Eimear Hutchinson: Skills to teach your children before they start school

MY youngest lady starts school this September. I’ve already gone through a rollercoaster of emotions and crises about it.

I think I’ve arrived at my final emotion and I’ve thankfully settled on happy. I’m happy she’s ready, healthy and happy enough to start school with gusto, and I’m ready and happy for the few extra hours in the day to see where life’s next adventure will take me.

I wrote months ago about wondering what I would do next in life and work and, truth be told, I’m no closer to an answer now than I was then. I’ve stopped stressing about it though, which will hopefully leave the mind a bit clearer.

I’d be lying if I said that the many years I’ve been doing the whole back-to-school routine has made me efficient and organised. In reality, it’s made me less stressed about it because I know eventually I’ll get it together. 

This year, with very few books to purchase, I am lazier than I’ve ever been. It’s now the middle of August and there hasn’t been a mesh folder or a stick of glue purchased yet.

That’s not to say I’m not prepared for back-to-school though. Online advice would make you believe that to be ready for it, you need to have a full regalia of quirky lunchbox recipes up your sleeve ready to whip out at the crack of dawn. Really, being ready for school, in my opinion, is about ensuring your children are ready to take on a little independence. Helping them master a few simple skills before they take on primary school is much more beneficial than making healthy muffins as the sunrises. And kudos to those who can muster the energy to do both!

A few years ago, I shared a video of a little boy on YouTube who showed the neatest trick for teaching a child to tie their shoelaces. I still get asked about it frequently as it resonated with parents. The trick in it is that the aglets (did you know that’s what the plastic bit at the end of the shoelaces was called!? Well, now you do!) are tucked into the eyelets of the shoe and the loops formed are tied in a knot. Google it if you want to find the video version for clarity.

I’ve taught all mine to tie their laces with this method before starting school, and of course their little hands are slow doing it but they can still manage it. You could just get them shoes with Velcro straps, but in my experience the Velcro tends to wear out and the selection of shoes available with it is limited as they get older, so it’s as easy to empower them to tie their own laces. As an athletics coach, too, it’s very useful for children to be able to do their own laces when they go to activities.

We all know the drill about labelling everything when they start school. For the younger ages, who I know can usually identify their names, I find it handy to add in a little image so that they know their own coats and pencils at the briefest glance. I also put a sticker on the inside of their shoes when they’re small and more prone to putting them on the wrong feet. 

Cut a simple shape like a star or a circle in half, place one half on the inside sole of each shoe. That way, when they put the shoes side by side, the shape is connected or whole and they know that’s the way their shoes need to be put on. 

Super-simple to do, but really useful to help little minds get into the swing of things.

Before they start back to school, check that they can open (and close!) their lunchboxes and bottles. You would be surprised what small hands can find tricky. We’ve gotten clever and don’t put anything in wrappers any more because that too can prove tricky at times for little hands. We even peel their oranges for them, which may sound a bit like helicopter parenting, but most schools give children a set amount of time to eat their food before they go outside to play.

Help is often provided by way of older kids, teachers or SNAs, but if you have a quiet kid like we have (singular, the rest are definitely not quiet) it just helps if they don’t struggle in silence to open their bottle or peel their orange.

We are on our eighth year of primary school and I have to recommend the Yumboxes for lunchboxes: simple to clean, they never leak, are easy to open and, four years in, seemingly indestructible.

Many children learn the trick for putting on their own coats in pre-school, but if they don’t, it’s a great skill to teach them. They put the hood at their feet, slip their arms into the sleeves then flip it over their heads.

Check, too, that they can manage the zips or buttons on their coats, because there is many a windy cold day to be experienced on a school yard!

* Next week, WoW! will run a Back to School special, on August 23.