How to prepare for Primary 1.

SO…you have a little one all ready to take a big step into P1.

This wee blog post attempts to prep you and your little one for the move. There is a handy checklist (we all love a checklist) and some hints and tips for how to negotiate the move with as little drama as possible!

I totally get the trepidation that comes with this step, I’ve done it twice now and neither time was without anxiety.

Safe hands!

I know you’ll be at best a little nervous about the move into P1 and whilst it is certainly a change, it is important to note that your little one is in very safe hands.

Teachers and support staff are a rare breed of extraordinary humans.

They LOVE being around children.

They LOVE having fun with children.

They give up huge amounts of their time to ensure that everything they provide for ‘their kids’ is just right and they do it with enthusiasm and joy (even on the days they might have to fake it…just a tiny bit!).

The staff in any school will pride themselves on the fact that the children under their watchful eyes feel happy, safe and cared for as they enter school for the first time. Teachers refer to the children in their class as ‘my kids’ in much the same way parents do. You are leaving them in the best of hands! Promise!

Letting go - fake it till you make it!

For some little ones, being in school all day is a whole lot for them. Being away from you for a big chunk of the day can have a lot to do with it.

My own little clinger found this difficult too.

The good news is that those little ones that do find it tricky to leave you in the line in the morning will get there.

It’s just a phase like the many others you have survived until now. Similar to the teething phase, the spit out all food phase, the poo in the bath phase…all phases are transient and eventually pass. This will too.

Being a parent, handing over your child into the care of someone else on that first day is difficult - even for those of us who have insight into the fun that awaits them.

Naturally, emotions will be running high and your child may pick up on this. If you can, try to be as positive as you can about your child starting school. Chat about all the exciting things that await and although it will be super emotional, keep it together! (At least until they are in the door and your back is turned!)

**Mum tip - The Hug Button.

This idea went viral in 2019 and it works really well.

Draw a little heart on your child’s hand and a matching one on your own. Hold them together before you leave in the morning to ‘charge them up!’. Then if they are feeling a little in need of a cuddle during the day they can push their fully charged hug button to help them feel a hug.

Try not to worry!

(I know - all kinds of eye rolls are going on with that statement, but it’s true!) If your child needs a little extra care or support going into school, they’ll get it. It’s what schools do best. 

Most parents just want their child’s teacher to get them, am I right?

You want them to understand who they are and what they’re about and to care about them. You want them to do well academically but I think it’s probably fair to suggest that most parents really just want them to be happy in school.

From a teachers perspective, I can think of a whole list of things that I hoped children would be able to do/have/know before coming in to P1 so I thought it might be helpful to set up a wee checklist for you to have a read through. My own little boys did not in any way hit everything on this list and it is probably unlikely that your little person will either, but they’ll definitely meet some and the rest they’ll learn along the way…because that’s kind of what we do!

THE CHECKLIST

Let’s get the expensive bit out of the way first. Everything they need and a few things they don’t.

• Uniform – a good tip on the uniform front is to buy things they can get on and off themselves. Especially for gym days.

• Gym kit and gym bag – no fancy stuff required. Plain stuff and good old fashioned gym shoes. Check this with your school first this year. Many schools aren’t changing for gym anymore and instead are just coming to school wearing sports wear. Each school is different. They will let you know what you need!

• Good sized school bag – we often give out A4 sized stuff in poly wallets. It helps when it can fit inside their bag on a wet day.

• Packed lunch box (if your little one will be having a packed lunch).

• Water bottle – total must. Classrooms are hot. Smelly too on occasion but let’s not go there. If they drink loads, there are places for them to top up bottles during the day so they can keep hydrated. It may also be worth having a back up water bottle just in case one happens to be left behind one day.

• Painting shirt – some schools provide these so it’s probably not an essential unless it has been specified by the school. One of your other half’s old shirts are great. They cover a whole lot more than the bought ones and the kids can get them on without getting their hair caught in the Velcro.

• LABELS – yes it’s in capitals. Everything, label everything! Water bottles, painting shirts, the bag for the gym kit – I mean everything. You would honestly not believe the amount of stuff in a school's lost and found room – yes whole roomfuls of the stuff that don’t have names. In the words of Beyonce (kind of) if you like it then you shoulda put a name on it.

• Shoes without laces. If your little human can tie these on their own then great - but if not, velcro it all the way!! And the bonus of velcro is that it doesn’t get soggy on the bathroom floor and then require someone else to tie it. Yeah…you see where I’m going with that! Yuck!

Stuff you don’t really need.

• Fancy pens/pencils/pencil cases – we provide what they need. (Unless your school has stated otherwise.) Fancy pencils tend not to sharpen great, style over substance!

• Fancy rubbers – they make a mess. Rubbers are great, buy a stash! But if they are pink and smell nice they’ll probably make a mess of a jotter.

• Fancy plastic sharpeners - if you want a sharpener that goes the distance, buy a metal one. And if you really want the teacher to love you come Christmas, buy her (or him) an electric, heavy duty beast. You will be forever legendary in the staff room, I guarantee it!

Skills that are great if they have them (and don't worry if they don't...yet!) 

• Dress themselves – My own struggled with this one despite many many hours of working on it. If they can get changed into gym kit and back into school uniform relatively independently then that is a huge bonus. If not the teacher will help without any drama but it’s definitely something to have a wee go at over the summer holidays.

• Coats - if they can get them on and off independently that is such a huge help! As I’m sure you can imagine…getting 25 coats zipped up and unzipped before and after every break kind of eats into teaching time.

• Use scissors – again something we will teach but if they can do this then brilliant!

• Share – this one can be a pretty big ask. They are still really little and these are skills that develop over time so if your little bundle hasn’t quite grasped the concept yet, that’s ok. They can be shown how to navigate sharing within the classroom setting. Whether or not they will bring that skill home is anyone’s guess. For the first chunk of this particular year I suspect they may get a little reprieve on the sharing front until everyone is allowed to be a little closer.

• Take turns – there is a lot of game playing in P1 and beyond. Being able to take turns is tricky for little people who are eager and excited. Try playing a simple board game once or twice a week so they get used to the idea.

• How to lose – this is obviously linked to the one above. When games are played it is great if children can lose without it being the end of the world. Little people have big emotions and it’s sometimes really tricky keeping them from bursting out. Losing tends to be a trigger point. The same thing applies. Play games and beat them! Will they be upset, possibly/probably! Will they learn how to accept that they don’t always win and that’s ok, yup! Course they will!

• Recognise their name - teachers will always have little pictures to help them hone in on the correct coat hook etc. but it helps if they can recognise their name. If they can write it then you’ll get bonus points but this can be a pretty big ask for little people so please don’t stress if they can’t.

Early Reading/Writing/Numeracy skills

Early literacy and numeracy skills are a great thing for your child to have when they come into P1. They will have done a heap of things in nursery/playgroup to encourage these early skills – all of which will have been introduced through play because that’s how kids learn best!

The thing teachers get asked the most is how they can bring their kids on. And to be honest, it’s really simple.

Read to them.

Yes that’s it.

Read to them.

You don’t have to do it all day long but set aside time every day to read to your child and watch them soak it all in. You don’t have to teach them sounds – we’ll do that. Just read, let them look at the pictures, chat about the story and enjoy them together. Read counting stories and you'll be helping them gain early number skills too! (Two birds for multi-tasking mums!) Give them a love of books and stories and words and without a doubt it will be one of the greatest things you do for your kids.

Early writing skills can be great fun to do with your child. Drawing, colouring in, painting...anything that gets them holding a pen or pencil. Write in sand, or shaving foam if you're game! Show them how to write their name. (A teacher will love you if they can!) It doesn’t have to be perfectly formed. Believe me if it resembles a name in some way, a P1 teacher will be able to read it!

Play is where it’s at!

Primary 1 is very much about play based learning. This is probably quite different from what you experienced yourself in P1 (unless you are a lovely young thing) and it leans far more towards the theory that play is how children learn best.

Children make sense of their world by discovering things through play.

Play based learning allows them to develop cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically. It is an extension of nursery but with the additional focus on learning sounds and number in a slightly more formalised way - albeit in a fun and exciting way!

Normal School Related Worries

You’ve got a couple right??

Maybe a few more than a couple!

Here are some of the common ones…

Friends

They’ll make friends, they’ll argue and fall out with friends. They will hate someone one day and be best friends the next. The playground is where they learn a good chunk of their social interaction skills. It’s not always plain sailing and it’s probably one of the biggest things teachers deal with on a daily basis. Every school has systems in place for helping kids manage their friendships. If you are worried, ask about it.

Eating

I had this worry with my first child too. Fussy eater. Will he eat? Will he be tired and grumpy in the afternoon if he hasn’t eaten? Well, I make a packed lunch every day. Is it a pain, especially when you are entitled to free school dinners, yes! But he eats and I’d rather he did and was re-fuelled for an afternoon of learning. Each to their own I guess.

Either way, there are lunch supervisors who will check what your child is eating and chivvy them along so they get time to play as well.

Toilet issues

There are accidents. They are always dealt with discreetly and in a school there are always a million spare items of everything for just such an event. So if it happens, it’s not the end of the world.

Behaviour

You would not believe the amount of times I have had a parent tell me that their perfectly behaved child is a nightmare at home. It’s a strange one but children do tend to behave better for other people. Mine is without a doubt in this category!

Tired

It is a really long day for them and they will be knackered when they come home. It’s ok for them to have a bit of T.V. time or something a little chilled when they get back. I had a little boy in a class a while back who used to zonk out anytime we sang in the afternoon. It became a little routine to let him sit in the library corner when we started singing so he could crash out on the cushions. Your wee one is an individual. Every teacher will treat them as such and do their very best to provide what they need to get the most out of them when they are there.

Letting go

The morning line is always a major source of anxiety if your child is reluctant to go in. It is such a hard one for a parent but I guarantee you that the vast majority of kiddies settle completely after 5 mins in the classroom. There are so many distractions and exciting things to do that as soon as the register is done, they will be dandy. And yes, it may well happen again the next morning but they do all eventually get there.

One thing that I found hard, was not getting the same level of daily feedback as we did from our son’s pre-school provider. They were unbelievably good at sharing how my little boy was coping and developing, what kind of morning he’d had, whether or not there had been an issue and to be honest, it is really unlikely that you will ever get that same feedback in a school setting.

The ratio of adult to child just doesn’t allow time for it. But be assured, if there is a problem, someone will be in touch! If things are quiet it’s a good thing!

And please remember that teachers spend a whole lot of time with your children. They are ferociously protective of them because for that year they are their ‘kids’. They want to see them thrive, they want to see them happy and they want to keep them safe. They wouldn’t do the job if working with kids wasn’t in their blood because despite all common stereotypes, teaching is not an easy ride!

I very much hope I have answered at least some of your major worries or fears? Have you got any others? I’m happy to answer any that I can and direct you to the best place to answer your question if I can’t. Feel free to drop them in the Facebook comments.

Back to School Mini-Sessions Coming Soon!

And if you liked the look of any of the images throughout and thought...'gosh, wouldn't it be nice to have something like that of my little one,' then fret not...I can help there too. Click on the link below and I'll have you sorted in a jiffy.

And that's all for this week. All the best to all the little people embarking on their brave new adventures in August. I'll be thinking of all the Mums out there who will be a tad emotional and messy come 9:30 on that first morning!

G x