Our Three Favorite Books for Back to School
Back to school! It’s here, whether our kids like it or not. Over the years, my children have experienced a range of emotions, from pure and utter dread to excitement that’s still tinged with nerves. I love to work through big feelings for little kids with books, so in case your kid is in need of a back to school mood boost, here are our favorite reads for kicking off the new school year:
To get littles excited for their first time at preschool:
Open the Preschool Door… From Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House has a whole series of “Open the Door” books with peekaboo flaps to open. This one’s great for helping young children learn what they can expect at a preschool. It introduces the concept of cubbies, nap mats, and group clean up, with hands-on visuals that my kiddos particularly love. With my youngest son, I found the book built confidence when he knew what to expect, seeing things from the pages of the book in real life in his school.
For littles who are having a hard time adjusting:
Llama Llama Misses Mama By Anna Dewdney
Our preschool journey did not begin well for my first child. I’m not saying this book solved anything, but it did give us some language to help him articulate how he felt. Lines from this book became actual mantras for us. I must have repeated “Don’t forget– when day is through, [Mama] will come right back to you!” hundreds of times over the months it took him to adjust to his new routine. I can probably recite this whole book from memory after how many times I’ve read it to all three of my kids during those first years of starting school. Again, it didn’t magically make preschool better, but it was one of many tools at our disposal in trying to conquer preschool.
For excited kids to shake off those extra jitters:
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! By Mo Willems
Mo Willems’s “Pigeon” series never fails to get a laugh out of my kids, and this one is no exception. While this fits in with all the other books and is a great read throughout the year, I think it’s going to be a new tradition for our family to read it the night before school starts. My oldest son, who currently loves school but still feels a little nervous for the first day, can shake off some of that anxiety with a few good giggles from the pigeon, who hilariously states, “The unknown stresses me out, dude.” But he ultimately realizes school could be fun– and it is!
