Here's some helpful tips to help you and your kids get ready for the first day of school.

1.Talk about the daily schedule and what a typical school day may be like. Let your child know what time school starts and what time school ends. Talk about the length of the bus ride (if there is one) and how long and what time lunch is.

2.Engage your child in a conversation about their feelings in regards to going back to school. Get a sense of what is going on emotionally with this big event.

3.Take a field trip to the school to check out the classroom and meet your students new teacher. This will help releive some anxiety and jitters.

4. Make sure you point out the up sides of starting school, meeting new friends, learning new things, and discovering new territories.

5. Everybody (including the teacher) is nervous about the first day of school? Do you remember that feeling? It's all normal.

6. Sneak a note in with your child's lunch to let them know you are thinking about them. It could even be a ticket for a ride home from school, a coupon for an ice cream, or an appointment togo to the park.

7. Let your student know you've got their back! If any problems arise at school, you'll be right there when asked!

8. Use the buddy system! Try to connect with a friend from the same grade before school starts so there will already be a friend on the first day!

9. Use the buddy system to find some neighborhood kids to walk or ride to school with.

10. Learn about after school activities that may be of interest to your student and try to get them involved in an activity with other students.

11. Take the time after school to talk about the day. Great conversation starters include, "I talked to my friend Jenny today, who did you talk too?" Or "I got stuck in line at the grocery store today for 10 minutes,what do you do when you're in line?"

12. Take a stroll to your neighborhood toy store to decompress after a day at school! At www.durangotoydepot you just might get pranked when you walk in the door! Laugh a little....