How to assemble a first-grader's kit. The most common mistakes mothers make
What do they teach at school? Only subtraction and multiplication? Contrary to popular stereotypes, school is not just a source of knowledge. It is a more complex and multifaceted phenomenon, often acting as a coach for communication, a teacher for stress resilience, and a guru of resourcefulness. Mothers must anticipate everything: prepare their child for both the learning process and the rules of life within school walls. But first – let's stock up on a stationery arsenal, which is the first-grader's kit.
Preparing for the learning process
Like in Maslow's pyramid: first, you need to take care of basic material needs. After all, when the backpack is packed and everything is ready for school, you can calmly proceed to other aspects of preschool preparation.
Packing a school bag. First-grader's kit - list
(You can print it to remember everything and check off what you've bought.)
For every day
- Kite orthopedic backpack
- Book-style pencil case for primary school
- Folder for notebooks
- Squared and slanted-line notebooks (5-10 pcs.) + Covers
- Notebook for foreign language
- Bag for changeable shoes
- Covers for textbooks
- Graphite (plain) pencils of medium softness — 3 pcs.
- Blue ballpoint pens — 4-5 pcs.
- Ruler
- Eraser
- Pencil sharpener
- Lunchbox
- Water bottle
- Stationery cup
For crafts lessons
- Crafts folder
- Plasticine
- Plastic modeling board and set of tools
- Colored paper and cardboard
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Apron
- Desk mat
For drawing
- Drawing album
- Colored pencils
- Set of felt-tip pens
- Watercolor paints (or gouache)
- Palette for mixing colors
- Non-spill cup
- Paintbrush
Kite first-grader's kit is not only high-quality stationery for school. It's an opportunity to assemble a capsule collection of school supplies in a single style with a beloved character, as well as an astonishing assortment of products for learning and creativity.
Psychological preparation of a child for school
5 most common mistakes of first-graders' mothers
- Underestimating a schoolchild's everyday and communication problems
"School = knowledge" - we think. And we spend 100% of our preparation time on learning the alphabet, training our hand to write, and improving our English vocabulary. As a result: we are calm that the child comes to school as an erudite intellectual. But, despite success in arithmetic and reading, a first-grader may experience difficulties in elementary daily issues. For example, at a family dinner, everyone laughed heartily at a sharp humorous exclamation, but in class, such improvisation resulted in a strict reprimand.
Solution: In an unobtrusive playful way, introduce the child to the rules of conduct at school and work out a plan of action in elementary and awkward situations: what to do if they forgot their sports uniform, got lost in the school corridor, received a reprimand from the teacher, or a trip from a classmate.
- Turning academic success into a cult
We may not even notice how we provoke neurosis in our child based on achievements, immediately bombarding them with questions like: "How's it going?", "What did you get?", "Did the teacher praise you?". Success is great, but don't obsess over it. In life, anything can happen: ups and downs; you can approach everything with a touch of healthy irony.
Solution: Explain to the child that remarks and failures are not a reason to be upset and give up, but an inevitable springboard on the path to personal growth. Excellent school results are very good, but besides them, there are other aspects of life: communication, friendship, health, hobbies, etc. And we ourselves should suppress the perfectionist in us and remember our own school years.
- Doing everything for the child
Remember that awkward moment when your 7-year-old classmate came to art class with an exact replica of Van Gogh's landscape painted at home? "Did you draw it yourself?" - "Oh, yes, mom helped." It would be nothing if his previous works in class weren't done in the "stick-figure" style.
Parents, wanting to help their child, often go overboard, doing all the work for them. From elementary "making the bed and putting clothes in the closet" to solving homework assignments. This also includes total control over homework completion.
Solution: Children need more freedom to develop responsibility. A fledgling's wings will not grow strong if it doesn't try to fly on its own. A child will never master important life skills if you do the learning for them.
- Overloading the child
Dancing, drawing, chess, swimming, fencing, English, French, Spanish, karate, vocals, hockey, violin, flute, tennis, drama club... This is not a random set of words; for some children, this is what a typical schedule of extra-curricular activities looks like for the week. And this is after 5-6 school lessons. Comprehensive development is very useful, but it's important to strike a balance and not "overfeed" the child with activities.
Solution: Develop the child's talents to the maximum, but do it wisely and delicately. Activities should alternate with proper rest, mental work with physical. The main attention should be on the child's favorite hobbies, not the parents'.
- Underestimating the importance of creativity
Many were brought up with the idea that fine art, music, and other forms of creativity are not serious. Allegedly, exact sciences are "more important" and prioritized, and everything else is just a useful pastime. It's high time to debunk this myth. Creativity is not only for interesting leisure. It is the most powerful tool for intellectual development, stress reduction, and talent realization. Moreover, many modern in-demand professions are based on the ability to draw, compose colors, etc.
Solution: do not hinder the child's creative impulses, but support the young artist. Paints, pencils, plasticine, albums: all of this should be carefully prepared.
With Kite, all aspects of school preparation are a joy.
