It’s that time of year when everything is picking up steam and life seems busy all the time. I was a first-time preschool mom last year, and since my son was so excited for school, I thought, “well this is going to be easy.” Oh boy, was I wrong! It dawned on me when I picked him up from his first day of school, that this new thing is a lot bigger and more overwhelming than I thought it would be. I watched him play on the playground with his new classmates, sing the good-bye song as a group, and as he ran over to me once he was dismissed, he seemed thrilled with his day. Then, we got in the car. The tears started, and he begged me not to let him go back! To be honest, I was kind of baffled and didn’t know the best way to support him, while also convincing him to go back and try it again. I had to put on my teacher hat and think back to the days of getting my students excited for school while maintaining a sense of calm in the middle of the emotional storm. What it boils down to, is feeling supported and loved. On top of that, children navigate transitions best by being able predict what is to come – we need to give our children a sense of being in control, so to speak. With that in mind, here are five things we can do to lovingly help our children with big transitions that will, in turn, help us as parents to remain calm, collected and organized as well.   

Task Strips

I don’t know about you, but I personally need to write lists to keep everything together. Our children are the same way. Knowing what we need to do allows us to mentally prepare for the day, as well as get everything completed. Task strips can be a list of jobs that need to be completed, or it can be your child’s schedule broken down into simple visual steps. You can create these visuals on your own by using pictures (online pictures, or actual pictures taken on your phone) of what your child needs to do, laminating and putting Velcro on the back for easier manipulation. A task strip can be a simple strip of paper that is laminated with Velcro bits lined down or across it. I like to have my tasks strips oriented vertically as it seems more like a checklist; however, lining the tasks up left to right works just as well. It just depends on your personal preference or what works best for your child.  

First/Then Visuals

They say, “knowledge is power,” so knowing what is coming up next can give your child a sense of power in his or her day-to-day activities. A first/then visual allows your child to see the current activity being completed, while also seeing what needs to be done next. Using this visual, picture cards, and Velcro, can easily set your child up for success. I like to laminate the visual and the picture cards so they are sturdier and can withstand the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Velcro the activity your child needs to do first, in the first box, and the next activity in the second box. This breaks down a list of tasks into a more manageable load. Once the first task is done, move the completed task to the done box, and place the next task into the first box. Then, collect your next task from your task strip. 

Calendars

I find myself putting events and activities in my phone calendar, and forgetting about it until my phone reminds me that I have something coming up the next day. And if you manage perfectly well with just your phone calendar, that’s great. However, using a physical calendar in a central location of your house can help keep your child on-track and in the know. We use our laundry room/mud room as our command center. We write every activity for the month on our big white-board calendar. I also use a fun month decal above the calendar and include other activities that my child would do during calendar time at school. We label the seasons, talk about the weather, and sing songs about the days of the week and months of the year. Not only does this help your child learn about calendars, seasons, numbers, and other academics, but it also carries over school activities into the home, and this can help to ease transitions as well. Don’t be afraid to ask your child’s teacher for a list of songs they sing in the classroom so you can also sing these songs at home, too. 

Setting up in Advance

You can never be too prepared. Getting everything set-up the night before is the best gift you can give yourself the next morning. If you have everyone’s clothes picked out, lunch menus determined and prepped, and the house clean and prepped the night before, it makes getting ready the next morning so much easier. Plus, there are fewer messes to contend with later in the day since there won’t be any pillaging and plundering for lost or misplaced items during the rush of the morning hours. Starting the day out on a positive note sets the rest of the day up for success. It also allows for our children to go off to school (and us to work) with a calm and happy mood; that’s a win-win for everyone! 

All Hands on Deck

Many hands make light work. It’s true, it’s easier for everyone when we work together. But did you know that it is also helpful for your child to be involved in the getting ready process? By just simply including your child in the day-to-day tasks of getting clothes laid out, pre-packing parts of their lunch, and making sure their backpacks are all set up and packed with the essentials, you are fostering a sense of ownership and independence that will also set them up for independence and organization in the future. Every activity we include our children in is setting them up for future success. Even though it is sometimes easier to wait to complete these tasks when the kids are in bed, having the patience to walk them through these tasks and teach them how to do things on their own will be pay-off in the future. As my son loves to say, “teamwork makes the dream work!”  

These ideas are by no means a complete list of what we can do to support our children, but it is a great place to start! Even using one or two of these ideas can make life easier for our children and us. Here’s to a successful year ahead of us filled with growth, love and support!