So here’s the deal – I want to get my kids ready to transition back to school, learning and play-learning at their preschool that we absolutely adore, but let’s be real, they are both under 4 years old, and there’s no “curriculum” yet that I know of, (at least not like elementary school) and we don’t get the list of items until this week (hopefully).
Instead, I’m trying NOT to freak out that it’s my son’s LAST year in Preschool, and NEXT year he will be going into Kindergarten (which will likely require a whole new blog post). My daughter will still be in Preschool, so I’m holding onto that thread of innocence and “baby” until we have to start potty training.. which will likely be yet, ANOTHER blog post!
Back to School Routines are Important
Here’s the deal, you can prep, look at lists, buy new shoes and clothes for the new school year, but nothing will prepare you for dropping off your kid and walking away without crying and clinging to your leg.
I remember my son going through a phase of “tough drop-offs” in the morning and my guilty-mom (and my husband too) would feel terrible! Luckily, we go to an amazing school and they would send us pictures of them smiling and doing great literally 20 minutes later after the terrible scene.
Routines are extremely important at this age (any age really) but definitely at this age. I’ve found that my kids respond much better to a regular routine, and when my husband has to go out of town for a few days, or I travel, it does throw them off a little, but then we all come back and we’re back into our routine.
The morale of my story: trust your school, caregivers, teachers (once you’ve done proper vetting, research and tours of course), set up a routine for your kids. Summer time they’ve been traveling, going to camp, doing different activities. Now is the time to get back to basics for the new school year. You will be so proud of how they grow over the next school year, and how much they have learned and matured, which is exactly how I feel about our experience.
I do have a few tips and tricks that I’ve used over the past few years that I’d like to share with you. Download here for your Free Back to School Prep Checklist (for Preschoolers).
Also, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for some cute outfits for the kiddos, because we all know that will make a new teacher, new classroom or new school, so much easier to acclimate to. Shop the post below for some cute backpacks, water bottles (Contigo is my go-to brand) and Old Navy deals going on now!