As early childhood educators, it is our responsibility to set the children on a course that will inspire investigation, exploration, problem-solving, questioning, discovery and challenges. Starting school is a significant milestone for children and their families. The preparation begins long before a child leaves their early childhood setting.

TIGS Prep educators along with the Junior School teachers have been working together to build a robust and inclusive transition for all the children starting Kindergarten in 2021.

Transitioning to “Big School” can be a very exciting time but it can also be a little bit stressful as they move from one familiar setting and onto a new challenge.

The process of transitioning the children needs to occur over time. Children are challenged with several transitional changes during early childhood. This includes orientating children into early childhood, transitioning between routines and rooms, and then transitioning into primary school. Children respond in different ways to transitions – some with confidence and others with hesitation. Children’s confidence will be enhanced when changes happen gradually and when time is prioritised to support these transitions with sensitivity, planning and preparation.

The children have been talking to the educators about how excited they are going over to the Junior School. For all children, there will be the discovery of new experiences, new friends, new feelings and new independence. To facilitate this transition to Kindergarten there have been some slight changes to the normal routine, however, the children are very eager to visit the Kindergarten classrooms.

Each week this term, the Prep classes will have regular morning sessions visiting Kindergarten classrooms to help the children to grow accustomed to the spaces and provisions. This experience enables the children to gain a glimpse into the school environment, reassuring the children of all the wonderful learning that will be taking place next year.

Many of our parents are celebrating their child’s developing independence and autonomy. Thank you for the way you have encouraged your children to be confident, independent and resilient individuals. Children feel secure when they know what to expect, so use the year before school to gently introduce the concept of school and build familiarity with the environment, behaviours and routines they’ll encounter.

What can your child expect when transitioning from TIGS Prep to Kindergarten?

There are some differences your child can expect when starting school.

These include:

• A new classroom, which may be bigger or smaller than the room they are familiar with at TIGS Prep.
• Your child will be required to sit at their desk for longer periods of time, without having the freedom to get up at any time and move around the room.
• A different daily timetable, with lots of packing up and moving between different classes such as music, sport, art or languages.
• During morning tea and lunchtime, all the children will be sharing the same playground which means that your child will be mixing with children of various age groups.
• Your child may need to get to know a new group of children and also make some new friends.