smoothly as possible. And this can only be done by gradually increasing their exposure to the people they will meet at the kindergarten. You can take your child to meet with the teacher and get a feel for the new surroundings. See if the teacher can accompany you to do a tour of the place pointing out to your child where the bathrooms, play areas, classrooms are located.
They can show where the child’s belongings can be kept and even introduce them to some of the other children in the class. Teach your child that it is okay to ask for help. You can teach them a phrase to asking help and make sure they know the name of their teacher. They will feel safer when they know who to go to when they need help.
There are story books you can read about that will give children an idea of the first day in school. You can look up several story books online that are recommended for children starting kindergarten. It also helps if you get them used to books from a young age by reading to them at night or at meal times. Even if they are not able to read, they will love to see the pictures and they will be delighted when you try out new voices for characters and act out parts of the story.
You can also ask Tarneit Kinder for recommendations of some books to introduce to your child. Then there are certain aspects of the routine of getting ready for kindergarten that you can gradually teach them about. For example, you can teach them to put on shoes when you go outside or even carry a small bag. It is good to teach children to be independent by giving them small tasks to do.
Your child will most probably have to wake up earlier than usual to get ready for kindergarten so it is best to get them used to this a few months in advance. You can start waking them up a little earlier each day so they are more used to it. And most of the time, it is the unknown that can make children hesitant to go to kindergarten so do everything you can to explain the process and what they will be doing there.
Instead of instantly shifting their daily routine when kindergarten starts, incorporate small bits of the routine gradually throughout a few months so that your child is more used to it. You can have meals at a similar time and you can have them visit the park or friends of yours with similar aged children so they get to socialize a little bit more.