KNF-TX Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 My daughter will be attending public school for the first time this fall. How can I best prepare her. She is very sweet and I want this to be a good experience. No horror stories please, just useful advice. She struggles in math so we are working on that, but what else does she need to know. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Is there any way you can arrange for her to meet some of her future classmates? Having friends in the class before school starts would be very helpful, I think. Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 My oldest dd attended public school. If I were to prepare my younger girls, I would focus on handwriting - neatness and writing for extended periods of time. And yes, knowing her math facts will be make things much easier. My children tend not to master their math facts until they are 10, so I would do the best you can but try not to stress her. A few weeks before school starts, have her get up at the same time school starts. She won't be quite as disoriented if she's nice and awake the first few days (we are late sleepers so this may not apply in your home). Your children will probably need down time after they come home. I used to try to start homework right away, but my dd needed to unwind for at least half an hour. Set up some way to handle paperwork. There was quite a bit at the elementary age. Familiarity helps: Print out a school/district calendar, so she can see that she'll get days off. Let her tour the school, so she knows where bathrooms, etc. are located. Have her meet the teacher. Find out the class schedule/routine. Play on the school playground during summer if allowed. Does she know any of the children from her new class? Set up a few play dates over the summer. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougarmom4 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 My dd10 just finished 4th grade this year. This was the first year we had to deal with friend issues--the ups & downs of girls & their friendships. Of course, it's not only at public school that girls have to deal with this--but it was very helpful to talk through different social situations and help my dd know how to handle specific things that might come up...and try to prepare her so she knew it wasn't the end of the world if something happened. (You know--such as, Aubrey said she doesn't want to be my friend anymore; Sarah & Madison say they are best friends and I can't play with them at recess; Natalie is having a slumber party and I'm not invited, etc). I found the books by American Girl to be a wonderful resource--I've checked them out of the library, so I don't have them on hand to refer to--but there are several different ones that deal with social skills and how to handle friendship issues that come up...written directly to girls this age and handling things very well. I'd highly recommend reading a few of those together and helping your dd know how what to expect or prepare for. If you can find out a girl or two in her class and get them together, that will help things go smoothly on the first day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 My youngest dd wanted to try ps last year in 5th grade. I don't have any horror stories for you. My dd just didn't like it and asked to return to hs. Things to be prepared for: There's a LOT of writing. Lunch is rushed. Some kids were still standing in line for food when the lunch period ended. Kids who brought their lunch all had plenty of time to eat. Lunch that has been sitting in a container for several hours doesn't taste very good. It's very loud. My dd had bad headaches from all the noise. This was primarily an issue on the bus, during lunch, and at recess. Ear plugs could have helped with this, but I wasn't willing to buy them since my dd decided the 2nd day that she didn't want to stay. I told her from the beginning that she had to go for at least 2 weeks and she had to tell me every day for a full week that she wanted to return to hs before she could actually return. Find out if the teacher allows a snack time so you can pack food for it. My dd's teacher had two snack breaks for her class. Most of the kids ate things like chewy granola bars, raisins, slim jims, fruit, ... - finger foods that weren't messy or crumbly. My dd loved her art teacher and liked her homeroom teacher. She just didn't like the LA teacher. I don't know why not. She decided that she didn't like that teacher within moments of meeting her at the open house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Is there any way you can arrange for her to meet some of her future classmates? Having friends in the class before school starts would be very helpful, I think. Anne I have to agree with this one very strongly. I moved to a different state when I was head into 4th grade, and by that age, the cliques are already formed and it's very difficult to break into one as the "new girl," especially if you're any sort of shy. I have no other advice as my kids aren't this age yet, but I did want to throw that out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 My daughter started PS the last quarter of 3rd grade. The first 2 weeks were tough and she asked several times to come home (this wasn't an option, she had begged to go to PS and we had told her if she went she had to stick it out till the end of the year that was less than 2 months away) but then she started loving it, The hardest thing for her to get used to was all the writing she had to do. She couldn't keep up with the speed of the other kids' handwriting. For example when they did spelling dictation she ended up skipping words because she didn't have time to write them all. The first few weeks her teacher helped her to write down her homework in her agenda to make sure it all made it down to the paper. She didn't have any problems with friends that first year, she is very social and was accepted pretty quickly. She made one good friend in 3rd grade (they are still friend going into 6th) and now has a good group of friends she made in 4th and 5th (with the occasionnal: so and so isn't our friend anymore, so and so says she doesn'tw ant to talk to me anymore... but it usually blows over by the end of the week and all is fine till the next time). Her time in PS was a great time for her, no regret at all. She got to be involved in a lot of activities (chess, band, orchestra, basketball) and has had great teachers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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