Starting school like a pro - come and share your tips

[AndHarry]

PFB is starting school in September and I'm trying to remember all the great tips I've picked up on MN over the years and from the MN guide. Come and add to my list so I look like I know what I'm doing...

• Label everything! Get EasyFix clip-on labels so you don't have to spend ages ironing in labels that will fall out or sewing.

• Label everything expensive-ish like coats and jumpers twice: once somewhere obvious and once somewhere more hidden so that if a child (or parent ) takes a fancy to that item you'll be able to prove that it belongs to your child.

• Talk to a parent with a child already at the school to find out what you actually need to buy on the school uniform list and what is on the list but never actually worn (leotards, tracksuits etc.)

• Get your child to practice using cutlery, undressing and dressing, and wiping their own bottom properly over the summer.

• Add a distinctive keyring to book and PE kit bags so your child can spot it easily amongst all the other identical bags.

• Buy a good water bottle with a sports cap that they can refill in school (any recommendations...?)

Make sure they can do their own shoes.
If it is a girl, practice tights!
Make sure that they can recognise their own name when it is written down (first name only).

Am going to sound like a broken record as I always say this on these sort of threads but ...

"practising dressing" means being able to dress yourself from an inside-out, back-to-front, randomnly mixed with other items crumped pile. (i.e the way your child will leave their uniform when they change for PE).

Because I thought my DS could dress himself when he started school. He could, but only if the clothes were presented neatly folded and the right way round etc.

As well as the above, some notion of taking turns, sharing and sitting and listening is good!

Practice getting in and out PE kit and putting school uniform in PE bag to keep it safe.
If having packed lunches check they can open any boxes/lids/zips etc and remember to close down water bottles after drinking

PFB is a boy so no worries about tights and of course, my child will be taught how to fold his clothes nicely :o Or not. That is a very good point!

Either prepare yourself to invest in hats/ gloves

or

buy coats with loops/ snaps that you can attach gloves to - or sew gloves at each end of a length of yarn (= to full spread of arms middle finger to middle finger + 2 inches or so/ 10 cm wiggle room).

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Prepare yourself for mix-ups. Know that weird socks/ sweatshirts/ shorts/ etc... will be coming home - maybe even the wrong book bag. Try to check each night and return as soon as possible. (My view was that if I do it/ maybe someone else will when their DC comes home with my child's thing).

HTH

Having your chequebook and lots of coins ready for last minute charity days and other school related paymentm ideally in the car or handbag. If they don't use it already, lobby for a system like Parentmail.

Sort out book bag each night for unsuspecting letters demanding lots of things like cardboard rolls or tins the next day.

If you work, keep at least a week's leave aside for all kind of school trips, parent evenings, school plays etc.

Check if there is a mum with a child in the school already and see what she says about dress up days. I found that often schools think we all are great seamstresses and have endless material and ideas at hand.

For you ... make friends with someone with an older child at the school. There is a whole bunch of stuff that the school doesn't think to tell you, because it's "obvious". The good news is that it is obvious by the time your child is in Y1, and you've been round the loop once.

Great tips, keep em coming

I am working on DS being able to properly clean himself after going to the toilet.

Recognising their name written down is a useful skill - including surname if they may have more than one of the same name in the class.

I would also say that they should be able to recognize their last name too in case they are not the only William / Evie etc in the class.

Be able to dress / undress themselves including coats, shoes, gloves

Able to open everything in their lunch box. They have minimal help, and seem to have to eat very fast at school.

Label everything at least twice (labels and as sharpie) that you want to come home.

Use keyrings or something to attach to book bags / lunch bags / pe bags so that they are easily identifiable.

Have child care in place (if needed) if your child will be doing a staggered start.

Finally the best tip given to me from a MNer when I went through this trauma 2 years ago - take a bottle of water to drink on their first day as you can't possibly drink and cry at the same time

Thanks, lots to consider here! Keep going...

The tip to befriend someone with an older child is a GREAT one, and helped me no end.

Also, find it about second-hand uniform sales. It's possible to buy almost all of the uniform you will need for a fraction of the price. Or, y'know, you could buy new stuff and see it ripped and stained .

The dressing/undressing and toilet-going are key.

Sistema water bottles are brilliant and you can get them in Asda and Ocado that I know of.

Oh yes be prepared for the lovely new uniform to come home adorned in whiteboard marker. If anyone knows how to get this out I will be grateful!

If they have a summer fete coming up then try and pop along. It will give you a chance to put names to faces of other teachers and maybe some parents. And your DS can get used to the playing fields / school hall.

I agree that Sistema water bottles are good. This means that most children will have one, so label it well.

Also, even children who are used to full time nursery often find school exhausting, especially the first half term. Expect a certain amount of unexpected napping, whatever dorm of bad behaviour is typical of your child when tired and an increase in minor illnesses.

Can I just say that some of these suggestions might become costly? I popped a keyring on my DD's book bag for ID purposes. She liked it so much she now has a keyring collect that makes it hard to carry the bag on her own and costs me a small fortune. Don't say you haven't been warned

collection that should be

Good tips above.
Meet them at pick up with a snack, as they are all STARVING, having eaten lunch at 11:30, and will wail continuously until you have corrected their low blood sugar.

Great tips! I've placed an enormous label order.

Uniform will come home covered in paint/pen/mud/dinner/other unidentifiable spots. Try and keep one set unblemished for photos/concerts etc. The rest accept that you know you have washed them and they are basically clean apart from the rainbow of stains - they are perfectly wearable! Don't bin anything too quickly - it will cost a fortune in replacements. Torn trousers etc come in very handy for dressing up as Victorian urchins etc

Yes, the lady selling uniform at the open evening tried to talk me out of buying an extra jumper but I assured her that I had to keep one for photos and assemblies :o

The other tip I've just remembered:

• Sainsbury's will do their 25% off clothing, including school uniform, over the August bank holiday. Tesco will probably match them that weekend too.

When I was a lass uniform was bought at Woolworths, Adams or Marks & Spencer and supermarkets sold food and oddly sized tights.

My son came home with whiteboard marker on his shirt on his very first day! It still hasn't come out despite lots of washes and stain remover use.

Printed stick on name labels ordered cheaply online are very useful for lunch boxes, etc. Also useful in hats and shoes when there's not room to write a name.

DS is coming to the end of a year at pre school and m and a uniform has lasted well as have their shoes

Practice going to different loos and letting the DC lock themselves in and get out again. DS1 had a massive issue with this at school having never gone to a toilet when there was nobody about before. they thought he was poorly but he was too scared to lock the door, and wasn't sure how to do it and kept going back to class having not been.....

My tips are more about dealing with potential anxiety:

• Read lots of books about starting school together (ask friends, have a look in the library & charity shops). We had several and read them pretty much every night (he wanted to!) over the summer. It helped him get a rough idea what it would be like.

• If you have the time, try and plan some fun things to do in the first couple of weeks - either in the morning/afternoon if they are doing half days, or after school. This helped spur my DS on - 'don't forget, when I pick you up we're going to do x'.

• Try not to bang on about it too much over the summer. I realised I was beginning to hype it up a bit and was in danger of over-doing it, so I backed off!

These might seem like common sense... but I do think they helped us - by Day 3 DS was skipping into his classroom (and he didn't even know anyone when he started and tends to be quite clingy).