Back to School

This is the first year since 2008 I will not be going back to school. I worked in schools for years, but now the tables are turned. 
This year, I am a mom sending my daughter to kindergarten.  I am nervous about going back to school. Will my daughter love her new school? Will she pay attention to her teachers? Will  she make friends?

I know she is nervous too. She hasn’t been sleeping as well. Change is difficult for both of us.  So this week we will be starting our new routine. The routine will start with figuring out how we can  do just one thing smoothly. I think about all the things that need to get done in order to get ready for school every day; getting dressed, packing a lunch, packing a backpack and waking up on-time.  It still feels like summer outside, so I will start things off easy. I will start with the one thing from this long list that is the easiest for my daughter. 


Packing her “Barbie” backpack is something that shouldn’t take too long, this week. I create a short list of things that she might need, for example pencils, a notebook and crayons.  I ask her to a pack these things in her backpack and each night she tries to add other toys or perhaps new hair clips. We take them out together only “school things” go in your new backpack, I tell her. Then we put the backpack in its proper place, so that she can get it easily on her way to the bus.
Of course it doesn’t really matter if she brings “extra” things with her to school, but what I am trying to teach her in our small little routine is how to organize for school.
Creating functional routines as a family takes time. It might take us all the way until December to get ready for school smoothly without crying or tantrums.  I could do it all for her, it will go much smoother and faster. However, I am 100% sure that taking the time to do these small routines will show her that changes in her life are important to all of us a family.  If I have enough patience to let my daughter absorb these routines on her own, she will learn that she is capable of dealing with new stressful situations. It will also give both of us a sense of safety, because we are able to try and exert some control over a new situation.