Everyone is tardy sometimes. The occasional unexpected rough morning, spilled smoothie, flat tire or forgotten lunch box—these will happen to each of us. It’s when those mornings go from occasional and unexpected to frequent and routine that tardiness becomes… well, a problem. As families of our older preschoolers are starting the kindergarten transition process we wanted to talk to you about arriving to school on time.

Once kindergarten begins, schools begin recording tardy arrivals. We know getting to school by 8AM is especially challenging during this part of the year. Children are up much later with the sunlight, sports activities, and everything else going on with families. And as we all know, a smooth morning starts the night before, with well-rested children.

Even in preschool, late arriving children have missed out on the beginning activities of the day. All their friends are fully engaged in play and in the middle of good conversations. They still have to put their things away and settle in before they can truly join the fun. They’re out of sync with their friends, out of sync with the room. It doesn’t feel good.

We want to encourage parents of our older preschoolers to start practicing getting your kiddos to school by 8 AM. Trying out these on time strategies now will give you important information about what works for your family so that when your kiddos start kindergarten in the fall they will be on time every day. Chronic tardiness in kindergarten and beyond leads to missed opportunities for learning and impacts your child's school success.

We've included links, below, to helpful articles if you'd like some tips to support your family to be on time every day.