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Preparing your child for the first day of first grade can be a fun experience for you and your child if you plan well and follow a few basic rules. The previous experiences of Kindergarten or pre-school, along with the anticipation of seeing old friends and meeting new, can go a long way in helping a parent ease the anxiety of their first-grader before the big day.

1) Build anticipation. Before school starts, begin talking about school and all the good things your child will learn and do. Discuss meeting new friends, seeing old friends and meeting a new teacher. Tour the school and meet the child's teacher before the first day of school. Get your child's school list and go shopping! Allow the child to handle the supplies and then place them in the backpack and by the front door where the child can see it.

2) Ease anxiety by making the unknown seem known. This is a second advantage of touring the school building and classroom with your child. This allows them to have an idea of where to go and what to expect. Meeting the teacher before-hand also allows the child to place a face over that scary, anxiety-laced figure of their imagination. You may want to get a copy of the school handbook and go over the rules the children will be expected to follow so they are well prepared.

After shopping, allow your child to become familiar with the tools he or she will use in the classroom. Help them get excited over what they will have in their classroom and in their desk. Allow them to take a small personal item with them if needed so they can have a taste of home' in the far away land of the classroom. Make sure the item will not get the child teased.

3) Talk it out. What anxieties and fears is your child experiencing? If you talk about it, you can work together to come up with strategies that will ease the child's fears. Sometimes talking about it is all they need, someone to hear and understand their anxiety.

Talk about your own good experiences in school and what it feels like to learn new things. Your child will feel better understood if he or she knows someone else felt that way too. Make up stories together about the first day of school and laugh together as you gear up for this important day that may set the stage for future grades.

4) Read about it. Find and read children's books about going to school or the first day of school. Discuss them with your child and use them as a springboard for discussion. "First Day on a Strange New Planet" by Dan Yaccarino, "I Am Too Absolutely

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