Reading The Night Before Preschool, The Night Before Kindergarten or The Night Before First Grade is a great way to get your children to open up about their feelings about starting school for the first time or returning to a new grade.

Read the story appropriate to your child and ask him or her:

Are you excited about school? Why?

Are you nervous about school? Why?

Do you think school will be fun? Or scary?

How do you feel about going to a new place?

How do you feel about meeting new kids?

What makes you happy about starting school?

If they’ve already met their teacher, ask them, Do you like your new teacher?

You might also want to role play and have your child pretend he or she is the teacher greeting the new student (you) to their classroom.

Moms, dads, and grandparents: you, too, might need to talk about your feelings to a good friend. It’s a big day to send your child off to school, so make sure you’re dealing with the separation as well.

And when your child gets home from their first day, celebrate it!