Mumsnet users share with Disney Junior how they prepare their child for their first day of school

[EllieMumsnet]

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The first day of primary school is an exciting milestone and also fairly nerve-wracking for both children and parents alike. Many questions may run through your mind, such as, ‘Will my child make new friends? Will they get along with others? What type of day are they having? Preparing your child for their first day of school, can be a great way to ensure a smooth transition. From giving them guidance on how to make friends, to practising the school routine and helping them get ready can provide them with confidence for their first day. Disney Junior, together with Vee, heroine of the Disney Junior series Vampirina would love to know your tips for preparing your child for their first day of school and how you encourage them to make new friends.

Here’s what Disney Junior have to say about Vampirina: “Vampirina (AKA Vee) and her family of vampires have moved to Pennsylvania to open the very first Scare B&B. Despite being new to the neighbourhood and a bit nervous, this little girl has no trouble making friends and having fun. Meanwhile her mum, Oxana does a fabulous job at juggling the roles of a full-time mum and owner of the spookiest B&B in town! Your little one can watch Vampirina every day at 17.30 on Disney Junior!”

Watch the video below: a guide to making friends; as told by 5 year olds:

Do you explain the importance of caring and looking out for others to help them make new friends? Perhaps you try get as much information from the new school as you can about what the first day will be like? Maybe you work on independence and being able to do little tasks by themselves such as tying their own shoes? Or do you try to meet up with others who are attending the school so your child knows a few familiar faces?

Whatever your tips are for preparing your child for their first day of school, share them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw, where three lucky winners will win a £100 Disney Store voucher plus a Vampirina goody bag for back to school.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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We were lucky, DD had gone to nursery since she was 18 months, by the time school came she was completely ready to take the next step.

We basically made it sound as exciting as possible - making new friends, learning new things, PE!!! She didn’t look back on her first day & settled really well.

We've practiced getting uniform and p.e. kit on and off.
We've talked about lunch time and using a tray.
We've talked about the school day and who will be dropping off and picking up

Explaining things to her and making a bit of a fuss about what a big girl she was. We were lucky in that she didn't make too much fuss and settled fast

Depends on the age. For the little ones, we do a run of bedtime so they get used to sleeping as early as they do during school. They wake up early naturally anyway so thats not a problem. The other thing is roleplays and practising manners.

Practicing getting uniform on and off and we are practicing putting on her shoes. We also have a back to school sticker book.

I told my son big school was going to be really fun! Full of new experiences and new friends.

He was very excited.

Of course a week later he was sad because the reality was that he was a quiet boy who took ages to make friends. I felt bad for almost lying to him. But he loves it now.

Not much to be honest - dd has been in pre school for a year, so she has friends, knows some teachers and has a similar routine. She's used to full days and is very keen to learn, so I can't imagine it'll be a big change really!

We spent lots of time doing pretend play, getting dressed, sitting still while doing activities etc. We also had discussions about what happens at school.

My son starts school in September! I can’t belive my baby is starting school!
We’ve been to the school lots for insight days & have met his teacher and classmates.
We’ve walked to the school a few times, to time how long it takes to get there ready for walking there on school mornings.
We’ve tried on the school uniform & he’s worn the shoes for a day to make sure they’re comfortable.
We’ve also practiced getting undressed & in to his PE kit without taking his pants off! 🤣
We’ve spoken about feelings he has about starting school & what he’s looking forward to most. We’ve discussed about what he should do if he needs a wee or poo at school.
I’m so worried I’m going to forget something so reading this this thread has been amazing!

We just did some simple things that we thought would help:

He has food allergies and asthma so we've always spent time reinforcing what signs HE needed to recognise so he could ask for help; it's quite scary but the reality is that in a class of 30 it's important that he can flag an issue immediately rather than hoping the teacher will notice, which could be several minutes later.

Making sure he could write and recognise his name (and not just read it out on a piece of paper, but recognise it when written on a piece of paper with a few other names that look similar).

Trying to build confidence in talking to adults who he doesn't know well, if there is a problem.

We started a star chart for dressing and undressing so he was used to doing a shirt up ready for PE lessons.

We did the walk to and from school a few times before he started.

All of mine have been very excited to start school which helps. In terms of practical help, we read books about first day at school; we visited the school and looked at things like where the coats go, where you sit and so on. They'd been in the school nursery before and so had had visits many times into the main school.
Practical things like getting dressed (the first few PE lessons from what I can tell in reception were actually only comprised of children changing into PE kits and then back again, as it took SOOOOO long …Routines like breakfast, getting dressed and so on.
It helped that the school has a really gentle (almost too gentle) start to reception, working up from a week of half days, to another week of half days with lunch, to another week of finishing at 3pm, to another week of finishing with all the other children at 3.30pm.
All good - children are brilliant role models of how to make friends, and get along with new people on the whole I think.

We talked lots about starting school and took away some of the nerves by making it sound very exciting. We also involved our DS when purchasing his new uniform.

Let them know about the school, the sort of classes they have, the different teachers and different students
Try and let them read books and watch cartoons and shows about going to school and show how exciting it can be
Also let them know that it is OK to feel nervous, its something brand new, but also tell them about all the people that are there for them for help at school (and at home :) )
Also, start learning to take a step back, let them learn and grow :)

Wow patheticnurse thanks so so much!! Loads of things I hadn't thought of

DS2 is starting school this year. He's very ready for it, much more so than DS1 who was one of the youngest in his class. One thing I did with him was tell him that if he was ever feeling sad or lonely at school, he could rub his "magic button" - the top button of his polo shirt - and I would know about it and think of him and send him kisses. I like the idea of sending him off with a pocketful of kisses though! Might try that. I've been trying not to make a big deal about it but of course he keeps being asked whether he is looking forward to going to school and who is teacher is going to be etc.

For an eldest or only child, make sure they know that it’s not for just one day! DS was really excited about going to school, but was gutted when he realised he had to keep going back every day.

I used to put paper kisses in DS’s trouser pockets

Talking about it lots at home and answering any questions . Also pointing it out when driving past etc

I gathered as much child relevant information from the school as I could find to answer questions as she was going to a new school in a new area and didn't know anyone.

I made sure uniform was ready well in advance and everything was out the night before. We practiced doing up shoes and coats (even though she was already independent in this respect) and talked about where hats/gloves/scarfs go after break time. We also talked about behaviour and expectations.

Practice getting dressed and undressed independently.

My eldest starts this September and we are just reassuring him, talking about it all really positively, he's met his teacher and know lots of people who will be in his class from preschool. We are always talking about it with him.

My little girl starts reception in September, we have just been really positive about starting and getting her excited to start. She also loved coming to buy her school uniform and wants to be grown up like her brothers.

Our priority as giving him the confidence to believe that he could handle it so we focus on basic self care and a few classroom skills to make him feel like he wasn't in over his head. This included things like getting dressed by himself, eating with a knife and fork, practicing asking the teacher for help if he needed it as well as things like writing his name, using scissors, counting etc.

We had a booklet from school which was very helpful, which had pictures of the classroom, teacher etc. We practised the things she would have to do independently such as get changed for pe. We talked about making friends, being kind and listening, and about all the fun things she would do and learn

Some great tips on here - identifiable key rings on book bags etc. is a good one.

My tip is get organised early (in the summer holidays) as there's more choice in the shops.