Whether you’re worried you’ll be in floods of tears at the school gate, or can’t wait to wave them off, we have put together our best tips for getting those little ones ready for this massive milestone.
Make sure you’ve done your research about the school, when your child needs to be there and the journey – nothing worse than being late on the first day!
Try to answer any questions your child has and help them feel excited for the big day. You can find more information about the schools on their own websites or through Calderdale Council’s website. It’s a good idea to plan how you’re getting there too, and maybe even do a practice run to familiarise with timings and parking options (if needed).
Lastly, have a look on Facebook, there might be a new starters group for your child’s school – they are often meetups arranged to get to know their new classmates.
Make school a positive thought for your little one. Lots of reassurance and discussion is really helpful for them. Talk about things that might worry them like lunchtimes or where the toilets are!
Get them involved in the process, let them pick a lunchbox or help choose their new shoes.
In order to write and use a pencil, a child needs to have fine motor skills and hand strength, so you could work on this before September. Some ideas include:
Using tweezers to pick up small objects hidden in playdough or sand
Chunky chalks or paintbrushes
Doing jigsaws or other puzzles
Finger painting
Baking
Crafts
Building with construction toys or Lego
Phonics is the system used to teach children to read, it breaks works down into individual sounds before blending together into whole words. You can begin this process at home through playing, some great examples are:
I-Spy
‘Listening walks’
Listening & rhyming games – there are lots of ideas online or you could check out your local library’s sessions
Read books together
Music & sounds
Early counting skills, including spotting patterns and looking for shapes
However, please, please, remember children all learn differently, so focus on making sure your child is happy and feels safe going to their new school.
👔 School Uniform!Ahh… school uniform, what a minefield, but don’t panic, we are here to help!
The first thing you need to check is your specific school’s guidance – you might have already received this, otherwise it should be available online. The majority of uniform can be unbranded (without logos), e.g. from supermarkets, this is much cheaper!
The official uniform will be available to order from named suppliers, buy your school might also run a preloved shop, which is a fantastic way to get a bargain!
Consider the following:
👖Trousers, skirts, shorts or dresses
👕 Polo shirts, shirts, jumpers, cardigans or a blazer
👞 Socks, tights and school shoes
🏃♀️ Coat, PE kit, bookbag and waterproofs/wellies
Knowing how much to buy can be tricky, obviously you need to consider your own circumstances, what you can afford and how often you’re prepared to wash uniforms! Don’t leave it until the very last minute either.
An absolute MUST DO! There are lots of options for this (thankfully you don’t have to able to sew!), such as:
Labels – stick on, iron on or sew in
Stamps
Permanent marker pens
Label literally everything. Every. Thing.
💻Useful resourcesThere’s lots of information, which can be overwhelming, but a lovely resource is the BBC Bitesize website, particularly the section on starting primary school – it includes videos which your child might find helpful, as well as some learning games!
If you have any questions – post them in our Calderdale & Halifax Mumbler Chat Group, loads of lovely parents will be able to help you out!
