Here’s what each student will need to succeed:

• Set of clean clothes labeled with child’s name or initials, to be stored in child’s bathroom cubby   
• Inside shoes or slippers for the classroom (no wet or muddy shoes are permitted past our cubby area!)
• Footwear appropriate for outside and activities in the gym (no flip flops or shoes that fall off when running, jumping, etc.)
• Seasonally appropriate outdoor clothes
• Footwear appropriate for muddy days
• A good night’s rest
• A hearty breakfast at home or school
• Optional:
• Rest items: small blanket, crib sheet, small stuffed animal  (all rest items need to fit in a 10 ½ X 10 ½ storage cubby)
• Snack 
• Donation(s) to the classroom snack pantry
• Packed Lunch (Pre-K/K students eat in the cafeteria and have the option to purchase lunch at school.)
• Paperwork to Louanne

Perhaps the biggest hurdle in the home to school transition is also one of the most important ones: Arrival time! A smooth transition from home to school is key to your child’s success at school. Breakfast at school begins at 7:30 and will promptly end at 7:45, so that we may begin our day together promptly at 7:50. 

Lunch at school is another big adjustment, and your child will be super appreciative if you have prepared them for this experience! 

Consider helping your child prepare for eating lunch at school by:

• Talk about not eating food that has fallen to the floor or touching/taking food from someone else’s lunch!!! 
• Practice sitting with “tummy to table” with your child’s legs under the table. 
• Set a timer for 15 minutes and talk about how they may not finish eating and that’s ok.
• Encourage your child to eat the main course “brain food” before the dessert.

For home-packed lunches:

• Practice eating lunch from the lunchbox with your child. 
• Make sure they can open everything you send with them. 
• Practice packing everything back up and talk about what is trash and what should come back home in their lunch box. We make every attempt to send home uneaten food and appreciate reusable containers instead of pre-packaged applesauce and yogurts- which can’t be sent home, even if your child only ate one spoonful.  

We are still fine-tuning our schedule and arrival procedures and will be sharing everything in more detail at our “Open Classroom” from 4-5:00 on Thursday, August 29th.