Going to school for the first time is tough! A place to start would be meeting their teachers before the first day of school. This way they can see their classrooms, walk around the school a little bit and see that their teachers are nice people. This helped ease my son's anxiety a great deal because we did this before the first day not everything was completely foreign. We also talked about all the cool things he was going to get to do. Field trips, gym class, art, playground time, etc. try talking about the things that interest your child(ren) the most. Ask your children what they think Kindergarten will be like. As they voice their concerns or ideas it will help you understand where they need something extra and maybe show them that some of what they are fearing is nothing to be feared.

On the big day I would suggest making it as stress free as possible. Make sure they have plenty of time to get ready to go, and a good breakfast! If you can hang out on the playground then I would suggest at least on their first day to hang out and reassure them with your presence. However, if they have trouble with something or someone and they come running to you please refer them to the playground teacher. That way they know who to go to (when you are not there) when they cannot sort out their problem.

Last but not least give them a big hug and let them know you will be waiting after school to hear about all the cool new things they did that day.