Transitions are something that I’ve always had to help my boy with. The thing is, he always seems fine, the difficulties with transitions manifest elsewhere. This is something that I can now recognize and help with, but that wasn’t always the case.

One thing I have learned to do with him is talk…about everything. Small or big, talking helps.

He doesn’t always have an answer, or can’t quite articulate his feelings, but the more questions I ask, the more I get out of him. The more I get out of him, the better I can listen and help. So, as he goes off to Kindergarten, I know he is nervous and scared. My smart, outgoing, social, loving boy gets anxious.

Here are some ‘feeling’ questions that I’ll be asking my rising Kindergartener.

1. How are you feeling about making new friends?
2. How are you feeling about meeting a new teacher?
3. What do you think about eating lunch at school?
4. How are you feeling about playing on a new playground?
5. When you think about learning something new, how do you feel?
6. How are you feeling about playing in a new classroom?
7. How are feeling about a being in a new school building?
8. How are you feeling about mommy dropping you off at school?
9. How are you feeling about talking in class?
10. How do you feel about reading new books?

You might be feeling like some of these questions are putting ideas for anxieties in your child’s head that they might not be otherwise concerned with. If that is the case, ask very simple questions about something you are worried that they might be fearing.

Include some questions that might highlight some of the things that your child is excited about, so that all of Kindergarten isn’t daunting. And remember, what might be anxiety-provoking for some kids, won’t be for others. But, we can’t always assume that we know how they are feeling, ask the questions, you just might be surprised by the answers.