Oh my goodness, parents! Can you believe it? We actually survived the summer! And now it’s time to say farewell to those warm summer evenings and maybe even a few of those slow mornings.
Some of our kiddos, like my own, will be starting a big new chapter: Preschool! That is something to really celebrate.
Challenging Changes
These big transitions can be scary for our little ones. We are all very aware that lots of little ones love what they know. So changes can be difficult.
We discussed earlier this month how to prepare your kiddo for the jump into preschool. Utilizing tricks like familiarizing your kiddo with the preschool by attending an open house or driving by and reminding the, “That is where you will be going to preschool this fall!”
Fun Farewell to Summer
But there are other fun ways to say goodbye to summer and hello, school, starting with the back to school picnic. This is a great one for those toddlers starting preschool and will be having lunch time at school for the first time.
For this activity, it’s pretty self explanatory. You will be taking your little one for a picnic. But the key is to present the picnic in the same form that they will be eating lunch in the coming weeks.
Pack those little bento boxes, a blanket, and get to it! This is fun because not only are you making sure your child is confident in unzipping their lunchbox, getting the various containers out and open, and possibly assembling their meal, but you are also commemorating the end of summer and the beginning of an exciting new time in their life.
You can use this picnic as an opportunity to reiterate to your little one how excited and proud of them you are.
School Supplies
Another way to celebrate the start of the school year with your kiddo is an extra-special shopping trip that is dedicated to none other than … school supplies!
I can’t even explain the joy that picking out folders and a pencil case brought me each and every year. Shopping for school supplies is something I looked forward to as each summer came to a close.
Kiddos love to find their favorite character on a notebook, folder or backpack.
Trial Run
The second half of this activity, once the shopping has been completed is to have your little one do a backpack trial run. This is much simpler than you might think. Little ones love to be excited about things, so give them a reason!
Model the backpack like they are on a runway, race with the backpack, or even just practice how quickly they can unzip, put their folder inside, and zip it back up. It really is a lot of fun, I promise.
Summer Favorites
My last suggestion for bringing the summer to a close is to take your kiddo to do what they loved most this summer.
Whether that is a local splash pad, ice cream spot, playground, whatever it is. Let them have that experience one more time before summer is officially over and celebrate how excited everyone is for their next big thing: Preschool!
Anxiety Is Normal
If your kiddo doesn’t seem as excited as you parents, that’s ok! Anxiety around new things is totally normal.
It can be helpful to find some books about starting school to read before bedtime within the last couple weeks before school starts. And you can also refer to my previous blog post about preparing your kiddo for preschool that has other tips and tricks to try out.
This is a big step! We’ve got to act like it! We love to celebrate our babies at every step of the way, and we’ll look back on this when they take that jump into middle and high schoo, too.
It probably will never get easier to see our little ones grow up. But at least we made a ton of fun memories along the way.
Take care, parents! Until next time.
Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.
Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at [email protected] call us at 929.228.1180.