Preparing for a BIG Day

In a few weeks, C will begin full-day Kindergarten and R will begin a three mornings preschool program. I am doing my best to prepare them for the transition, and of course that involves some good books. Here are a few of our favorites:

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is definitely my favorite book to prepare children for school. Chester Raccoon is about to begin school but does not want to go. To comfort him, Mrs. Raccoon shares the secret of the kissing hand.

Mouse's First Day of School by Lauren Thompson is about a little mouse that crawls into a backpack and finds himself discovering all of the wonderful things at school.

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney features that sweet little llama on his first day of school. He is sad to be without his mother, but in the end discovers that school is fun.

The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing begins with the children and parents preparing for the first day of school and leads us to the parents saying goodbye as their children happily begin their school day. I like that this book touches upon the bittersweet experience parents have as they send their children to school.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate is a book that reinforces the alphabet and animal names while also helping children prepare for Kindergarten. We always have fun reading this book because the text reaches out and addresses all of those jittery feelings in an upbeat, rhyming fashion.

Kindergarten Rocks by Katie Davis is a humorous book about a boy who is not the least bit scared of going to Kindergarten. His stuffed dog, Rufus, on the other hand is terrified! They both find out that Kindergarten rocks!

Countdown to Kindergarten by Alison McGhee is about a young girl who is very concerned about the fact that she cannot tie her shoes a few days before she will go to Kindergarten. She soon discovers that she is not alone, and that teachers are there to help students succeed in many ways.

Obviously, going to school is a huge transition for children and they will have to adjust when the time comes but I do think that reading and talking about some of the things they may be feeling, as well as some of the experiences they will have helps a lot. Are your children starting school? How do you prepare?