This post is sponsored by BasicInvite.com
Kids grow up SO FAST!
I can’t believe my youngest daughter is graduation preschool/Pre-K. Next year she’ll be in Kindergarten at a full-time elementary school. I know she’s a little nervous for this big change, so I’ve been thinking about how to make it easier for her.
Watching your children grow up is one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent. Growing up has challenges, however, and it can be stressful trying to guide your kids through those challenges. One challenge that may come up for many of you is helping your kids transition from preschool to kindergarten/elementary school.
Typically, preschool has shorter hours than kindergarten or grade school. There may also be less kids in their preschool classes than elementary school classes.
Children in preschool may also have less interaction with older students, and may have to adjust to being around older kids at recess and break times once they make the switch to elementary school.
Your kids might be worried about some of these new changes they will have to face.
Here’s how to help your children face Kindergarten with confidence:
Sit with your kids and explain that Kindergarten will be different from preschool. Explain that they will have more responsibility in grade school than they did before.
There will be more students in their Kindergarten class they will need to learn to get along with. They will also be at school for longer hours.
Kindergarten, in contrast, is about 6 to 6 and a half hours long. Ask your kids how they feel about these new changes.
- Are they excited to spend more time at school and learn new things?
- Are they worried about making new friends?
- Does the idea of having more students in class make them feel happy or scared?
If your child is excited, tell them you are excited for them too. If they are scared, talk to them about what’s making them nervous and alleviate their fears. Just taking few minutes to talk to your children about the differences between preschool and kindergarten can make a huge difference in your kid’s experience.
To help your kids adjust to longer school days, you can try taking them out once or twice a week for a long day out. Taking them to the zoo for 6 hours over the summer or just out exploring your city for a long while will be a fun way to get them used to spending long hours away from home. Their stamina will increase and help them to stay focused for the longer school days ahead.
Finally, you can make moving on from preschool to kindergarten more fun by treating it like a graduation.
Many schools have a small ceremony for kids moving on from preschool to kindergarten, but if yours doesn’t, you can have a small ceremony in your back yard with your friends and their children.
If you want to make it more memorable, you can buy a few graduation announcements. I like Basic Invite for their graduation invitations. They have some really cute sunflower invitations that would be great to celebrate your kids moving on to elementary school. If you have older kids in high school or college, check out their custom graduation party invitations or their templates for graduation party invitations. All of their invitation designs are customizable, so you can change the font and color to work either with your high schooler’s graduation or your preschooler’s.
5 Ways To Celebrate Preschool Graduation
- Create Invitations
- Have a party at home
- Combine it with something else, like an art exhibit
- Make paper flowers
- Do something memorable as a family
I hope these tips help your children as they transition to elementary school. And I hope they enjoy the new school year!