I love these BTS tips for a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) over at Kinedu. I use the Kinedu app to help track the development of my toddler, SJ, and it has never let me down! See below some great tips for BTS !
1. Set up expectations
We want the ‘back to school’ feeling to be joyful and stress-free! The best way to get our little friends ready is to set up expectations. That means chatting about what that first day is going to look like, who will be in their class, and what fun new activities they will get to try. We want to give a good amount of information, without overwhelming them. You know your child best, maybe she would benefit from a small daily amount of info during the last month of vacations or maybe it is best to wait until the week before—trust your instincts on that one! The most important thing to remember is to use positive language to set her up for success!
2. Get excited
“Get to” language is not just for adults! Kids greatly benefit as well. Whenever you can pepper it in, use “get to” statements throughout the school break. For example, “at school, you will get to see Miles every day!”, “At school you get to play on the playground!”, “At school you get to help with the class fish!”. We want to set it up so that school feels like a wonderful place with a lot of fun opportunities that your child will get to experience.
3. Books help
There are tons of awesome back to school books that help to set the stage for our tiny friends. These books help foster ideas to chat about and prepare kids for school expectations. All of these books provide an awesome jumping off point for your child to ask questions and share her feelings about going back to school. There are some that explain school rules, others that help with social dynamics, and so many that help ease the tension of a big transition! See my post here for some examples.
4. Use transition objects
Transition objects are small, easy to carry items from home that ease the tension during a big change. Chat with your child’s teacher ahead of time to see if it is okay to temporarily use a transition object for a few days. Some easy items include but are not limited to a small stuffed animal, mommy’s bead bracelet, or a lovie. The idea behind the transition object is that your daughter has a little piece of home to make her feel more comfortable on those first few school days. You’ll want to prep your little one for using the object as well. That is, you want to explain why she is bringing it, how long she can bring it to school, and any rules that go along with it (i.e. it stays in the backpack during lunch, etc.)
5. Retail therapy works
Everyone loves to shop! You can set aside special time with your little one to shop for new school supplies and/or outfits. This way you are creating time to be together, chat about school, get excited, and prepare yourselves. You can describe to her why you are buying these items in order to get her little brain buzzing about all of the exciting, new things she will experience at school!
*These tips were provided via the Kinedu blog from @thespeechteacher Molly Dresner. Follow Molly Dresner at her Instagram @thespeechteacher for daily pops of knowledge on all things children!
1. Set up expectations
We want the ‘back to school’ feeling to be joyful and stress-free! The best way to get our little friends ready is to set up expectations. That means chatting about what that first day is going to look like, who will be in their class, and what fun new activities they will get to try. We want to give a good amount of information, without overwhelming them. You know your child best, maybe she would benefit from a small daily amount of info during the last month of vacations or maybe it is best to wait until the week before—trust your instincts on that one! The most important thing to remember is to use positive language to set her up for success!
2. Get excited
“Get to” language is not just for adults! Kids greatly benefit as well. Whenever you can pepper it in, use “get to” statements throughout the school break. For example, “at school, you will get to see Miles every day!”, “At school you get to play on the playground!”, “At school you get to help with the class fish!”. We want to set it up so that school feels like a wonderful place with a lot of fun opportunities that your child will get to experience.
3. Books help
There are tons of awesome back to school books that help to set the stage for our tiny friends. These books help foster ideas to chat about and prepare kids for school expectations. All of these books provide an awesome jumping off point for your child to ask questions and share her feelings about going back to school. There are some that explain school rules, others that help with social dynamics, and so many that help ease the tension of a big transition! See my post here for some examples.
4. Use transition objects
Transition objects are small, easy to carry items from home that ease the tension during a big change. Chat with your child’s teacher ahead of time to see if it is okay to temporarily use a transition object for a few days. Some easy items include but are not limited to a small stuffed animal, mommy’s bead bracelet, or a lovie. The idea behind the transition object is that your daughter has a little piece of home to make her feel more comfortable on those first few school days. You’ll want to prep your little one for using the object as well. That is, you want to explain why she is bringing it, how long she can bring it to school, and any rules that go along with it (i.e. it stays in the backpack during lunch, etc.)
5. Retail therapy works
Everyone loves to shop! You can set aside special time with your little one to shop for new school supplies and/or outfits. This way you are creating time to be together, chat about school, get excited, and prepare yourselves. You can describe to her why you are buying these items in order to get her little brain buzzing about all of the exciting, new things she will experience at school!
*These tips were provided via the Kinedu blog from @thespeechteacher Molly Dresner. Follow Molly Dresner at her Instagram @thespeechteacher for daily pops of knowledge on all things children!