As parents, we naturally want to ensure our children are ready for their first day of school. While academic readiness is important, practical self-help, personal care, social, and regulation skills can make a significant difference in your child's school experience.
Here’s my advice on what to focus on to prepare your child for this exciting new chapter:
Self-Help Skills
Opening and Closing Containers: Teach your child how to open and close the containers you'll be using in their lunchbox.
Pinching and Tearing Packaging: Practice with pre-packaged snacks and packets, like ketchup, so they can manage these independently.
Inserting Straws: Show them how to put a straw into a juice pouch, such as a Capri Sun.
Managing Coats: Teach them how to put on a jacket properly, fix sleeves that get pulled through, and how to zip it up.
Handling Dressing: Practise zipping, buttoning, and turning the items the right way around.
Shoes: Help them learn to get their shoes on the right feet. If they can tie their shoes, that’s a bonus skill, but I recommend velcro for ease.
Personal Care Skills
Bathroom Boundaries: Ensure they understand the importance of using the bathroom with the door closed and that ‘pants are private’.
Interoception: Teach them to check in with their body signals so they don’t miss the urge to go to the toilet.
Wiping: Practise reaching around and wiping their bottom, repeating until clean.
Handwashing: Teach them how to pump soap, wash their hands properly, turn off the sink, and dry their hands.
Social Skills
Waiting and Taking Turns: Practse patience and taking turns during playtime.
Sharing and Compromising: Encourage sharing and finding compromises during interactions with others.
Following Directions: Start with two-step directions (e.g., "First, take your jacket off. Then, hang it up.") and gradually increase to three steps.
Language Skills
Building Vocabulary: Engage in conversations using new words and explain their meanings.
Reflecting and Memory: Involve them in tasks by discussing what you need at the shops and then asking them to recall it when you arrive.
Asking Questions: Encourage them to ask for what they need rather than solving problems for them. For example, prompt them to ask, “Can I please have a glass of water?” instead of responding to “I’m thirsty” with a glass of water. Better still can the get the cup and pour themselves a glass?
Regulation Skills
Dealing with Emotions: Name, explore, and validate emotions. Create unique strategies for regulating emotions, such as deep breathing exercises, tight squeezes, wall presses, or listening to music.
Focusing on these skills will ensure your child is not only ready to learn but also capable of handling daily school routines with increasing independence and resilience. Developing these foundational skills will set them up for a successful start. Resilience is built through struggle, persistence, and eventual success. Keep encouraging your child to persist with new challenges and develop self-trust, so they know, "I can do hard things!"
Do you need tailored support to ensure your family starts strong in September? Book a free discovery call to ensure:
Conquer Overwhelm: Get a tailored family plan to reduce stress and increase organisation.
Smooth Transitions: Use proven tools and techniques to create an environment conducive to smooth transitions.
Emotional Regulation: Implement strategies for emotional regulation to maintain a calm and supportive home.
Effective Communication: Enhance communication skills for effective interactions with teachers.
Address Lagging Skills: Identify and address any lagging skills promptly.
Summer Learning: Embed learning over the summer to secure essential skills.
Build Confidence and Resilience: Leverage your child’s strengths to build confidence and resilience.
Support Self-Advocacy: Help your child develop strong self-advocacy skills.
Invest £500 for 3 months of support or £900 for 6 months, including 1:1 coaching, tools, resources, and email support between sessions.
Check out what my clients think,
"Now we are in a much better place! Jo helped me see my son with fresh eyes, realistically assessing his behaviour patterns and identifying ways to support him. I am now more aware of his sensory needs and can adjust our family activities accordingly.
Jo has been a calm, sympathetic, practical, and knowledgeable sounding board. She made me feel completely safe to be open and honest about the challenges we were facing. She provided a different perspective on my son's behaviour, which has been invaluable. I can't thank Jo enough for the sessions we had together." LE, Parent
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