How to help parents when their child goes to school

Your child going to school for the first time is a big change for any household. But there are things you can do as parents to help make things smoother on you. I have sent my child in to school and I work in one as a teaching assistant and these are some things which I feel may help others. 

i. Label everything. You have worked hard to choose the right school, got all of the uniform, a bag, a new bottle, lunchbox, coat, hat, gloves etc.  Most of these items will be put down or taken off and potentially lost. If you put a label on it with your child's full name your class teacher or teaching assistant has a much better chance of keeping track of it and getting it back to the right child. You don't need to use expensive labels, a Sharpie will do a good job on its own. But please check it every so often to make sure its still visible.  

ii. Leave your child at the door. It sounds easy but if your child is having a wobble and in tears about going in to school, most of the time it is better to leave them to it. Easier said than done, believe me. I see parents worrying because their child cries every morning, but they cry for longer when you stay watching them cry. Its a hard balance to strike between giving your child the affection they crave and letting them get on with their day. When you go, their surroundings and super emotionally clever 4 year old classmates take over to distract them and make them feel better. This usually happens within 5 minutes. Sometimes only seconds of being out of your sight. 

iii. Read to your child every day. Story telling and listening to words will help your child to recognise patterns in speech and hearing more words which are not used often. If your school has a reading program or requests reading at home, please do it. It not only helps your child's learning, it is great for bonding over something. Invest time in reading. You don't have to buy brand new books to find good ones to read. Go to your local library which is free to sign up to and free to borrow books, they may have an online library that you can access from home. Your school may have a book library you can borrow from. Connect with other parents to create a book swap group. Charity shops always have a selection of books at reasonable prices. 

iv. If you struggle to understand your child, we will too. If they have trouble saying certain sounds or pronouncing words, let us know and we can get assistance with a speech and language therapist. If homework and practice is needed, please do it. 

v. If something happens at school, please use empathy and an enquiring attitude. Children tell you their version of events, but it may not be the whole story. When making enquiries into an incident or situation, please ask for the adults explanation before going in all guns blazing at the door. The person you are speaking to may not have been in class when an incident happened, or there may have been a string of events that lead up to the incident. Remain calm and ask for the full truth. It may take a bit more time to get there but the staff should get it for you as quickly as possible

Schools and families are interlinked. Working together and communicating are the best ways of making the best environment for your child(ren) to learn, play and grow. 

Until Next Time

xx