starting school | Every Day's A School Day

Top Tips: how to get organised for your new school starter

by Vix | Jun 1, 2021 | Phonics, Starting School

Top Tips for how to get organised for September

Happy June! Can you believe that we are in June already? This year is speeding by at a colossal rate; we are now into the summer months and nearly at those wonderful summer holidays. If you have a new school starter, you might be thinking about the fast approaching start of school. A few tiny little months and your little one will be taking those first steps in through the school gates and embarking on their primary school journey. A journey that both you and your child have been thinking about, I’m sure, for a long time.

How are you feeling? Prepared? Scared? Excited? Anxious? All of the above and more? Starting school is a big step, for your little ones and you too. It can bring a whole host of emotions from nerves to excitement, worry to relief or even sadness that they are growing up so fast. Although it can be a scary step, it’s also an amazing journey. Children learn an incredible amount in their first year at school. They will begin to read and write, develop friendships, gain new maths knowledge, learn physical and emotional skills and so much more.

It might feel like children need to know lots to be ready for school but being ready can look different for each child. Teachers are a wonderful bunch and they know that every child is unique and will start school with their own individual needs and strengths. You don’t need to worry about whether your child knows the alphabet or can count to 20, school is where they will learn this and so much more. Being ready for school is more about children developing independence, confidence and a sense of who they are as growing little people. There are, however, some little things that are really helpful for them to practise before they start:

How to take their coat off and put it on.
How to follow a simple instruction e.g. find your coat.
How to go to the toilet by themselves.
How to wash their hands by themselves.
How to ask for help if they need it (what words/ gestures can they use?)
How to say goodbye to you or other caregivers at drop off (this can be tricky and it’s very normal for children to need some help from teachers so try not to worry.)
How to feed themselves and have a drink by themselves.

Try making things fun by having races, getting toys to join in and giving lots of praise when your child has a go.

But what about you? What about all of the school admin and upcoming events in the school calendar that you have never even heard of? Did you know that we have designed and created a School Starters Planner? Working in collaboration with all of our lovely members in our Facebook community, School Starters Hub, we have condensed the year into a handy bag-sized planner that not only looks good but is packed full of handy information to keep you one step ahead. Our planners are available to purchase on Amazon now and come in both a weekly view or monthly view format. They are aimed at providing you with all of the key information you will need to keep all those plates spinning by providing you with pre-populated pages with main dates for school events. World book day? Yes, I got the costume 2 weeks ago!

Here are our top tips to beat the school admin overwhelm! We’ve been on both sides of the classroom door and have found some important things to try and do to stay on top of it all.

1. Put all dates from school into the planner as soon as you can.

2. Use a phone calendar to set reminders and alarms for important things to remember.

3. Schools will communicate with you in lots of ways; emails, texts, newsletters and via an app. Check school communications regularly (the planner will remind you to do this)

4. Check your school app or website monthly to find the specific information to add to the planner.

5. Add the School contact details and all logins to the Important Info section, you’ll be so glad you did!

6. Add notes for weekly things to remember – letters or colour codes work well, for example add a red star every Friday if it’s a PE day.

7. Keep all of the information in here, then you won’t have to go hunting for bits of paper and you’ll feel like an organised superhero!

We hope that you find all of this information useful. As ever, let us know if you have any questions about your new school starter, school or life in general; we would love to hear from you.

Enjoy the sunshine,

Vix

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10 Great Books for Starting School

by Em | Mar 31, 2021 | Starting School

Ok, I’ve lied here already, it’s actually 11 books! There are just so many brilliant ones!

Starting school is a big deal for little ones and their families. There can be a huge amount of change to routines, expectations and relationships so it’s great to help children feel more prepared. As teachers we are big advocates of using books and stories to support children’s understanding of anything new. Stories have characters and experiences in which children can relate to. Being read to and seeing wonderful images enables children to explore events, possibilities and feelings from the safety of home.

You may have already started talking to your child about starting school or be waiting a while so it’s not so far away or to lessen the time they may worry. The great thing about books is that children can be exposed to new ideas without it being personal, that’s why we use Ted in our School Readiness programme School Ready with Teddy, so that children can learn how to communicate and problem solve at school by helping Ted. We only introduce the idea that they are starting school too, in the final week. Having books about starting school as part of your collection is a great way to gently encourage conversations and questions about starting school.

Ok so let’s get into the books, here’s my top 11! I’ve chosen some new and hopefully different options which I hope you love.

*Just to let you know some of the links in this blog are affiliate links which means we earn a very tiny amount if you click through and buy from here. We won’t be offended if you’d rather search direct for the books but it helps us to keep creating content for you if you do buy through here.

The Tale of Starting School

The Tale of Starting School is always the first book we recommend to school starters. It’s not a classic story but instead a journey book that you can personalise. It’s designed by a teacher and has every element you would want to prepare your child for school. You add specifics with words and pictures, it perfectly supports children to feel more confident about where they are going and what it will be like. There’s spaces for adding first day photos, cards, first reports and more so it becomes a wondeful keepsake. Lily absolutely loves her Tale and often asks to look at it to remember her journey of starting school.

Kush needs a Push

This story has lovely illustrations from Lisa Galley and followd Kush the elephant as he conquers his nerves about starting school. Lots of little supportive pushes and encouragement from his teacher and new friends see Kush gaining confidence in himself.

The Invisible String

This isn’t specifically about starting school but about being apart from each other. A beautiful and heart-warming story giving children a tangible understanding of connection between loved ones – the invisible string.

The book helps children to know that when they are at school they are still loved and that they don’t have to be ‘with’ everyone to feel that love. It gives a lovely way to talk to your child about being apart from them but using the invisible string as connection.

NOTE – this story is written with the American spelling ‘Mom’ and as well as school also mentions the connection to a family member who is in Heaven.

Goose Goes to School

A cute story about Sophie going to school and having to leave her pet Goose at home, but Goose doesn’t want to stay at home and instead he follows Sophie to School! The Goose stories are created by Devon Artist Laura Wall. They are brightly coloured with simple and engaging text and illustrations. Both my girls love the stories and Goose goes to School is a big hit.

Not all of the books are available on amazon, here’s a link to Laura’s Goose shop – this isn’t an affiliate link:

Direct link to Goose and friends shop

Splat the Cat

Splat the cat is a firm favourite in our house! This is a story about splat trying to avoid school. The pictures are fantastically entertaining and a great opportunity to talk about how Splat might be feeling and ask questions about his behaviour. Splat is brave and goes to school and what happens when he is there is very funny. There are lots of books about characters feeling nervous and the outcome being positive but this book manages to do it with an extra sprinkling of humour!

Wiffy Wilson - The Wolf who wouldn't go to school!

This is a great story about a wolf who can’t write his name and he’s not keen to go to school. His little friend Dotty helps him to see how much fun school is and is a great way to explain to children how many exciting opportunities await at school!

Please stay here, I want you near

Written by a Consultant Clinical Psycholigist and mother, this story is specifically designed to support children with separation anxiety. It follows the adventures of Bartley Bear as he navigates the big feelings involved with going to school. There are colourful illustrations and clever question prompts for discussion hidden behind the flaps. It’s an engaging and fun way to help you and your little one talk about separation and understand how to manage the feelings involved.

The Day You Begin

A lovely rhyming story about feeling different and finding your place. The language in this book is more complex than the others but it’s a great way to teach childen new vocabulary and it explores difference and uniqueness so well.

The Colour Monster Goes to School

We love the original ‘Colour Monsterr’ story for exploring feelings expecially when you have different ones at the same time. This version, where the colour monster goes to school, is a great way of helping children to express what they think school will be like and those muddled feelings.

Miss Molly's School of Kindness

At Miss Molly’s School of Kindness, three naughty fox cubs find out how to be kind to others, kind to themselves, and the importance of being kind to the planet. A perfect way to start conversations with children about kindness, with humour, a fun story, and a cast of lively animal characters.

All Are Welcome

This book has bright colours and shows diversity in a school setting. It doesn’t talk specifically about the start of school but instead about how we are all different but all welcome. It’s a lovely book to ask questions and explore difference and value in everyone.

There, 11 brilliant books. I hope you find some you love and they help the start of school to be filled with excited anticipation. If you have some favourites we would love to know. If you’d like more information about starting school come and join me in our community group the SCHOOL STARTERS HUB, full of expert advice and support about getting prepared for school.

Em x

Click Here to join us in the School Starters Hub

How can we prepare for school during a pandemic?

by Em | Jan 8, 2021 | Starting School

If you have a child born between 1st September 2016 – 31st August 2017 then you (hopefully) have applied for their Primary School place or are planning to do it in the next 7 days, applications close on 15th January. In just 7 short months your precious little baby will be starting their Education journey. If the thought of this in some way terrifies you then you are certainly not alone. I was in your position this time last year and for me the fear was mostly because I was realising how quickly time was flying by and how much my eldest daughter had grown. The leap into starting school for is exciting but it marks the end of an era whether you have children at nursery, pre-school or home with you and 2021 is already throwing us a heap of challenges.

When I was thinking about preparing Lily for school I felt lucky that I knew what school would be like for her. I have worked in and seen lots of Reception classes and I understand how the start of school works; what the routines will be, what the expectations are and what she needs to know. But, I understand that this is not true for most of the population who will be dropping off their little ones in September and I know this sparks very understandable anxiety and worry for many. This year we have added worries like the lack of school visits, uncertainty about transition and what this will be like and whether September will be a more ‘normal’ start than we had in 2020.

There is so much focus on getting children ready for school that I think parents are often forgotten in the whole process. We need to feel confident and as positive as possible in order to support our children and to get started on the best foot. And I promise that this can all still happen despite lockdowns, limited social experiences and dealing with the current pandemic. We have created an online community to support parents and families who are preparing for school in the current situation.

Join our facebook group for school starters here.

Developing confidence often comes when you know what they are going to encounter at school and what the expectations are. That’s what we aim to offer via our facebook group, social media channels and in these blogs. To start us thinking about preparing during the current situation here are the top two elements to think about and try out whatever your current situation, in the moments that you’re not pretending they’re still tiny toddlers!

Developing Independence:

Think about independence and giving your child opportunities which are similar to school. At school they will be expected to find their way around including finding belongings, make choices about what to play with and be able to do this without an adult and also do things like put their coat on, go to the toilet and eat their lunch independently.

There is lots of time to practise these things at home. You can do it in a fun way and reward independence: have dressing races, make treasure hunts for items to find or have picnics in dens around your house to practise eating skills.

Lots of parents mention to us that their child finds playing alone a challenge. To work on playing independently try to set up play situations which they can find and start by themselves. You could set up a tea party with teddies, lay out part of a train track to be completed or put playdough rolled out with toy animal footprints in to explore.

If children start playing alone they are likely to be able to continue, you can dip in and out and praise them for great independence. Try not to feel guilty about letting them get on alone, fostering their independence and getting used to not always being with them is good for both of you and you might even get an uninterrupted coffee if you’re lucky!

Listening Skills

Think about how well you both can listen and I don’t just mean listen to music or stories. At school, your child will be expected to listen to these things but in a large group which can make concentrating more challenging. They will also be expected to listen to and follow instructions which involve more than one part for example ‘go to the toilet, wash your hands and line up by the door.’ This can be difficult for children and requires some practise for them to remember key parts. Many children will use other strategies when in school to help them, teaching them to ask an adult to repeat the instructions or following others’ lead can be really useful.

When you give instructions at home try asking them to repeat back to you the things you have asked. Maybe they could count on their fingers and then check at the end if everything has been done. Bedtimes or the dreaded ‘trying to get out of the house’ routines are great for practising these skills and also sending us parents running to the wine rack!

If your child finds several instructions difficult try using pictures of the routine, just draw a quick picture of each thing in a line. For example getting up, having breakfast, putting on clothes, brushing teeth. It acts like a map so they can follow what to do next. You could keep key ones to use each day for regular routines.

Your listening skills will be really important when they start school too. These are more about tuning in to your child’s emotions than always listening to their words. Starting school is a hugely overwhelming experience even though it’s an exciting one and often children can’t communicate their feelings with words. They will need you to be in tune to offer hugs, chill out time, physical activity to run off frustrations or a trailer load of after school snacks!

We are passionate about supporting parents and children with everything relating to school. School readiness is a cause of anxiety and worry for many families and our unique school readiness programme ‘School Ready with Teddy’ is cleverly designed in an online format to dispel the fears and give families a window into a Reception class. Developing Independence and listening skills are a key part of the sessions alongside lots of other school ready skills. Our programme is closed for enrolment at the moment but will launch again soon. Join our friendly facebook community: School Starters Hub for support with last minute applications, tips for preparing you and your child and loads more…

School Starters Hub

Join our friendly community supporting families to prepare for Primary School during the pandemic and beyond.

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I hope these ideas are reassuring and useful as a starting point for preparation. Vix and I have lots more planned to share in the group and on our social media pages so please do check those out. And get in contact if you have any concerns, we’re always happy to help.

Em x

Transition to Reception during a pandemic.

by Em | Jun 1, 2020 | Starting School

Starting School can be a scary time at the best of times let alone during a global pandemic! We understand that the whole process can seem overwhelming but it can also be really exciting even during the current situation. We’re here to take some of the guessing and stressing away and to give you some ideas about how schools might be planning to support and your child to get ready. Here I am just going to explain the possible processes for those whose children are starting school in September and give some information about what is likely to in the next few months before they start.

By now you should know which school your child has been allocated a place in a Reception class in a Primary School near to you. Hopefully this is a school you are really happy with and was one of your top choices. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. If you haven’t been given the school of your choice or you are unhappy with the decision you will need to contact your Local Authority to find out about their appeals process for admissions.

Schools will have a list of children who are joining them in September and should now be sending out information about start dates and possible transition opportunities. Every school is different and so you will need to wait to find out what will be on offer to you and your child. Bear with schools, things are really manic right now trying to plan how to support children returning to school before the end of term. Of course you could always give them a call if you are impatient like me!

As I have mentioned all schools are different and what they offer to prepare both you and your child for school will differ massively. Below I have listed a few things that might be available this year to replace the ‘normal’ arrangements.

1. Dates and times for school in September.

Schools will tell you the first day of term and what time school starts and finished for your child. They will also tell you whether your child starts full time or on a staggered start. Full time means they go for the whole school day right from the get go. Some schools do a staggered start where children may go to school just for mornings in the first week, then for mornings and lunch in week two and build up to full time. As with everything in life people’s preferences for this will differ but staggered starts can be quite difficult for working families. If this will cause you a problem talk to your school as all children are entitled to start school in the September after their fourth birthday and therefore schools will have options for full time if you need it. Equally, if you want a staggered start for any reason and it is not the school policy just give them a call to talk things over.

What’s different?

These dates and times will be subject to change. Schools will probably let you know a plan A but rest assured they will have plans B,C,D,and maybe E ready for any problems with getting children into school. Schools are very good at planning for things to not always go to plan! There may be a more staggered start this year to enable smaller groups of children to be in the space – for distancing measures but also to have a more gentle start as many children are likely to have missed pre-school and nursery time.

2.Transition meetings

Normally schools will arrange and invite you to meetings before you child starts school. These are usually in July and are really useful.

What’s Different?

These meetings may be postponed until September or be delivered in a range of ways. Some schools are offering live broadcast sessions, others recorded videos, presentations or a long letter which may be available on their website or emailed to you.

During these ‘sessions’ or via this correspondence you will get the chance to ‘meet’ or see the teachers and normally the Headteacher too. You will find out really important stuff about uniform, lunches, what your child will learn, after school clubs and more. It is normally a great opportunity to meet the parents’ of all the other children in your child’s class who are all in the same position as you (nervous, petrified, excited, scared…..). The social aspect won’t be available this year so it’s a good idea to search on facebook etc for a parents page. Many schools will have a dedicated page for parents of September starters often set up by a lovely parent! These will be so valuable this year to make links with others, ask questions, find out about second hand uniform etc!

You are likely to be sent tonnes of paperwork from these sessions/ afterwards. You will probably receive this in the post this year. Some will need completing and returning so don’t be tempted to chuck it in the paperwork draw (or similar void like area in your house where paperwork is put and never found again!)

3. Transition sessions

Most schools offer transition or ‘settling’ sessions. These are opportunities for your child to spend some time in school to get to know their classroom, teacher/s and new friends. There are often a few sessions put on which you may be able to choose from. Some schools ask parents to stay but most expect you will leave your child there for the sessions.

What’s Different?

Many schools have postponed these sessions until further notice. Some schools are planning sessions in the first few weeks in September and others are offering ‘virtual’ sessions using platforms like zoom or Seesaw. The teachers may send videos about themselves, the classroom and school in an attempt to give your child an experience of the setting before they start. Hopefully your school will soon be explaining to you what they are offering this year.

If there is a visit, do make sure they have any information about medical needs etc before you leave your child.

4. Home and pre-school visits

Most years schools will offer visits to see your child in a setting where they are already comfortable. If they are in pre-school or nursery then teachers will come and see your child and chat to their key worker before they start school. This is a really useful way for them to gather important information about how your child is getting on, what they like and don’t like and if possible spend some time getting to know your child.

What’s different?

Schools will still have these conversations via phone or skype call, but it is very unlikely that they will visit in person this year. They will also gather information from the nursery or pre-school about your child’s abilities and progress. These are often called transition documents or records and are a bit like a little school report for their new teacher.

Before the current situation lots of schools would also offer home visits which are very unlikely to be offered this year. Teachers like to have an opportunity to meet you and your child in a setting where you are relaxed and give you chance to ask questions or share concerns 1 to 1. These may be done via a skype or Zoom call this year or may be postponed until September. It’s a great way for them to bond with your child so that when they start school the experience isn’t so daunting. If you teacher has seen your cat, your basketball net, had a 1:1 conversation with your child even if it is via Zoom etc, then you know she/he is actually a normal and very lovely person and day 1 of school just seems so much more exciting! With this in mind I really encourage you to book a home visit or call if you can.

5. Others

There might be lots of other events/ information that your school shares with you before September. Some set up buddy systems so your child has a friend in an older class when they start and some will give you booklets of ‘homework’ which your children can bring to school to share with their peers. Whatever is on offer try to get involved and find out as much as you can before the September mayhem begins!

Hopefully this has given you some useful information about what might be happening around this time for you and your child as you begin the journey into school life. The current situation can sometimes feel like everything has changed and while the methods of communication will be different, there will still be a huge amount which is the same. In our experience Reception teachers are wonderful humans, they have magical abilities to make children and parents feel welcomed and rest assured they will be doing all they can to make your child’s start to school the very best it can be no matter what.

Our Ready Teddy Go online classes and membership group is open - learn the skills needed for school together and access ongoing support from Emma! Click Here for find out more

I’ve applied for Primary School, but I don’t think we’re ready!

by Em | Feb 10, 2020 | Starting School

If you have a child born between 1st September 2015 – 31st August 2016 then you (hopefully) have applied for their Primary School place. In just 6 short months your precious little baby will be starting their Education journey. If the thought of this in some way terrifies you then you are certainly not alone. For me the fear is mostly because I’m realising how quickly time is flying by and how much my eldest daughter has grown. The leap into starting school for her is exciting but for me marks the end of an era and although I am confident she will love it, I will be needing the tissues and a hug after that first drop off. Part of me is definitely in denial about how close it is!

Despite partly dreading September, and pretending it’s still years away, I feel lucky that I know what school will be like for her. I have worked in and seen lots of Reception classes and I understand how the start of school works; what the routines will be, what the expectations are and what she needs to know. But, I understand that this is not true for most of the population who will be dropping off their little ones in September and I know this sparks very understandable anxiety and worry for many.

Anticipation of the unknown is always difficult to manage. I would love to reassure you that their first day will be fab but to really know, you will have to wait until your little one skips back out of school from their first session and tells you all about it (which actually never happens, they say they have done nothing, but that’s a whole other blog!!) Because I’m a serial organiser, we always have a ‘plan’ in our household and I truly believe that ‘forewarned is forearmed.’ So I have been thinking more about the expectations of school and whether my little one will really be ready for what is expected of her in September. I’ve also been thinking about what I need to do to get ready. There is so much focus on getting children ready for school that I think parents are often forgotten in the whole process. Parent’s emotions have a sneaky way of flowing over into children’s own feelings and behaviour. We need to feel confident and as positive as possible in order to support our children and to get started on the best foot.

I think developing confidence often comes when you know what they are going to encounter at school and what the expectations are. Here are the top two elements to think about in the moments that you’re not pretending they’re still tiny toddlers!

Developing Independence:

There is lots of time to practise these things and you can do it in a fun way and reward independence: have dressing races, make treasure hunts for items to find, have picnics

To work on playing independently try to set up play situations which they can find and start by themselves. You could set up a tea party with teddies, lay out part of a train track to be completed or put playdough rolled out with toy animal footprints in to explore.

Listening Skills

If your child really finds several instructions difficult try using pictures of the routine, just draw a quick picture of each thing in a line. For example getting up, having breakfast, putting on clothes, brushing teeth. It acts like a map so they can follow what to do next. You could keep key ones to use each day for regular routines.

We are passionate about supporting parents and children with everything relating to school. School readiness is a cause of anxiety and worry for many families and so we are launching some brilliantly fun and cleverly planned classes to dispel the fears and give families a window into a Reception class. Developing Independence and listening skills are a key part of the sessions. ‘’Ready Teddy Go’ classes for parents and children in Exeter focus on getting ready for school and start in April. Check out the website or find us on instagram or facebook for more information.

Em x

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