All children have unique needs, interests and motivations and each child’s transition from Kinder to Prep will be different. You can help your child to feel more comfortable about starting school by engaging in everyday activities, suggested below.
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Help to build your child’s skills to cope in various situations and increase their self-confidence by:

• finding answers to their questions or concerns together
• talking to your child about how to ask for help and model what to say
• talking through some “what will I do if…?” situations with your child, for example “what will I do if my yogurt spills?”

You can encourage independence by helping your child to practice:

• packing and carrying their own school bag/belongings
• putting on their shoes and other clothing items such as jackets and jumpers
• eating and drinking without help
• going to the toilet on their own
• using tissues to blow their nose
• recognising their belongings/name
• giving them small responsibilities like packing away toys

 
Daily routines can help children understand what they need to do, when to do it each day and why it’s important. To help prepare your child for school, encourage a routine which may include:

• going to bed early
• waking up at a certain time and leaving lots of time to get ready
• having a healthy breakfast needed for energy and concentration
• preparing and eating healthy snacks/lunch
• making time for physical activities

 
When packing your child’s lunch/brainfood/snacks:

• include them in making choices and helping you
• provide healthy and filling food in realistic quantities for brain food, morning tea/snack and lunch
• make sure they can open containers in their lunch box
• provide a water bottle every day

 
Encourage your child to develop good health and safety habits, including:

• washing their hands after going to the toilet
• washing/sanitising their hands before eating
• not sharing food with other students
• using rubbish bins to dispose of rubbish
• always using the crossing, if applicable, and looking both ways before crossing the road
• never running from behind parked cars or stopped buses
• staying on the footpath
• stranger danger – never talking to or accepting rides from strangers

Starting school is an exciting time for students and families. Some activities that you can do to help your child get ready for school are listed below.
Support and encourage your child to:

•  cooperate with peers and make friendships in free play situations
• participate in group games and experiences, and ask to join in a game
• develop self-help and self-care skills (independent toileting, dressing, eating, cleaning up after themselves, hand washing, being responsible for and using own belongings)
• follow a routine (for example, eating lunch at a set time, read a story before playing, etc.)
• listen to stories regularly and use books as a pleasurable daily shared activity
• appropriately use tools such as use pencils, crayons, scissors and glue unassisted
• talk positively about starting school and enjoy your child’s excitement
• use equipment such as a climbing apparatus, sandpit toys and balls
• unpack their lunchbox, unwrap food and use a drink bottle
• open/close and carry their school bag
• express needs and wants appropriately and remind them to ‘use their words’
• separate from carers / primary caregivers
• take turns in a game / activity and share toys and equipment
• follow directions and understand some rules in a game
• cope with transitions between routines and experiences, for example packing up and starting a new routine/task
• use language (verbal or non-verbal) to ask questions and communicate their thoughts and ideas
• listen to others and wait their turn to speak by saying ‘excuse me’ or putting up their hand
• try different ways of doing things, solve problems and ask for help
• practise the things they will need to do to get ready for school (for example putting things in their bag, remembering to pack a hat and jacket)
• use and explore language often – ask your child questions, assist them to name and label items in different environments (for example the home, the park or the library)
• sit with a group and remain focused on an activity for an extended period of time
• self-regulate emotional responses when they need to do something they don’t like (for example, packing up)
• recognise and write their name
• develop their fine motor skills (such as play dough, Lego, threading beads, cutting paper, undoing buttons and zips, drawing with different tools and finger plays and rhymes)
• experience drawing, scribbling and making marks on paper
• notice signs, symbols, letters and words that they see in the environment
• join-in with familiar songs, rhymes and jingles
• tell stories about events in their lives
• talk about favourite stories and describe some of the characters or things that happen in books
• hold a book the right way up and trace their finger from top left to bottom right as they pretend to read
• talk about their age and recognise some numbers
• count a group of objects up to 5
• name common shapes and colours
• help adults with everyday maths experiences such as cooking and shopping
• describe the weather

 
 “Children’s learning is ongoing and each child will progress towards the outcomes in different and equally meaningful ways. Learning is not always predictable and linear. Educators plan with each child and the outcomes in mind.” (Early Years Learning Framework, p.19)
 
With this in mind we encourage families to use this reference as a source of information rather than as a prescriptive checklist to determine school readiness.

If you have questions /concerns about your child’s school readiness, speak to your child’s kindergarten teachers/educators. We work closely with kinder and child care settings.