Success builds confidence!

Let's start the year by sending our children off to succeed! Remember we want every task that we give the children to be an attainable one, in which they can always succeed and build their confidence.

Another school year is ramping up to start soon, for all of you at Shenton Park, Mount Lawley and Karrinyup we will be starting the school year on the 18th of January, for Swanbourne we will be back on the 1st of February. I know you will be soon starting to get prepared, every year I send out the basic info about what to bring and I know a few parents read it, but since it doesn't seem to be too many I am trying a different tack!

Here is a bit of role playing for the day. I want you to imagine you are a three year old and you are coming towards the end of your day at preschool, time to pack your school bag up to take home. Now you have a lunch box, drink bottle, hat, spare change of clothes, 3 paintings, a page of writing, some sewing, a macaroni necklace, the shoes and socks that you quickly cast aside five minutes after mum left, your jumper and a small, but very important crocodile you coloured and stuck together this afternoon!

Now imagine that your mum had given you the adorable little lady bird bag, that quite literally won't fit a lunchbox in it... Do you think you would be able to easily complete the task, feeling competent and successful at the end of doing so? If you answered that question with a big fat no, then I beg you to think long and hard before sending your child off to preschool with anything resembling this.

On the other hand, faced with something like the snowman bag, your child is much less likely to give up, because it isn’t nearly so difficult. They can pack their bag, feeling competent and successful. Instead of chucking everything they accumulate over the course of the day on the floor in the general bag keeping area, they can easily pop into a bag that presents no resistance. They can learn to look after their things, keep a tidy area and be much less likely to lose things. Their lovely little creations and work don’t get scrunched up, left on the ground to get stepped on or eventually thrown out because no one knows who it belongs to. All round success!

The third photo is of the mess of bags packed to go home at the end of the day last year in Swanbourne. One parent had bought a bag like I had recommended… In a sea of little bags surrounded by mess it stands out, easy to fill with a nice big opening, no fiddly zips and plenty of space. I think this one came from Coles, they have some fruity ones. Best and Less had some last year with all kinds of characters like Peppa Pig, Spiderman etc if you think that would be more up your child’s alley and I know on ebay you can get all kinds of different characters. Cloth ones seem to be less useful than these plastic ones as they seem to be too floppy for the children to keep open and fill. They cost about $2-5, a small price to pay for giving your child attainable success and the ability to look after their belongings…