I was teaching the K2s before I went for maternity leave. I supposed most parents will be receiving or going for their child's orientation program for Primary one during this period. I came across a Facebook post of a friend who was worried about her child going to primary one. Thus, I am going to share some tips based on my own experience as a parent and as an early childhood educator. I am sure most of us will be anxious as it is a big step from preschool. In preschool setting,most of the time, the children were directed by the teachers to do things. However, teachers do encourage the children to practice their self help skills. In primary school, the children have to be independent. Based on my own experience, it can be a headache especially when I am a full time working mom and being in the education sector, I usually could not take the day off to attend to my child's first day. However, I find that things have changed much since my time (#1980s babies). I still remember my first day of school, we were all gathered at the assembly area and lined up according to our class. There was a prefect holding a sign that indicated my class. My mum was there during recess time. This helped me as it felt better to be able to see a familiar face in the sea of unknown. Nowadays, we were given a tour and a talk during orientation to fully understand the school needs. I went through 3 orientations. I find it is helpful to be able to understand the school better. We were able to see how the school looks like. On the first day, the children were usually attached to a buddy who is usually in upper primary. This buddy will help them during recess time and help the newbies with the first few days. Well, that is what happened to my three older children. I am sure that some of you will like some tips on how to prepare your child for primary one. There are some things that you need to take note.
Physical preparation
- Independence of going to toilet
In the childcare or kindergarten, the children were usually accompanied by the teacher. The teacher will remind them to wash their hands and clean their private areas properly. When they enter primary school, they have to remember all these things on their own. As a parent, my children sometimes still need reminders to wash their hands. You can educate them by going to one of the toilet in the primary school during orientation. Based on that, you will be able to tell them how to go about keeping their personal hygiene clean. Therefore it is very important to plan out things to do during orientation. It is not just about buying books or uniform (I know it is very exciting but there are more important things to do than just buying books or uniform).
Aside from teaching them how to use the toilet, we need to explain to them that they need to ask for permission to use the toilet. This can be achieved by doing role play. You can be the student and you will raised your hand to ask for permission from them (the teacher). After which, you will reverse the role. This will help children who are particularly shy.
My children had difficulty adjusting to the new sleeping schedule. I suggest that you can start the new sleeping time during these two months. My children are all in the morning session. It was difficult for them to fall asleep due to the fact that they were excited and not use to it(I started out like two days before that;very bad move). Children need to have sufficient rest before they are able to perform in school. For those who went to kindergarten, it will be harder for them as the schooling time has been extended. Instead of 4 hours, school starts at around 8 am to around 145pm. My children were usually exhausted by the time they reach home if they do not have enough sleep the previous day.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. My children eat their breakfast every single day. My dad had advised me that children need to have the energy to last them till their recess time which is usually around 10 am. Can you imagine them going through class from 6am the time they woke up till 10 am on an empty stomach? It will affect their attention span and it is definitely not healthy. Another tip is to take a look at the menus in the canteen during orientation. My hubster and I went through the menu in the school canteen. For the first week, we told our children the food that they should buy. This will prevent them from wasting time to decide on the food to eat. It will allow them more time to eat.You can help them to plan for maybe two weeks to give them a headstart. This will help to prepare them and cutdown the time on deciding. You can explain to them that they can make their own choices after two weeks. Ensure that you help them to pick food they will like. Through this, you can help them plan their financial. You can teach them the change they will receive after buying the food. However, if you feel that your child has the ability to account for their own money, just let them make their own decision after going through the menu with them. If your child dislike the canteen food and you have the time, you may pack lunch for them. The children need to understand that recess time is the ONLY TIME that they are able to eat. Another thing to take note is please make sure your child hydrate themselves by preparing a water bottle for them.
- Being responsible for their personal grooming and belongings
You may start training them on how to keep their uniform neat and tidy by showing them what is expected of them. You can show them pictures on how to wear their uniform. After which, the children will model the right way to wear their uniform e.g tucking in their shirt. Other than their uniform, you can talk about their hair especially the girls. My girls had difficulty with keeping or tucking their fringe to the sides. It took me a while to train them on keeping their hair neat and tidy. If it is a hassle especially for girls with long hair, you might want to keep their hair short till they are able to be responsible about their personal grooming.
You need to explain to your child about their personal belongings. Unlike in preschool where sometimes parents called the school up to ask the teacher to look for some missing items(the children were younger and were not able to look after their things), in primary school, things will get lost (my boy lost his pencil case and wallet). I know it is not easy but if we continue educating our children on being responsible for their own belonging, it will form into a good habit. I am sure that in childcare, the children were taught to look out for their own items. Therefore as parents, we need to inculcate the good habit by not pampering them by always looking after their things. Another habit that you can start is getting them to pack their own bag. The children need to learn how to read their timetable and the books that they have to bring.
These are some of the important things to go through with your child before they head out to primary one. However, let me emphasize that the process should be kept as simple and relaxing as possible and make it fun. After all, our intention was for our babies to be prepared and to love going to school. I am sure you would want them to tell you that they enjoyed school at the end of the day.
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| I am sure you would want your child to come out smiling on her first day. |
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