GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Children’s minds are racing when they walk into a big school building on the first day of kindergarten.

“They think about questions like: ‘How do I show respect?’ ‘How do I sit here with the teacher and get what I need while also following the rules?'” said Sara Spear, the former Dean of Lower Elementary at Vista Charter Academy. “There’s a lot of little social expectations that we can work on with our kids at the house.”

A smooth first day of kindergarten starts months earlier, with preparation. National Heritage Academies® (NHA®) has helped thousands of students work through a tough first day and, thanks to encouraging teachers and staff, find success in their first year of school.

Spear, who is now NHA’s Manager of Math Curriculum, and Westfield Charter Academy Principal Ira Kleiman, shared a few tips for parents to help their kindergartener start their school life with more confidence.

Encourage Play

One of the easiest places to prepare a child for the kindergarten classroom is at the playground. While the activity doesn’t have a set structure, playing with other children gives kids the chance to learn skills they’ll use at school such as relationship-building, conflict management, and emotion regulation.

Trips to the park or playground can give children an opportunity to meet new kids, where they can form the beginnings of friendships.

“I would suggest that parents think about navigating social situations as truly a skill that can be taught and learned,” said Spear, who’s been an educator for 21 years.

Whether at the playground or on a play date, children who can share with others and use words to resolve disputes generally adjust to the classroom easier.

“When they’re able to deal with a tough situation, those are the kids that end up doing really well,” Spear said. “They succeed because they’re able to verbalize their feelings.”

Role Playing the Classroom

Young children often love to play school. The summer before school starts, set up a pretend classroom at home and ask other pre-Kindergarten kids to participate. An older child or parent can take the role of teacher.

Going through school routines can give kids a taste of the classroom with none of the stakes of a normal school day or the stress of a stranger sitting beside them.

“Any sort of role playing is huge for little kids,” Spear said. “It’s one of the best ways to get what they’re learning to stick.”

Offer a few items that they might see around a school, such as a backpack, paper, and crayons. Interacting with tangible props from the classroom helps the exercise feel even more authentic, building a child’s comfort and confidence.

NHA schools take it one step further and host events that put kids in their actual classrooms, making the first day feel like the next day.

Kindergarten Camps

NHA schools offer students a practice run of a school day with kindergarten camps. Each school sets aside two or three days in the summer for incoming kindergarteners to meet their future classmates and go through the basics such as walking in a line, participating in lessons, and meeting other students.

Westfield Charter Academy Principal Ira Kleiman said students who attend KinderCamp don’t struggle as much with leaving their families on the first day.

“With all that goes on at KinderCamp, it really does help ease the anxiety of it,” Kleiman said. “Any of the students who have participated in it, they say, ‘Bye bye’ quickly and are ready to go.”

Thanks to KinderCamp, Kleiman said he’s seen fewer families reach for the tissues for that final send-off and more kids ready to take on the first day.

“Before enrolling, families come to the school, meet with teachers, and we host events over the summer,” Kleiman said. “There are just lots of opportunities to engage with other kids.”

About National Heritage Academies:
National Heritage Academies® (NHA®) is a network of 105 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12^th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com. To find the nearest charter school near you, use the NHA school finder.

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SOURCE National Heritage Academies