If you are a parent of a toddler who is going to start preschool this year, then you may be preparing for this new journey with mixed emotions.

FACT # 1: A preschool teacher in Bellingham, Silvana Clark, says that” Parents don’t need to prepare their child for preschool months beforehand.”

So are you excited about all the new things and fun that your toddler will have and about the new friends that he will make in preschool?

Well! Similarly, you may feel anxious or sad that your child is stepping out into the big world without you.

Step by Step Guide to Prepare Your Toddler for Preschool:

All these feelings and emotions are normal as a toddler’s parent. At the same time, your child is also feeling a burst of emotions about this new change, activities for toddlers, and they must be feeling glad to be a big kid now.

There are a lot of things that you can do to get prepared for this major day and bring healthy kids in the months before their preschool. But you should try to keep your efforts modest. If you try to make this important event too big or extraordinary, your child may end up being worried rather than being excited about it. Here we enlist some ideas that you can follow to keep the focus on fun preparation:

1. Set up a Fixed Routine:

Setting up and following a fixed routine makes you able to make good decisions and act sensibly. Setting up a daily routine schedule will make it easy for your child to adjust according to the preschool structure. Rebecca Palacios, who is a Ph.D. scholar explains in an article that” Children tend to learn fast when daily routines and schedules are established. Daily routine offers an opportunity to learn about important things like sequence, order, and managing time. Setting up a fixed routine for your child will help to ease the transition and help your child to get mentally prepare for preschool. It will also provide a structure for creative fun learning activities and benefits of education planning”.

2. Set Up Fixed Morning and Bedtime Schedule:

If you follow a fixed routine with your child, it will help you in a great way. It gives your child a feeling of responsibility and reassurance. It also helps parents to connect with their children effectively. In the Florida Department of Education, a morning routine may include daily morning tasks like making the bed, brushing teeth, getting dressed, brushing hair, eating breakfast and setting personal items.

In Switzerland, Jean Piaget mentions that Young children usually love to do things on their own. They would love to follow a morning and bedtime chart with a list of tasks and pictures next to each task. It will provide them an idea about what to expect from them. Some preschool activities also involve a daily routine schedule which helps to prepare and organize kids.

3. Explore the Idea of Preschool by Pretending to Play:

Booker T. Washington explores the idea of preschool life; the act is like the parent, kid, and teacher. Pretend to perform daily preschool routine activities like saying goodbye to parents before leaving, taking off coat after entering the house, reading stories, singing rhymes, playing outside and taking naps.

It is a common and major step to consider for childcare education in the New Hampshire Department of Education (DOE). It will help to assure your kid that a preschool is a good place and he or she can have fun with learning. Answer the questions of your kid briefly and patiently about preschool. It helps them to feel responsible and reduces their anxiety.

4. Set Time Daily for Reading:

Reading to your children daily is a good thing. This habit helps to enhance their vocabulary and promote their love for reading. Dr. Palacios, a senior curriculum advisor, says that “When parents give the gift of reading books and language, they provide them a base of an imaginative world which is important to build creative thinkers and innovators.”

She also says that” parents should always have reading material on hand whether it is in the car, kitchen, living room, child’s bedroom or even outside of the home. Whether they buy a book from the market or bookstore or they check out from the library, books provide a strong foundation of vocabulary to your kid.

Well! It is helpful for your kid to be successful in school life also.

5. Practice Self-Help Skills by Various Activities:

Charlotte Mason has a dream to offer several Self-help activities to child grooming. It may include daily routine activities like unzipping a coat, placing it in the right place, putting on a backpack, tie shoelaces, etc.

You can start racing with your kid to see how quickly he can unzip his coat or tie shoelaces. When you play school with your kid, give your child a chance to practice taking on the coat, zipping the backpack, and sitting in a cross-legged manner.

Is it Important to Prepare Kids Emotionally for Preschool?

Many parents are thinking, is it that important to prepare children emotionally for preschool? Starting preschool can be exciting and fun, but simultaneously it can be normal for both parent and child to be anxious about it.

PRO TIP: To overcome this situation, encourage your child to express the questions and feelings, listen to them carefully, and answer questions briefly.

As per Horace Mann, once you will notice a clear improvement in your child’s behavior as you start working on their feelings and emotions. Also, address your feeling of stress and anxiety at the same time.

Final Verdict:

A preschool is an early learning space for kids. It must be a positive and fun experience for the child. If this new step gives them more emotional distraction than positive feelings, then it may be too early or miss the point for your child.

FACT # 2: Usually, Children need to be prepared for getting separated from their parents. They are able to sit and learn with other children groups and follow the instructions from people other than their parents before starting a preschool.

As relates by Friedrich Froebel, every school takes time to figure out a suitable educational program for your kid.