Children need lots of help from their caregivers as they deal with the transition from child care to kindergarten and from kindergarten to first grade. As you help them adjust and prepare them for what's ahead, you're helping them deal with the changes they'll face -- and then they'll be more open to the learning opportunities that are offered to them.

Learning is a Different Kind of Fun

One of the best ways to help prepare children for their first days at school is to encourage them to talk about what they expect or what they're wondering about this new experience. A five-year-old boy named Eric once asked, Fred Rogers "Is school nice? Is school fun?" He told the boy that some things at school can be fun and exciting, but there's another kind of fun that's quiet and can give children a good feeling about thinking, working, and learning. In fact, one of the best feelings in the world is being proud of what you've learned after you've worked hard to learn it. If we can help children think of hard work as a different kind of fun, they're more likely to find the energies to keep on working and trying and discovering the joy in accomplishing something that took great effort.

A Step Forward, a Step Back

When children feel uncertain about a new experience like kindergarten, it's common for them to behave in ways that they did when they were much younger -- clinging to their caregivers more closely than usual, thumb sucking again, or even forgetting toilet training now and then. It helps to remember that such steps backward often come before big strides forward in a child's development.

It's a major milestone for a parent, too, when children start kindergarten. It can be hard to face the fact that their " baby is growing up." Many parents will struggle with "letting go" those first few days of school. Caregivers can help parents be aware that these feelings are normal, and together they can help children with this transition. Children can sense when you're all working together "on the same team."

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