The new school year is here, and if anxieties are bubbling in your household, it’s time to get prepared. There are so many great articles and videos online right now about the different kinds of anxiety associated with “Back to School” time, and we thought this piece from Jackson County’s “Daily Sentinel” was worth sharing. We hope you’ll get something out of this excerpt, and that you’ll click the link below it to read the full article.
As with the start of any new school year, the freedom of summer transitions to a more routinized schedule of getting up earlier, classroom learning, participating in extracurricular activities and completing homework. High school students have experienced this transition for several years, while their younger counterparts may still have some trouble adapting to the change. And nerves can be especially high for students experiencing a new teacher or even a new school. But no matter how many years of schooling you have under your belt, the first day of school is always a momentous one for students and teachers alike.
First First Day: Kindergarten
There is only one first first day of school, and that’s when a child starts the kindergarten year. This is the beginning of a child’s formal learning career and the beginning of a life organized around a school calendar. In some instances, this milestone is more difficult to handle for parents than their kindergartener, but anxiety often abounds for both parties. After all, this is the first time, other than for daycare, that parents and their youngsters will be apart for most of every weekday. The first day of kindergarten typically features tears on both sides, but preparing for this day can help ease the transition.
For parents with kids entering kindergarten, experts often recommend a school tour to help the child become familiarized with the new environment. Janette Pelletier, assistant professor of human development and applied psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, encourages parents to walk their children through the school and show them their classroom.
“Research shows that children are most often upset because they’re unsure of what’s going to happen next, where they put their things, who their teacher is and what they’re supposed to do,” Pelletier told todaysparent.com. “That kind of talk ahead of time and any possible experience to familiarize them are really the best things.”