When I thought about writing this article I realized that I have yet to experience sending my kids to Kindergarten. I thought to myself who better to ask for their expertise but a former Kindergarten teacher with over 19 years experience teaching Kindergarten. I decided to send her an email expecting only to get a few tips. I was surprised when I opened my email to see an extensive list of advise. When I read the tips I was even more impressed and grateful that she took the time to send this to me so that I could share it with all of you MOMs. Thank you Fiona! Written by Cj
1.	Label everything with first name or initials i.e. coat, sweater, mittens, snowpants, boots and shoes... you will be surprised what children take off at school and more surprised that they don't recognize it again once they have taken it off... or are too shy to say "That's mine". Labelling is also important because often two or three children will have identical backpacks or boots or coats.
2.	Put your child's name inside their backpack, not on the outside. You don't want any strangers to be able to call them by name.
3.	Parents should send an extra change of clothing in a ziplock bag labelled with their child's name. In the event that your child has a bathroom accident, gets wet at the water table, vomits, spills their juice at the snack table, etc.This will make it easier for the teacher to change your child and the soiled clothescan be sent home in the ziplock bag. The ziplock bags are easy to store flat, easy to label and it's easy to see what's inside e.g. underpants, socks,  shirt, etc. Parents need to remember to send back a clean set of clothes in the bag for future use.
4.	Send an extra pair of "indoor" shoes to be left at school. Make sure these are labelled also. I always had the children put the shoes in their cubbies, but if they ever forgot to, I could match the shoes to the right cubbie if the name was inside. When I taught Kindergarten it was always in a double pod so we had 100 kids total AM/PM. That's alot of shoes and at the start of the year and you don't know which shoes belong to which child! Labelling is crucial!
5.	Have another plastic bag labelled with your child's name and, in the company of your child, put notes to the teacher, book orders, etc. inside that bag. Show your child the note is in the bag and where the bag is going ot be in his/her backpack. Many parents put notes to the teacher in the child's backpack and the child doesn't know it's there and the teacher can't go through 25 backpacks every day.
6.	Leave toys at home. There are enough toys in the classroom and they have been selected to teach. Super hero toys and non-educational toys are best left at home where they are safe and non-disrupting to the the program.
7.	Backpacks! This is a big one! Make sure the backpack is not bigger than your child! It should be big enough to hold snack, a library book, artwork and newsletters. Pick the backpack with your child and make sure he/she can open and close it independently. Don't pick those cute stuffed animal ones that have a little pouch... they hold hardly anything. Pick one with a smal outside pocket where you can put your child's snack each day then they'll always know it's there. Save the big portion of the backpack for books and artwork.
8.	Check your child's backpack daily. Sometimes I found Hallowe'en artwork when I went into a child's backpack in December. Go through the backpack with your child when he/she comes home. The teacher should help your child to put notes into his/her backpack, but it's up to you to take it out. Doing this with your child shows him/her there is a connection between home and school and that you are a key piece in his/her education.
9.	Take time to read the newsletters, notes and calendars. The teacher has written these things to benefit your child and to keep you informed. The link between home and school is key to learning. All the time you invest in these routines in the first few years will be in place for your child in the years to come and help them to be responsible and independent learners. So, if the library day is listed on the calendar, have your child find his/her book the night before and put it into his/her backpack. If the school supplies special library book bags, keep the bag in a special place and return the Library book to school in the bag. If theme days are listed on the calendar e.g. colour days, think about how you can support your child's learning through that theme e.g. help your child choose clothing to wear for the colour of the day. Don't just dress them in the colour and assume they'll know why!
10.	Check out the calendar and let your child know if a special event is happening e.g. "It says on the calendar that you're going to the gym today" or "I looks like you're having a special visitor. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get home!". Having your child prepared for special events helps him/her to make connections, but also helps them prepare for what will happen. Children thrive on routine and changes to routine sometimes cause them anxiety. If Mom or Dad knew this special thing was happening, it must be OK. Also, talking about it when your child comes home develops their oral language skills.
11.	Be on time! This is a BIG one! It is important for children to arrive at school on time. The school day is short in Kindergarten and every minute is a teachable moment from following the line inside, to hanging up coats and backpacks on the correct hook to listening to announcements over the P.A. system. Have you child at school before the bells rings so they don't always feel they are rushing and playing catch-up!
12.	Arriving on time at the end of the day pick-up is as important as the start of the school day. It's important that your child is picked up on time especially the first week. Be there on time with a big hug and smile and a "How was your day?". Also, one thing to remember though is if you arrive a little early, don't peek inside the classroom windows or open the door to go inside. This is very disruptive for the teacher and the children. If one child sees his/her parent and another doesn't it may cause tears or some children may just decide it's time to leave before the teacher is prepared. Parents should follow the teacher's instructions about dismissal time and then everyone will be happy! One more thing to remember... you have one child, or at most a few children, to get dressed in outdoor clothing to go to school. A teacher can have 20 or more children of all different ability levels. Be patient, especially at the start of the school year, on rainy days and on the day of ther first snowfall. It takes time to get everyone dressed. It REALLY helps if your child can dress independently or at least be able to start dressing on his/her own.
13.	If your child is going to be riding the school bus make sure you start this routine from the first day as this is when all routines are established. Teachers understand that parents are anxious about putting very young children on the schoolbus, but from the teachers' point of view it is crucial to teach the children the various routines extablished for walkers, bus riders and childcare providers right from the first day. If you are anxious about your child riding the bus, follow the bus to school, park and, from a distance, watch your child get off the bus. This way you will understand what routines are in place, you won't disrupt the routine and you will be able to help your child follow the routines more successfully. Let your child's teacher know who has permission to pick-up your child and let them know in writing if any changes will be made to your child's regular pick-up routine.
14.	Prepare your child for Fire Drills. Every school has to have at least two in the Fall and two in the Spring. Explain to your child what  a Fire Drill  is and why it happens and that it is nothing to be afraid of. If you get a chance ask the teacher what the routine will be so you can explain it to your child before the first Fire Drill. After a Fire Drill occurs talk about it with your child so he/she can explain to you what the procedure was. If he/she can explain it to you then he/she understands what to do.
15.	Make sure your child gets to bed early so he/she is well rested for school. He/she should have a good breakfast or lunch. He/she should be dressed for the weather. Children should wear boots to school in the winter even if there is no snow on the ground. Feet can get cold without snow!
16.	Snacks! This is also a big issue for parents and teachers. If your child will be taking a snack to school make sure it is a healthy snack... no candy or chips or pop! When I taught Kindergraten I gave parents a list of suggested snacks including a mini muffin, cereal, fruit, etc. NO NUTS of any kind! I encouraged parents to provide a small re-useable container that their child could open independently. Filling the conatiner yourself keeps the cost down, reduces the amount of garbage and limits the snack to a reasonable portion. A snack is not a meal! Some parents send a full snadwich, a piece of fruit, cookies and a drink for  a snack! To eat that size snack would take too much time out of educational activities. Make sure both the snack container and the lid are labelled with the child's name just in case he/she forgets to put it away when finished. Ask the teacher what the routine for snack is in your child's classroom and review this with your child until they get the hang of it. If you notice the snack container coming back full each day don't panic! It probably means your child wasn't all that hungry and preferred to play rather than eat. Your child won't starve in the 2 1/2 hours he/she is at school, but he/she will probably be hungry when he/she gets home. One other thing, as a teacher I discouraged the sharing of snacks in case of unknown food allergies or sensitivities.
17.	Health issues. Let your child's teacher know, verbally and in writing, of any health issues your child has, including allergies. If they require an Epipen for an allergy there should be one left at the school. All medications left at school need to be well labelled with the child's name and dosage. The parents will also have to fill in a medication to be administered at school form and it will have to be signed by a doctor.
18.	Some children may cry when left at school the first day, some for the first week, some for the first month and some,for the entire year. From a teacher's point of view separation anxiety is often tougher on the parents than on the children. The children usually stop quickly once the parents are out of sight. I have found it most successful if the parents leave quickly and don't look back. Once the children are settled I asked the secretary to phone home to let the parent know so the parent didn't worry all morning, but this might not be possible in all schools. If you suspect your child might cry on his/her first day, let the teacher know in advance so they have extra support staff in place. Sometimes if you leave your child with a personal object belonging to you e.g. a scarf or photo, the child feels more secure. Whatever you do, keep taking your child to school even if he/she cries. He/she will settle down a little more each day and before you know it he/she will be crying when it is time to go home!
19.	If the child's teacher accepts volunteers and you have the time... get into the school! There is no better way to support your child's learning than to see what actually goes on in a day of Kindergarten. To volunteer you must have a Criminal Records Check and these can take up to six weeks to process. Get the forms filled in now so you are ready for the first fieldtrip or to help out in the school. If you are a working parent and unable to volunteer, but want to help out, ask the teacher if there is anything you can do for them from home. Sometimes there is cutting or stapling to do. I have had parents sew for me, others have made playdough, some repaired bikes. Parents have many talents, but unless teachers know what you can offer they can't put your skills to use.
20.	Play! Play is a child's work. It is how they learn. Rote learning and endless paperwork is not how children learn best. That is why getting in to see your child's program will help you to understand what the program is and how you can best support it at home. Check out the Ontario Government website to see the Kindergarten Porgram document your child's teacher will be using to create his/her program http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten.html

The article tips are courtesy of Fiona Harrower, former Kindergarten teacher with over 19 years experience and currently the Co-ordinator of Byngmount Readiness Centre.