Get ready for kindergarten

A big building filled with strange adults and kids can be intimidating even if your child has been in preschool or day care. Visiting the school before the first day can help.

Tour the classroom, meet the teacher and show the child where the bathrooms are located. Children always wonder if their basic needs will be met, say experts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Kids wonder if they will be hungry, so assure them that food is available either in a cafeteria for full-day kindergartners, with snacks for half-day students, or the choice to bring their own.

Taking the school bus can be difficult at first. Have an older sibling or neighborhood child escort him from the bus to class. Assure him his teacher or a staff member will make sure he gets on the right bus for the ride home.

More about our local schools.