Guest Author - Cheryl Lewis

Getting prepared for school can be daunting and to the young child it can be a really scary time. While kids may be excited to go back to school, most harbor some fears about the upcoming year. Getting off to a positive start can make a big difference.

New routine: ease into your new school routine. During summer a lot of parents let their kids stay up later at night than during the school year. About two weeks before they go back starting getting back to the regular school bedtime. Start getting the kids to bed earlier and earlier so that when school rolls around, it won't come as such a shock to their system.

We have to roll back bedtime about an hour or so. Starting two weeks before the kids go to bed a half hour than they normally would during the summer for the first week. The second week we roll that back an additional half hour.

They are also getting up a little bit earlier each day. I think they dislike that as much as going to bed early, but I don't want to deal with a morning monster the first day of school. I doubt their teacher wants to deal with one either.

Orientation or Open House: Most schools have an orientation or an open house before the first day of school. These are SO important! Your child really needs the opportunity to go and see exactly where they'll be spending their time, where they need to go on the first day, and to meet their teacher.

If you have all their school supplies, take these with you to orientation so that your child isn't stuck dealing with a huge load on the first day. Most teachers will have their desks assigned to the students by the time of orientation, so the kids will be able to put their desk supplies in their desk. This will give them a sense of "my space" that will ease some of their concern.

Orientation is the time to fill out the emergency contact card and transportation information. You'll probably be given tons of forms and most likely you can take them home and send them back on the first day of school, but it's always best to fill out the emergency card and transportation form the night of orientation. This will give you, the parent, a better sense of peace on the first day knowing that the school has the information they need to contact you or someone you trust if there is an emergency.

Get organized: Now is the time to get your child's room organized, their clothes organized, and their backpack's organized. The more "in order" their young world feels, the more "in order" they feel. This isn't to say that a parent should micro-manage their child's world. It means that making sure their space is organized and ready for school will help them feel ready too.

When you're putting their stuff in their backpack, it's probably a good idea to lable each thing with their name. I use the computer to do this by making some lables with characters and/or designs on them, and then sticking them to their items.

If your child wants to go ahead and pick out their outfit for the first day, that's ok. I've found that with one of my children, everything is in the details, and having that choice made makes him feel a lot better. They may change their mind a dozen times about what they actually want to wear, but that's ok too. Smile and enjoy the excitement.

Talk: This is probably the hardest part. You need to talk to your child about making sure that they never, ever leave the school with anyone other than exactly who they are supposed to leave with. My kids know that if they are supposed to leave with someone else for some reason, they'll talk directly to me first. If someone approaches them in the parking lot or at the bus stop, they don't go with them - period. I don't care who it is, even a cop, they don't go until they talk with me or their dad and are given specific instructions.

Let them know beforehand how their transportation will work. Are they riding the bus? If so, where's the bus stop and how will they get to the bus stop? What time is the bus due? Is it a public transportation bus? If so, take ride with them and show them how to do it. Show them where the money goes, etc.

Also begin talking about exciting things that will happen during the school year. Field trips, plays, anything that they may enjoy.

Getting started off in the right direction with a positive attitude really can make a big difference. It's important that parents take the time, the energy and the effort to help reach for positivity.