What an adventure this is for all the family. Here are some tips on making the early days a success for all.

Your child will be full of excitement and anticipation. This can sometimes go pear-shaped and turn into distress unless handled well. Keep in mind that you need to be physically close to your child as you enter school. This is comforting for them.
·Talk about some happy things you notice such as the school play equipment, coloured seats etc. Here you are filling their thoughts that this is a good place to be. You certainly approve!
Go in the class with your child and make sure they are comfortably seated. Quickly space will fill and it will become a noisy place of children, parents, extended families etc. all competing for a space near their child. Here you talk calmly and stay with them but leave quickly when told. Finish your conversation with something like:

“I’ll meet you over there. I love you.”

Tell them exactly where you will meet them. In fact, go to the place that you will meet them after school. Honouring this by being on time is very important to the child.
Show them the lunch you packed. Let them help and put in some treats. Afterall school should be a happy place with warm memories. Also, put in a smiley picture in the lunchbox. This is such a treat when they spot it at lunchtime.
When they leave the classroom after school just let them talk and you be the great listener with much excitement in your voice about what your child has discovered in the day. Don’t be questioning too much, just let them talk.
For several days keep the same routine up. The teachers will guide the parents as to how and when they want parents present in the room.
Remember that school consumes much of their week now and this will require some family adjustment to cope with tears, tiredness, insecurities etc. that will appear in the first few weeks. It is quite common that when the shine comes off the new aspect of school, the child begins to reflect on what they are missing at home. They then begin to feel remorseful being away from family. This is especially the case when there are younger siblings at home.
Encourage independence as the days progress. They can help you plan their clothes for the new school day, organise school bag and lunch. Take it slowly but indicate that growing independence is all part of being a real school student.
Always be on time to collect your child and make certain that if there are new arrangements for the pickup, your child must have a full grasp of this information. Home time can be a busy and unsettling time for some children as they anxiously wait to be collected.
If this is not your first child in prep, remember that for them it is still a unique time in their life and attention should be given to their special settling in time. Sometimes because the family are familiar with school, there can be a tendency to think that your latest prep will settle much faster. Surprisingly this may not be the case.
Label all items of clothing, lunch boxes etc. This is important so that your child feels secure and there is less anxiety when these items are lost. Little disturbance such as misplaced water bottles can be unsettling situations for the child.

Everyone in the family loves their prep child. They are the centre of attention. They will succeed and prosper. Extended family such as grandparents all become intensely interested in the joy of their grandchild starting school. Sometimes these expectations can be overwhelming for the child especially if they are feeling sad and have moments of wanting to be home. Keep an eye on how they are feeling on all fronts. Remember we cannot set expectations for them other than they settle well and begin to enjoy the school scene.

Ultimately, we want the child to begin loving the journey of school on many fronts.

“This is the beginning of anything you want.”

— Author Unknown

First day jitters can last a little while.