When your child starts at our ELC, we will help them get used to the centre and settle in.  Most of what you can do to help them get ready for ELC will be helping them to be independent and to do things for themselves.

Some ways you can help prepare your child for ELC are:

• Teach your child to put their shoes and socks on independently
• Take a packed lunch to the park and talk about what you eat at fruit time, snack time and at lunch time.
• Get them to carry their own bag places and to unpack and pack it themselves
• Discuss rules in different places (e.g. the pool, the park etc)
• Play games as a family and talk about the rules and taking turns
• Teach them to go to the toilet independently.

Starting at an ELC, preschool or kindy can be a scary experience but it doesn’t have to be.  We find that parents play a big role in children’s confidence when starting at our ELC.

Some different ways you could help your child feel confident about starting at ELC are:

• If you (as a parent) feel nervous try not to let it show
• Tell them good things about the ELC and how much fun they will have
• Come and join in our Flourish Playgroup on Fridays, so your child gets to know the centre and feels comfortable here
• Get them to try on their uniform and give lots of compliments
• Invite kindy friends over to play