Storytime Saturday: The Kissing Hand

 Do you have a little one who is starting school this year? There can be a lot of different feelings about beginning school for both children and parents. You may be dreading their first day, or maybe you are looking forward to it.

We have been experiencing a lot of mixed emotions around the idea of our youngest child starting Kindergarten this fall and while he’s “excited and not any scared”, we’ve been having some conversations about school.

Reading a story about going to school is a great way to talk about these feelings. Keeping your conversations positive without allowing your own fears to influence your child is important. Creating a positive experience for your child from the very beginning will help to ease them into school.   

What to Talk About

• Activities they enjoy that they’ll probably do at school, such as playing with toys, playing outside, running around in a gym, listening to stories, colouring, and playing with new friends.
• Making new friends. “The other kids are the same age as you! There will be lots of kids who like the same kinds of things you like. You’ll make new friends by playing with them at school.”
• What to do when they need help. “Teachers are like moms and dads at school. They want you to be safe and happy in Kindergarten. If you have a problem, you can ask them for help.”
• How to deal with feelings of sadness. “When you’re feeling a little bit sad at home, what can you do to make yourself feel better? Could you do those things at school, too?” (Examples: find a quiet place to read a story, hug arms around yourself, talk to someone, draw a picture, etc.) The idea is to be able to identify the options for solving feelings at home and at school so children can begin to develop a repertoire of strategies.
• What a day a school will be like. Talk about how your child will get to school, go into the classroom, hang up their backpack, play, eat a snack, have lunch, and then come home. Discussing the daily schedule of a typical school day in age-appropriate terms for your child will help them prepare for the experience and prevent surprises.

For the next few “Storytime Saturdays” here on the blog, I’ll be sharing some of my favourite stories for children who will be starting school for the first time. (They’re also great for those primary students who might be nervous about returning to school!)

This is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Read it and give your child a kiss on the palm of their hand to take with them to school.