10+1 tips to avoid unpleasant surprises at the start of school

We think we are prepared for everything. We try to be careful: nice bag, writing materials, coloured pencils, eraser, pencil case, notebook. We also check the recommendations on the school website. We seem to think about everything, but then the questions start to pile up:

"Sports clothing? Wow, what do you need? How big of what? What colour? Do we even get a school-start allowance? What is the lunch payment deadline? How will we get the kid to school?"

And when everything is done, all our questions answered, we can relax: we've done what we have to do as parents.

But have we really done it?

At least we think so. While the things listed are obviously important, they may not be the most crucial. Because these are not the things that will surprise us in the first grade. Or if they do, it's a quick fix: just run back to the right shop.

The surprise comes when the child is in a bad mood: he didn't bring a star, or only one, or didn't get a sticker. Maybe the teacher complains a bit: your child often doesn't listen, is very fidgety, prefers to daydream, draw or doesn't want to draw or colour at all.

As a little 6-7 year old inevitably has to cope with many changes when starting school, these situations are almost natural. However, they can be prepared for. This is something that can be solved not by shopping in the last few days, but by consciously making small changes months in advance!

How can we parents prevent unpleasant surprises?

1. If we tell a story, then ask your child to tell us what they liked best about the story!
2. Ask him to tell us what they saw "inside"? What kind of movie do they imagine from this story?
3. Show them a slide film often and try to get them to tell the story in verse with us! There are some very good slide films that they can learn a lot from.
4. Watch or listen to lots of folk tales to develop their vocabulary!
5. Always ask them what he might not understand!
6. Let's learn card games together and play a lot!
7. Always follow the rules! There will be lots of rules to follow at school, but it's not always easy.
8. Play more and more games of the same game! Move around a lot while playing!
9. Set goals in advance! For example: play to 10 goals. Whoever reaches 10 goals first wins. Make it 10 minutes a game. That way we count, concentrate, move and get skillful.
10. As parents, let's get involved sometimes even when we are with friends!

+1 And let's praise, encourage and especially recognise perseverance and effort!

If we follow these tips, we will face far fewer unexpected situations and our child will have fewer unpleasant experiences during his first days at school. What's more, we can be sure that he or she will love school.

Want to add to the list? Are there any other best practices that can help with the school start? Let us know, so that conscious parents and their children can be as prepared as possible for the possible difficulties of the transition from kindergarten to school!