First days at school: tips to facilitate entry to school

September. The moment has arrived. Your "baby" is already an older child who is going to a school for the first time and enters the stage of Early Childhood Education. But ... what if we plan a little this big step?

We have to differentiate the nurseries of the Infantile Schools. In the first, the support to your child is more assistance (primary needs) and in the second premium or the educational burden is added (objectives, contents and evaluation of learning).

When we talk about Early Childhood Education we refer to the education that is imparted in a formal way following the educational system, to children from birth to 6 years of age in order to contribute to their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development.

In Spain, Infant Education is divided into two cycles: the first from 0 to 3 years and the second from 3 to 6 years. Normally when we talk about school, and that is what we are going to focus on in this article, we refer to the entry of the student in the second cycle of Early Childhood Education since it is the one that is offered in its great majority in these, leaving the first cycle to more specialized centers.

Mainly we would like to emphasize that Infant Education in Spain is 100% voluntary and that it is not compulsory to enroll our children up to 6 years of age when they enter Primary School. Despite this, early schooling is spreading due to its many benefits, among which is the positive impact on the improvement of the future academic performance.

Initial insecurities

The schooling of a child is something that in principle parents often cause some anxiety. The child changes surroundings, teachers, peers and routines. If your child has never been previously enrolled in day care centers or nursery schools, the change is even more sudden as it moves away from the family nucleus for the first time. And that change not only manifests itself in the child, but in you as well.

Like us, children perceive the new income in the educational institution as something new and therefore insecure at first. First of all, we should not transmit that anxiety to our son since this will cause a more complex adaptation to the center.

Some tips to facilitate entry into the school

It is important to know what will be the routines that your child will carry out in their new school and that your child's teacher will probably explain to you before they go to school for the first time. But to facilitate the new experience we recommend that you practice and perform during the summer the following aspects:

Teach your child to go autonomously to the bathroom

Peeing, cleaning and finally washing their hands will give them a lot of self-confidence. Going to a new bathroom will not be so complicated and they will know how to solve small problems like getting on and off their pants.

Comfortable and easy to handle clothes

We love to make our children beautiful and we can continue to do so, but keeping in mind the following garments:

  • Always shoes with velcro. In the new school they will do fun activities and sometimes even have to get rid of the shoes. What fun! But when it comes to putting them on and taking them off, our son can easily get frustrated and we have the key to avoid the bad drink.
  • Avoid the buttons. Fine motor skills are one of the main objectives in Early Childhood Education and buttoning buttons, as well as tying ties to the little ones, is a bit big. It is better to look for garments with simple zippers or elastics that they can handle.

Recognize your name and / photo

This aspect will also work a lot throughout the stage that concerns us but it will give you security to know what your things are.

Eat autonomously

It's time for recess and our children are going to eat. They will feel more secure if they are able to open / close, puncture / chop, etc. Otherwise they will need help throughout the process and they will feel less capable.

In addition to these tips, before starting school you can take walks around your future school, attend an open day, tell adventures and stories related to schools or just some of your funniest anecdotes. The more familiar the school is to your child, the easier and faster it will adapt.

Finally, it is very important that you listen and follow the instructions that the teacher tells you. Keep in mind that she is a professional and that she is there to help you and your children adapt. This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Pediatrician. We advise you to consult your trusted pediatrician.

Welcoming Students on the First Day of Class (February 2024)