For some, there may be few more days of holiday to enjoy before anxiety, excitement or whatever emotion you and your child might be feeling.Was it a calm start to the year? Chaotic? Somewhere in between?
For my young children (circa 2006!) it was an exciting time to get all of the pencils labelled and books ready to go, then carry them in to the classroom in giant backpacks that looked like they were going to fall over, turtle style on their shell and not be able to get back up!
I remember being so excited for the fun and learning they were about to have in school, having been the primary school teacher inviting the new class into the room. All of the planning that had been done to make the first day something that would be enjoyable and not too overwhelming, hoping it would be a not too hot day to start off with so they might like to come back again the next day!
When my kids went to school, I saw parents crying after dropping them off and feeling quite emotional about their child growing up. I remember talking to them about all of the fun parts we would do to engage their child in the classroom and reminding them that of course it was ok to have a little cry, many parents did every year!
I was one of the parents who may have skipped back to the car, with the knowledge that they were in great care and looking forward to the stories they would tell me later in the day.
I remember asking them things like
“What was the most fun part of the day and what was the least fun part?
“Did you make anything cool today?”
“What did you play at recess?”
Remember, they will be potentially needing space to decompress after all of the new and novel things they have learned, so keep the questions to a minimum and go with the flow of what they want to tell you about.
What will you ask your children at the end of the day?