Starting school for the first time or returning to school after a long summer break can be exciting, but also stressful for children and families.  To make this transition easier, The Greatest 8™ team developed a set of resources to help parents support their children through this important milestone.  The digital resources, available in both English & Spanish, include anti-anxiety strategies for children, parent tips, and recommended books to read with children in preparation for the first day of school. Recommended books show characters displaying one or more of The Greatest 8™ core skills. Toolkits, including donations of recommended books, were shared with all 70 of the state’s public libraries.  Books have the power to touch the hearts and minds of children, giving them examples of how they might handle similar situations.

Our recommended booklists highlight these four core skills:

Balancing Emotions:  Managing strong emotions is critical to helping children learn how to face challenging situations throughout their lives.  The transition to school can be difficult for many reasons, including separation from parents or caregivers, new experiences, and peer interations.

Self-Perceived Competence:  Having a sense of competence motivates children to be brave and take on new challenges/activities without needing others to make it easier for them.  Starting school presents children with new intellectual, social and emotional challenges to take on.

Coping & Resilience:  Learning to cope and bounce back from challenging situations helps children build resilience. Facing new challenges when starting school means children may face adversity or have to move past setbacks in order to try again.

Diversity Awareness & Respect: Encouraging curiosity and exposing children to different foods, cultures, and activities helps chldren develop respect and appreciation for others.  Going to school means children might encounter unfamiliar experiences.  They may interact with others who are different from them or they can feel different from others.

This project was made possible by generous funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield RI and The Friendship Fund.