How to Help Your Child Adjust to a New School: 7 Practical Tips Every Parent Should Know.
Change is inevitable in life. One minute you’re taking your child to kindergarten, the next second he or she is moving up the next grade to Class 1 and you wonder how time is flying by so quickly and how that chubby baby bloomed into a sassy confident big kid with major opinions.
The need to change schools might come for different reasons. You have relocated to a new neighborhood or country, the existing school didn’t meet your expectations or transitioning from GES to Cambridge. All these are reasons to help your child adjust and settle in a new school system.
Recently, my daughter completed her early starter school which ends at Class 2 and i must admit i was a bit nervous about changing to a new school especially on how she’d adjust to a bigger school, a higher number of children in her class, bigger classroom, new teachers and everything else in-between. Whew! Thankfully after two months she’s settled in pretty well in class and has adjusted smoothly to the new school environment. This didn’t just happen by itself mind you because it wouldn’t be fair to just dump her in a new space and expect her to adjust by herself. I had to intentionally take several steps in getting her ready for this big change about to happen. I hope these tips helps you one day when your child has to go through this education milestone as well.
Why You Must Help Your Child Adjust To A New School Environment.
Children of different ages react differently to change. Some will be enthusiastic, others a little anxious and shy. Due to these emotions, you have a responsibility in calming down their nerves to help them transition confidently. Once they see your involvement in their milestone they become more assertive and eager for the change. So, be involved.
Why Does A New School Feel Challenging?
Think about it. He or she has gotten familiar with their previous school, they have created friendships, bonded with teachers and acclimatized to existing school rules and regulations and suddenly here comes a completely new space! Even as adults, we feel anxious when we find ourselves in a new work environment or having to meander motherhood as a new Mom. Big change brings out big emotions. Naturally, every child will either be scared or ‘Nervouscitement” (my daughter‘s single word for nervous & excitement).
These practical tips I’m sharing will take time and effort on your part as a parent. But that’s what makes us parents, right? 😁
Consistent Communication
From the time your child gets that admission letter, you need to start that consistent communication like your life depends on it. Let her know of this new school early to mentally ready them for that new school environment. Help them to understand why the change is necessary in an age-appropriate manner. Speaking to a teenager is vastly different from having to explain to a 7year old about an upcoming milestone. Be excited about it in your tone and highlight all the benefits of this new school. This will help allay any fears or anxieties simmering beneath the surface. Have a conversation instead of barking out instructions on how they should behave in the new school. Go online and show them photos and videos on their social media pages to further build familiarity.
During the conversation, create a space for questions. Ask them if they have any pertinent questions regarding their new school and give them detailed answers until they run out of questions to ask. But you might get more questions later on. Questions show curiousity about the new school so that’s a positive thing.
Visit The School Together
The new school she got into held an orientation for both parents and new students which created the opportunity for her to explore her class, cafeteria, sick bay, playing grounds, libary and other relevant spaces. Attend these programs together as this helps to create familiarity for them before school officially opens or before they start out.
Be Patient With Them On The Change.
Your child isn’t going to immediately feel comfortable on the first day of school. It will take time. Be patient and also curious. Ask them how they’re finding their new teacher, how the teaching experience is, what their classmates are like etc. These questions gives you insight on how they’re settling in and how they’re also forming new friendships. Encourage and reassure your child if they highlight any challenges. Connect with their class teacher to also address any settling down issues your child may have. Sometimes, exisiting students in the class might bully a new kid because they look and speak different and as a parent you must address any such complaints with the school principal.
Create New Routines & Communicate Them
A new school might have different drop-off times which means different early night/early morning routines. Even as a parent you’ll struggle with this new routine; i have been there or i’m still there. Expect some waking up struggles for a couple of months especially if you have to wake up an hour earlier than you’re used to. Write out these routines, explain it to your child/ren and stick them in their bedrooms as a daily reminder.
Be A Present Parent
I volunteered to be a PTA Class Rep for my daughter’s class not because I like being active but majorly to understand how the new school system operates on the ground. I got to connect with other parents who have been in the school longer which gave me access to informal information you wouldn’t find on a school communique. I am glad I’ve met parents who are warm and open to sharing and guiding new parents. This strategy has helped me to navigate homework schedules to better help my daughter also.
Playdates & Extra-curricular Activities
A great way to help your child adjust to the new school is planning playdates with new classmates over the weekend. If your child is in primary school,, playdates works superbly for friendship building. Extra-curricular activities such as swimming, painting sessions are great examples also and best of all you as a parent get to also connect with new parents. Plan together the extra-curricular activities the school might also be offering instead of choosing for them. This way your child gets to commit to that activity as they were involved in the planning stages. W’s.
Helping Your Child Adjust To A New Curriculum
Have you seen the kind of mathematics being taught of late? I personally had to see the class teacher to explain a particular maths technique to me before I could help my daughter through her homework. Ei!! It’s like literally going back to school again😅.
A new school would have different ways of teaching familiar subjects which creates a curriculum gap for your child. You need to familiarise yourself with the new change and encourage your child to ask questions confidently even if the other children laugh at their mistakes.
Celebrate every achievement and progress! My daughter won a prize just in the first term of joining and let’s just say we had to celebrate with a pizza dinner.
Maintain an open communication channel about his or her school experiences. Don’t tune out the constant flow of updates because there’s something you might miss out on e.g if someone is bully them in class.
Be digitally aware as a parent as many schools upload homework and communications to Google Classroom.
Overtime they’ll settle in and get used to the class and homework routine.
How To Know Your Child Is Adjust Well
They are excited about upcoming activities and show eagerness to participate in them. You will get constant reminders to sign that excursion permission slip, constant updates on what happened during the day and what annoyed them during break time.
Within a few weeks you will know every single name in her class and you’ll get berated for forgetting some names of children who aren’t even in her class. Sigh!
You also get to hear about the class teacher and the ‘funny’ things she says in class to get them to pay attention.
I hope by sharing these tips you have gained something valuable to help your child adjust well to a new school. Be gentle with them if you aren’t seeing early adjustment. Every child is different. Be present, intentional, communicate consistently and you’ll soon see a happy settled child.
Got any tips to share on how you helped your child to adjust to their new school? Do share in the comments below , I’d love to read!
