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🌱 First Day Feelings: Easing Worries and Building Excitement
Hello Sproutly Families,
The first day of school is a big deal—for both children and parents. It’s a day packed with emotions: excitement, curiosity, pride… and sometimes, worry or fear.
As a family therapist, I often remind parents that these feelings are completely normal. The unknowns of a new school year—new teachers, new friends, new routines—can feel overwhelming for kids, even if they seem eager. Our role isn’t to erase their worries but to help them hold those feelings while making room for excitement, too.
When children learn that it’s okay to feel both nervous and hopeful, they develop emotional flexibility—a skill that will help them in every transition life brings.
In this newsletter, you will get....
Parenting Tips
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Helping Kids Balance First Day Nerves & Joy
Normalize Their Feelings
Say things like, “Lots of kids feel nervous before the first day. It means your body is getting ready for something new.”Share Your Own Memories
Tell a story from your first day—something funny, surprising, or reassuring.Focus on the Fun
Help them look forward to one small, positive thing: meeting a new classmate, using their favorite lunchbox, or exploring the playground.Create a Comfort Plan
If they get worried at school, what can they do? (e.g., take deep breaths, think of home, talk to a teacher.)
Activities of the Week
Photo by CDC on Pexels
First Day Feelings Map
A playful way to help children name and understand their emotions before school starts.
You’ll Need:
Paper & crayons or markers
A large outline of a face or body
How to Play:
Ask your child to draw or color where in their body they feel excitement (e.g., butterflies in their tummy, a smile on their face).
Then draw where they feel worry.
Talk about both feelings and what each is telling them.
Worry-to-Wonder Flip
Teach kids to turn a worry into a “wonder” question.
Worry: “What if I don’t know anyone?”
Wonder: “I wonder who I might meet today?”
This simple shift keeps curiosity alive, which helps calm anxiety.
The first day of school is a practice in courage. It asks children to step into the unknown, balancing the butterflies in their stomach with the spark in their heart. Both are valuable—nerves remind them they’re stretching, excitement reminds them they’re ready.
As parents, your calm presence and gentle encouragement are the anchor they’ll carry into that classroom. You don’t have to remove their worries; you just have to stand with them in those feelings until they see for themselves: I can do this.
Warm regards,
Millie & Melissa
The Sproutly Team
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