Reception help list:
The summer before my August born boy went to school we started practising on preparation ? here is my list of helpful hints!
Velcro shoes ? unless they can do laces up with no help and very quickly
Make sure you contact your school to find out how to obtain the uniform. Sometimes it has to be ordered via the school and when they close at the end of July its means you won?t have a uniform for September!!
Find out which days P.E is on and on those days don?t button up the polo shirt ? with a jumper on over the top it won?t be noticed anyway!
Personal care ? ensure can wash hands, sort clothing out. My son couldn?t wipe his own bottom and so I ensured he got into a ?routine? of doing one before bed so I knew he wouldn?t run into difficulties at school.
Put half a smiley face in each shoe so that when they are placed together the correct way round they form one big happy face ? helps to get the shoes on the correct feet.
Practice with a lunchbox and different wrappings. I realised that I just hand my son a plate of food (as does nursery) and so he never had to undo anything!. He found a zipped lunch box easier than a velcro one. He found cling film to fidderly and so I get cheap food bags and put his sandwiches in them and wrap them over. He then puts all his left over?s in the bag so the lunch box comes back in a decent state!
Put a slit in the top of packets so they tear open easily or open them and fold them over and seal with a sticker (children can ALWAYS get a sticker off things!).
Fromage frais makes less mess than runny yogurt. Don?t forget to pack a spoon.
Sport top on bottles easier than screw tops or cartons (it all comes home in the lunch box so think of less spillage)
Label everything unless you don?t want it back. I got some really good stickers printed with just our surname on so all the family could use them for different things. They are dishwasher proof too.
Small icepack for the summer.
Some foods are not allowed in lunches so check with the school.
Before my (very young and clumsy)son had school dinners I brought a tray plate (from boots) that the food gets put directly on as that is what they use in school so he could practice carrying it to the table without dropping it. (was terrified he would drop it at school and everyone would laugh).
If they are a very small or slow eater don?t give them too much otherwise they will spend their whole lunch break eating and not outside playing. Some schools insist they eat everything. Just take a snack for on the way home if they are hungry.
Elasticated skirts and trousers to make it easier to get on/off.
If there is a 'school' coat, and it's not compulsory DON'T BUY ONE. If 30 children all have an identical coat it's a nightmare to sort them out.
Show your child how to hang their coat on a peg, using the loop. Otherwise the coat will live on a muddy cloakroom floor.
Tie something distinctive on your child's bookbag and PE bag, so they can recognise their own among many identical ones - a keyring or something is ideal
Putting his clothes back on when they are inside out and back-to-front (ie as they'll be after he's taken them off after PE). My DS could dress himself so it never occurred to me that his clothes were always presented in a nice "sanitised" manner
Some children found the sheer noise and busy environment very stressful when they first start school and I wasn't prepared for that with my son who found lunchtimes in the hall with a hundred or so other children all chattering, clanking cutlery, scraping chairs and clinking plates really intimidating and scary.
Not much you can do (unless you have a massive home and a hundred children to invite round) but by going to busy places with him beforehand and telling him that school might get noisy sometimes but it's nothing to be worried about he will at least be able to remember your words when faced with increased hustle and bustle.
My son was sometimes a bit nervous about going in and ?being alone? all day without me, so I filled his pocket with ?kisses? and told him to reach in for one if he felt a bit sad. At nearly 7yrs he still asks for them if going somewhere new (eg Beavers for the first time)
Teach your child to stuff their hat/scarf/gloves into the sleeve of their coat when they hang their coat up - stops them from getting lost and reminds dc to put them back on when they go out to play as they automatically find them when they put their coat back on!
A top tip I was given was that school shirts come in packs of three so you buy 2 packs, that gives you 6 shirts, one for every day of the week, plus 1 you put aside for the school christmas show, prize giving or whatever.
If you are a working parent, as soon as you find out your allocated school you MUST sort childcare. Childminders and after school clubs get booked up very quickly. The school office may have a list of childcare establishments.