Easing the back-to-school transition

The first day of school can be an exciting time for children and their families, but also a time of uncertainty with new schedules, school sites, and other challenges.

Most Eden Prairie Schools students are scheduled to start their new academic year on Tuesday, Sept. 3, with students in grades 7 and 8 and grades 10 to 12 beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Carolyn Brown, an Eden Prairie Schools social worker at Prairie View Elementary, and Patricia McGrane, a kindergarten teacher at Prairie View, shared some useful tips for getting kids ready for this big transition.

Some of Brown’s key advice included building a routine, mapping out schedules, getting plenty of sleep, and maintaining open, healthy communication. Brown and McGrane also provided guidance for families of preschool and kindergarten students.

Proactive planning, care, support make a difference

Brown said there are several things families can do to make the first few weeks of school more seamless and positive.

Begin building a routine before school starts. ”For families preparing to head back to school, getting into a routine a couple of weeks before school starts around bedtime/wake-up times and meal/snack times that reflect a typical school schedule is very helpful,” Brown said.

Get lots of rest. Plenty of sleep is paramount. Brown recommended following the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines of between 9-12 hours of sleep per night for elementary school-aged children.

Establish clear schedules and expectations. “I think talking as a family about what each of your jobs are in getting ready for school each morning can be helpful,” Brown said.

Create a visual schedule. Brown advised that this approach is especially helpful for younger children and those who might learn better in more visual ways: “This might be a simple chart you laminate or put in a page protector with the different tasks your child needs to complete each morning and then you and your child can work together to check off their tasks. Practice this schedule together a couple of mornings ahead of the school year so everyone can feel more confident and comfortable going into the new routine.”

Attend back-to-school night. Go to your school’s event with your child so they can see their new classroom, meet their teacher and some of their classmates, Brown said. “This can help reduce some of the worry seeing what they will walk into on the first day of school,” she said. Eden Prairie Schools’ back-to-school events can be found on each school’s website.

Pay attention to behavioral cues. Keeping kids’ social-emotional health in mind is also important. “Remember that most kids express their worries and feelings through their behavior,” Brown said.

Talk – and listen. “Ask open-ended questions of your child about their thoughts and feelings about school starting,” Brown said. “Just listen and try not to insert your thoughts and feelings about it. Empathize and validate their feelings and wonderings and maybe share about a time you felt nervous about something new starting and how you coped with the nervousness and how it felt after you realized you got through the initial worries.”

Do research. Brown recommended finding books about starting school at the library as well as audiobooks on YouTube.
  
Build confidence. “One piece of advice I always give parents or guardians or loved ones of children who are anxious about school is to do your best to project confidence to your child about all of the fun and exciting things they will get to see and do at school,” Brown said. “Tell them something you enjoyed about school or help them brainstorm some fun experiences they might have at school this year.”

Talk to a pediatrician or social worker. If your child seems particularly nervous and you are concerned about their level of worry, ask for help from your pediatrician or consult your school’s social worker (elementary and secondary) or counselor (secondary), who can help you navigate their worry about school, Brown said.

Tips for younger students

For preschool and kindergarten students in particular, Brown and McGrane shared additional ideas to make the transition happy and smooth.

To make school-time partings easier, Brown advised coming up with a fun, short goodbye routine for the bus stop or carpool circle or drop-off to Eagle Zone – and sticking to it. “Don’t linger, look worried yourself, or keep trying to calm a child down,” she said. “Anxiety for kids reduces when routines are short and predictable.”

Brown also assured parents that teachers and school staff are experienced at reassuring children and helping them feel comfortable in a new class or school.

“There will be lots of loving, kind staff members to help get your new preschooler or kindergartener into school and to the right place those first few days, and before you know it they will be confident in their new routine,” she said.

“I have often worked with kids who have more separation anxiety and with school staff and parents teaming together; we always are able to get children used to the routine and confident about it.”

Many students preparing to attend kindergarten at EP Schools attend Kindercamp, an annually offered opportunity for students to meet a teacher and experience what a day of kindergarten will be like when they actually come to school on the first day. 

McGrane said, “It is an opportunity for a child to be in the school and not have the distractions of other students at different grade levels amongst them.”

During the two days of Kindercamp, the teacher takes the children through what a typical day of learning will be like when they come.

This starts with the Morning Meeting, a reading activity (which provides an opportunity for them to sit at a table using kindergarten tools), visiting the bathroom (learning how the sink, soap and towel dispenser work), walking the hallways to become familiar with the layout of the building (art room, gym, music room and library), visiting the cafeteria and the playground, and practicing walking in a line behind others, McGrane said. 

“Our hope from Kindercamp is that students feel more comfortable with entering kindergarten on the first day and take some of those anxious moments that otherwise might occur, away from students and parents,” she added.

For incoming students who may have been unable to attend KinderCamp, there are still several ways families can help their child become familiar with their upcoming new routine, school route, teacher, and school building.
 
“We encourage parents to attend Open House (the Wednesday before school begins), and meet the teacher, look around the classroom and then, with the parent tour the school, visit the bathrooms and cafeteria,” McGrane said. “They will also meet up with other parents and students that will be in the classroom giving them an opportunity to meet new faces.”

McGrane also offered several additional practical aspects of school readiness that parents can use to support their child. These include:

• Recognizing letters and numbers.
• Identifying and printing their name.
• Separating from family.
• Putting on and zipping a coat independently.
• Wearing shoes that are easy to put on (velcro or slip-ons are recommended, as tying shoes can be tricky).
• Sitting for short periods to listen to a story.
• Following directions.
• Independently taking care of bathroom needs (including zipping and snapping pants).
• Cleaning up after themselves, whether it’s toys or after a snack.

Kindergarten readiness testing

While many kindergarten students at EP Schools come from preschool programs that prepare them for kindergarten, the only required assessment before entering kindergarten is an Early Childhood Screening test required by Minnesota state law.

While this free testing is recommended to be done around age 3, it can also be done at age 4 or 5.

Testing takes about an hour to complete and helps assess the overall growth and development of each child, with referrals for added support or resources if needed. Brown said, “This can help ensure a child is as ready as possible for kindergarten.”

During screenings, a trained professional will check the following:

• Vision.
• Hearing.
• Height and weight.
• Immunization review.
• Large and small muscles/motor skills.
• Thinking, language, and communication skills.
• Social and emotional development.

For families that might have questions about their child’s growth and/or development, Brown also recommended consulting their pediatrician.

More information about Early Childhood Screening can be found on the Eden Prairie Schools website.