After School Routine Tips to Ease the Transition to Kindergarten

We’re moving into our third week of Kindergarten on Tuesday and while the transition has been fairly easy and exciting we have hit a few bumps in the road. For starters, Kindergarten was my daughter’s first experience with a full-day school. For the last two weeks she has come home practically vibrating with barely contained energy. From 3pm to 6pm, she is all over the place until suddenly and without warning she crashes violently in a sea of raging tears and slamming doors. The smallest things set her off and we were left wondering what happened to our laid back, easy going child?

A consult with her teacher and a quick Google search let us know this was normal for some kids. For starters, we found out that with the craziness of a new curriculum and trying to settle a Kindergarten class meant most days the kids were missing out on recess. That means my five year old was basically sitting for 8 hours a day, then coming home loaded with pent up energy. Secondly, even though she was getting plenty of sleep, the new school day was still a lot for her to get used to which was wearing her out. Although we couldn’t completely control the recess portion of her day, we could make things easier at home for her.  

After School Routine Tips to Ease the Transition to Kindergarten

Burn some energy

We’re fortunate enough to live almost directly across the street from our daughter’s elementary. To help burn energy, we like to walk home from school each day. It gives me the chance to learn all about her day and she gets some of the wiggles out along the way.  I also allow her at least an hour of play after we get home instead of just jumping into the homework. I was surprised to see how much she misses her toys during the day and how much better she feels after getting the chance to just play. 

Hold off on homework

Instead of doing our homework as soon as we walk in the door, we moved homework time to just after dinner. By moving the time we can ensure that she had burnt off some energy, had a full belly to concentrate and it also serves to begin our “wind down” time before bed.

Do something fun

It can be easy to get caught up in the after-school whirlwind. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and then bed time each day. Now, I make a few minutes to just hang out with her doing something fun. Whether it’s painting her nails for the next day of school or letting her help me with dinner, it keeps her from feeling like it’s “on to the next thing” from the time she gets home to the time she goes to bed. 

Make an after school snack

This one seems like a no brainer but finding the appropriate snacks can be just as important as getting the snack itself. We get home at three and eat dinner between five and six. We try to avoid heavy snacks and instead opt for lighter fare to hold her over. A few of our favorites include:

• Yogurt
• String Cheese
• Fruit and Dip
• Crackers and Cheese

Recently we had the chance to try Fisher Nut Exactly snack bites, a combination of roasted nuts and whole grain popcorn, rolled into a bite-sized snack that’s dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter or salted caramel. They come in re-sealable stand up bags for snacking and at only 15-16 calories per snack bite, I can control the portions she receives each day. I also like that the treats contain no artificial preservatives while she just likes the sweet and salty taste.

You can try the new varieties available at Walmart/a retailer near you 9/10-9/13:

• Almond Popcorn Dipped in Milk Chocolate
• Pecan Popcorn Dipped in Salted Caramel
• Peanut Popcorn Dipped in Peanut Butter

Plus, we’re giving away a Fisher Nut Exactly Prize Pack just for our readers! Enter for a chance to win an assortment of the Fisher NUT EXACTLY snack bite varieties and a $50 Walmart Gift Card.

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I received a product and/or compensation in order to share Fisher Nut Exactly products with you. All opinions remain my own.