Starting preschool is a significant milestone in your child’s life, and we understand the importance of making this transition a positive and exciting one. If you’re gearing up for your child to start this year, here are ways to get your child excited and help them look forward to preschool!
Visit Ahead of Time
A great way to get your child excited about preschool while dispelling any nervousness or worries is to take them to see the building. This will help familiarize them with the area and allow them to visualize their upcoming experience.
If it’s possible to set up a tour, try to do so. This way, your child will have a chance to see the colorful classrooms and meet the friendly staff. If you can’t take a tour, even taking them to the building and explaining that this will be their new school will help.
Talk About the Fun
What better way to get your kiddo excited than by talking to them about it? Build that excitement by emphasizing the best parts of preschool. This includes all the fun activities, new friends, crafts, toys, playing, singing—it’s a lot to look forward to! To help drive the excitement home, try doing an activity that your child loves, like dancing or painting, and let them know they’ll be doing that activity at preschool too.
Read Positive Books
Experiencing a new world full of unknowns and unfamiliar faces…it can be pretty nerve-wracking for both parents and kids. But reading books about preschool can help dispel the unfamiliar and get everyone feeling excited. Picture books will not only tell your child (and you) what to expect, but they’ll also show the fun through interesting illustrations. Reading books with your child will help ignite excitement and positivity about their upcoming adventure.
Need a couple of book recommendations? “The Night Before Preschool” by Natasha Wing is a great story about an older sister explaining to her younger brother what he can expect on his first day. “Preschool Day Hooray!” by Linda Leopold Strauss is another good pick that follows a group of kids as they go through their first day together.
Engage in Imaginative Play
Practice makes perfect, and it can be fun too! You can prepare your little one for preschool by playing school at home. Pretend play is an excellent way for your child to learn and prepare for their first day. Set up a small area of your home with toys, books, and art supplies, and role play as their teacher. While this will expose and prepare them for what their time in their classroom will look like, don’t forget to get silly and have fun!
Get them Cool Gear
Still having trouble sparking that enthusiasm? New, fun gear is one of the easiest ways to get your child excited. While they might not really need a backpack or supplies, these items can get them jazzed about their first day. A special new outfit could also do the trick. They will probably want to use their gear immediately. To help keep everything exciting, let them “practice” with their new items for the big day, and then agree to put them away so they’re ready to go when the day finally arrives. They’ll be so thrilled about their new items, they’ll forget all about the caution and hesitation they had before.
Set Up Playdates with New Friends
As mentioned before, talking about making new friends in their classroom can help get your child excited about preschool. But if you want to take it a step further, set up a playdate with other kids who will be in their class before the school year starts. This will help your child feel a lot more comfortable on the first day and give them something to look forward to. If your school has contact information for parents, that is a great place to start. But if they don’t, word of mouth can work well, too.
We promise preschool will never be more fun!
Giggle and Grow is the Place for Your Child
With these tips, you’ll be able to ease the transition into this new experience for both you and them. We promise preschool will never be more fun! And if you’re on the hunt for a preschool—look no further than Giggle and Grow for your child!
At Giggle and Grow in Gilbert, Arizona, we focus on the needs of very young children and will help your child grow with guidance and encouragement from our teachers. Our preschool program is exceptional, and was designed to meet the developmental and social needs of children ages 3 to 4 years old. Whether the class is learning math, music, science, or language, you can expect concepts to be presented in fun and exciting ways that make learning fun!
We strive to make a positive difference in the life of every child by partnering with parents to provide an environment that is safe, nurturing, educational, and individualized. Let us help your child learn, play, and grow.
