Transition Back to School

Guest Blogger - Andriana Mantas, Collaborative Minds

September brings along many changes with children attending schools or child care programs. Whether this is your child’s first year of school or re-entering the same school in a different classroom, many emotions and events are occurring both for you and your child. Some of these might be: will he/she socialize? Will the teacher be receptive to my child’s needs? Will he/she be able to acclimatize? Children naturally gravitate to other peers as part of the stages of play development. Having open dialogue with your child’s teacher is important. This can occur at the end of the day or you may choose a communication book. Regardless of their age, prepare your child and allow them to bring a favourite item from home.

How to ease the transition from summer holidays to school mode? It is important to create a consistent routine or schedule of events. First and foremost, establish routines that can be easily implemented for you and your family. Routines cater to the needs of the family offering good communication, identifying items of importance and promoting a sense of togetherness. Routines help families to organize themselves as in morning drop off or evening pick up. Children appreciate the consistent activity and predictability that routines provide. Begin by setting up an after-school routine which ends with bed-time. Try to include low key activities towards the end of the day and provide warnings as the family moves into the next activity. For example, “after this game, it’s bath time.” Keep routines consistent and follow them daily, even on the week-ends.
And if you have yet to find suitable child care arrangements, what options do you have? First decide if you prefer a location close to home or place of work. Some options are a child care centre or nursery school, home care provider, and nanny.

When deciding upon a child care centre or nursery school, conduct telephone interviews, inquire about availability, age range, teacher-child ratio, teacher qualifications, understanding the program schedule outlining the schedule in more detail, nutrition, number of years in service, licensing and hours of operation, then go out for a visit. More information can be found at www.children.gov.on.ca If a home care provider is preferable, the search can be made via an agency or on your own. By visiting the home and meeting the provider, ensure that the learning environment is supportive and conducive to your child. Having a Nanny could also pose a viable solution. There are agencies that represent Nannies or the selection can be done independently. Once again take the time to meet and interview all potential nannies who will be able to meet the needs of your child.