Moving to a new school can be difficult for a child, but this is a common and necessary transition that almost all students experience at least once. Maybe your family is moving to a new home in a new city, or perhaps your child’s progress is ahead or behind and the transfer is being made to a school like Kid’s Country Learning Center to accommodate her academic needs. Whatever the reason for this transition, your child will be leaning on you for comfort, strength and stability to let go of the old routine and embrace this new chapter in her life. These four tips can help you provide the support your child needs and to make her school transfer occur smoothly.
Be Positive and Enthusiastic About the Change
First and foremost, it’s important that you keep things positive at all times. You may have some concerns about the move, but you need to keep those to yourself for your child’s sake. Your excitement about the new school and all the new friends she’s going to meet will go a long way to ease her anxiety and move out of her comfort zone.
Visit the School before Your Child’s First Day of Class
If at all possible, visiting the school with your child before she begins attending can be a great way to break the ice and help her get her bearings. If the transition is happening during the summer, try to attend the school’s orientation and social gatherings for new students. Walk around the campus together, pointing out where you’ll be driving up to the school to drop her off, where she’ll go once she leaves your vehicle and also where you’ll be picking her up after school each day. Look for restrooms around the campus, as well as the different playgrounds, library, administrative offices and health room. Try to meet her teachers too.
Create a Stress-Free Morning Routine
A huge problem that many parents face is simply getting to school on time. You hate it when you have a stressful, rushed morning and are already in a bad mood before you even get to work – that’s no way to have a productive day. Well, it’s no different for your child. Many children are rushed and even yelled at every morning from the moment they wake up until the moment they arrive at school. And if they arrive late, the fun continues as they face consequences from their teachers and stares from their classmates too. So do whatever you need to do to break that cycle. Prepare the night before. Go to bed early. Get up early ease into your morning.
Help Your Child Connect with Classmates
There will likely be many after-school activities available either through the school directly or through various community programs and local businesses. Many of your child’s new classmates will be playing sports, going to swim class or taking piano lessons after school, so why not explore some of those together? Making friends at a new school can be difficult, but if your child can get together in some after-school activities, that can go a long way to sparking new friendships and putting her at ease.
Your child’s first couple of weeks at a new school are crucial for setting the stage for the entire school year. She’ll be relying on you to help make the transition easier for her, so try some of these tips to make her transition as easy as possible.
