Top Tips for Starting Primary School

Here are some tips on how you can help your child have a positive start to primary school

1. Be positive and excited about the transition and all the new opportunities your child will have.

2. Encourage your child to do things on their own. This could be dressing, going to the toilet, washing their hands, unwrapping their food and opening and closing their drink bottle and lunchbox.

3. Get familiar with your child’s school. Attend the transition or orientation sessions offered, drive or walk past the school regularly, play on their playground if open on the weekends or during the school holidays.

4. Arrange play times with other families whose children will be going to the same school. It helps if your child knows another child at their school at the start of prep.

5. Practise the things your child will need to do to get ready for school (e.g. putting things in their bag, remembering to take a hat).

6. Establish a routine in the mornings for getting dressed and eating breakfast so that when school starts you have enough time to be ready.

7. Enjoy reading lots of books together. Get your child involved by asking questions such as ‘What do you think will happen next?’ or ‘How do you think they feel?’

8. Lots of counting - forwards and backwards. Count cars, letterboxes, trees. Start at intervals other than 1 or take turns counting each number in the sequence.

9. Lots of craft. Activities like cutting, pasting and threading all help to develop fine motor skills. Drawing in sand or with chalk. When drawing with a pencil or crayon, encourage correct pencil grip.

10. Visit playgrounds and parks to play on the play equipment such as slides, swings and climbing equipment. These activities all develop gross motor skills and make muscles stronger.