Tips to help Mini Muslims ease into the school year.

The Summer holidays are soon coming to an end, and planning for a new school year is well and truly underway.

And while it can be exciting to make lists of all the stationary, lunchboxes, and uniforms our kids need, it's just as important to plan for how we can best ease them into the school year.

Remember kids are very sensitive to routines, and it can be worthwhile to start their school routine two weeks out from the start of term.

Below are some tips to help kids settle into school easier:

• Set a bedtime at a more suitable time to accommodate the earlier wake times. The earlier you can get on top of this the better.
• Set a morning routine which includes waking up, brushing their teeth, practice putting on their uniforms and eating breakfast.
• Go school stationary and lunchbox shopping together, which can help build excitement around starting school and it allows them to get involved in making choices, which helps them to feel like they are in control.
• Help your child organise their stationary and lunchbox/ water bottle and assist them in labelling their items. Click here to get our stickers range works perfectly to allow them to design their own lunchbox/ water bottle.
• Talk your child through what they can expect on their first day - a lot of the anxiety around starting school is not knowing what is going to happen.
• Role play with your child about the different ways they can make friends.
• Teach your child to say Bismillah at the school gate, reminding them that while you are leaving them, Allah swt will never leave them, and is always watching over them.
• Use affirmations to help your child feel strong, brave, capable, smart etc.
• Pack your child's school bag with them the night before school starts.
• Ask your child how they feel about starting the new school year, if they are showing signs of not wanting to go back to school, address their concerns with a personalised approach and avoid generalising the problem.
• GIVE HUGS, LOTS OF HUGS!

On the first day of school:

• Set your alarm to wake up early enough to run through the morning routine smoothly. Allow extra time for cuddles and reassurance talk. For the first couple of weeks Sabr is super important - you don't want to cause more panic by using your strong voice.
• Try to have breakfast with your child and reaffirm how excited you are for them to start school and how proud they make you - building confidence is key.
• Get to school on time and avoid being late and rushing - especially for the first 2 weeks.
• Kiss them goodbye at the gate and leave. It will be extremely difficult to watch them get emotional and they may even panic but if you linger at the school gate they will stay in that emotional state. Leave so they can move on quickly.
• Reaffirm the time you will be picking up your child to them, and make sure you are on time to pick them up for the first couple weeks. 
• Avoid situations that could spark stress or anxiety for your child.
• Ask them about their day using open questions such as: How was your day? What was your favourite part of your day? What did you learn today? What didn't you enjoy today?

Don't forget to say Bismillah too Mama - you got this!