Helping children transition from nursery to school
September 2016 is when our girls will enter full time school. I feel pretty sad about this. Mainly because they seem too little to be going into school full time, but also because I know the majority of their time will now be spent away from me and their daddy.
Of course, I know everyone has to have an education and I understand the importance of this, but a small, okay a big part of me, wishes that I could keep them home a little longer.
They’ve been going to nursery for two and a half hours a day for five days a week since September 2015. Initially I was worried about how they’d cope being in a nursery environment as they’d never been in one before. They’d always been looked after in their own home.
I did everything I could possibly think of to help prepare them for nursery. I bought various books about starting nursery and read them regularly to the girls. This helped a lot.
I also talked to the girls about the nursery and what to expect, as well as telling them their teachers names. Unfortunately we missed the ‘stay and play’ session that the nursery put on as we were on holiday, but I made sure we visited the nursery still. It was important to me that the girls knew what the nursery and their teachers looked like before they started.
Now that we’re getting them ready for ‘big school’ the nursery have been fantastic . The teachers took the children over to the big school for a few hours one day, then they had two more occasions where their daddy and I dropped them off at big school instead of nursery.
The first time, R cried, because she said she thought she was in the wrong school, but the tears soon stopped and she came out saying how much she enjoyed big school.
I think it also helps that the girls have their ‘movement session’ once a week in the big school, so they’ve always known that big school exists from their first week in nursery.
Of course come September it’ll be a whole different story I’m sure. At present we go into the cloakroom with the girls and help them take their coat and bags off, and put them onto their pegs. Then we cuddle them and they walk into the classroom holding hands.
In September we’re not able to do that anymore. We can go to the playground with them and wait until the bell rings, but then the children have to line up before being led inside to hang their own coats and bags up. I’m not sure how the girls will cope with that. I imagine it’ll take a little while to adjust.
Talking of adjusting, I think the first few weeks, months even, will be pretty tiring for them. They’re only used to being in school for two and a half hours so go from that to a full day will be tough. Thankfully their first day is just two hours, but then the rest of the week will be full time.
Nevertheless I’m glad the first day is only a few hours as it’ll help them to get used to their new surroundings.
One thing that one of their nursery teachers told the girls when they first started nursery, that really helped them settle in, was that they’re only in nursery for a little time, but at home for a big time. The teacher used her hands to show the little time and big time spent in nursery and at home. This really helped the girls to visualise how long they would be in nursery.
Of course over the summer holidays, my husband and I will talk about big school a lot to our girls to help them prepare, but I think it’s going to be pretty tough.
