Reception Readiness Part 3 

As the end of the summer holidays draw to a close I have no doubt that you and your school starter are feeling all the feels (and probably have been all summer!) 

It’s almost time for that monumental milestone, their first day of school, you know the one that when they were born seemed like it was forever away but has actually arrived in the blink of an eye. 

You’ve spent the summer preparing them for this next big adventure and now you’re on the final countdown ready for the First Day. I’m going to share some suggestions, tips and advice to ensure that the first few mornings of getting ready for school run as smoothly as they can – and a great tip to capture that all important First Day of School photo! 

You want them to be feeling as relaxed and well rested as possible ready for their fun new adventure. Routines may have slipped a little over the holidays, bedtimes are perhaps a little later, your usual mornings may have turned into slow PJ mornings because there’s no nursery drop off, so now is the time to start slowly getting back to a usual bedtime and start getting ready in the morning in anticipation for the school run. Perhaps practise getting everyone fed and dressed with teeth brushed to be somewhere at a similar time to when you’ll have to leave for school. 

Making sure they have a good breakfast that will keep their tummy full and energy levels up for their days at school is always a good ideas. 

If you have a nervous little one, a brilliant idea is for you and them to have love buttons on your arms. You draw a heart on your arm and one on their arm so they can touch it and get a Mummy / Daddy cuddle and love from you if they miss you during the day. You can turn it into a game in the morning before you leave and ‘super charge’ your buttons with lots of squishy cuddles before you leave home to help top up both your cuddle tanks! 

There may well be tears in those first few mornings at school (or not!) and with my teacher hat on, please be reassured that the incredible teachers and teaching assistants will be doing everything that they can to settle children, care for them and help them have lots of fun at school. From experience too, those tears soon dry when Mummy or Daddy leave and will be forgotten by them far sooner than you! Long drawn out goodbyes don’t help and neither does slipping away unnoticed. A quick kiss, cuddle and goodbye with a smile is best – try and keep your tears in until the school gate. Let them know that you’ll be back to pick them up later and they’re going to have a great day and their teacher will look after them. 

We’ve all seen those gorgeous first day of school photos – smiling faces, white polo shirts that haven’t yet been destroyed by grass & mud stains and half of their lunch, shiny shoes and smart new haircuts. However, speaking from experience, the first day of school is going to be busy enough without trying to fit in a photoshoot, especially when you and your little one are likely to be feeling more emotional than usual. My top tip to you would be to take the photos the day (or weekend!) before! Who is going to know? You get a practise run of trying uniform on, you’re all a lot more relaxed and the pressure won’t be on, and as a bonus you’ve got those gorgeous photos to keep for memories. 

Finally, some tips for you parents! Read the school newsletter and pop any & all dates into your diary as soon as they come out, have some pound coins handy for the many cake sales or non uniform days that come up, name everything that goes into school and always have a snack at pick up time!   

Relax, be proud of yourself and celebrate what you have done. You’ve raised this awesome little human and prepared them for the start of their school journey and you’re going to watch them fly now. I wish I could prepare you more for the emotions of leaving your baby at school, but I can’t. As someone who did this last year and cried on the way back home on that first day of school, and now has a son about to go into Year 1, I can promise you that it gets better and better and they will amaze you with what they learn, how they grow, and what incredible little people they are all going to become. Well done, you are amazing!