The first day of kindergarten can often be just as stressful and emotional for the parent as it is for the child — especially for a first or only child.

But as parents prepare for the big day — August 9 in Carroll County — they can find plenty of helpful tips and good advice from the teachers and administrators who’ve been down this road many times before.

Nancy Wilmoth, principal at St. Paul School, said one of the most important things parents can do to ease the transition is to bring the child to the school’s open house. That way students can meet their new teacher and get comfortable with their surroundings. Each school in the Carroll County school system will host an open house from 12 to 6 p.m. on Aug. 5. She said it’s also a good idea to assure your child everything is going to be positive in the new school environment.

“They need to help the children feel good about coming to school, and they need to talk about it in a positive way so they don’t have any reason to fear being left at school the first day,” Wilmoth said. “If the parent can be involved with the school by helping out in the classroom, volunteering to assist, that is also a very positive relationship students and teachers and parents can have working together. Be involved in the PTO and offer to be a grade mother to assist with parties and things like that. Chaperone a field trip. Don’t feel standoffish about it because it is definitely a partnership. We all have to work together to help the child be comfortable coming to school. The more a parent can interact with a teacher, the smoother the transition I think for the child.”

Joi Ogle, a kindergarten teacher at Hillsville Elementary School, helps the transition for her new students and parents by handing out a brochure the first day of school with helpful tips. She said it’s a good idea to let kids ride the bus at least the first couple of days to get them used to that type of transportation. Being consistent and helping children develop good habits are important parts of the first school year, she said.

“Be consistent about how you say good-bye to your child and say them at home and not at school. Be consistent about how your child is transported to and from school,” said Ogle, who was voted Carroll County’s 2010 Teacher of the Year by the Twin County Regional Chamber of Commerce and in The Carroll News’ Gemini Awards. “Do not plan on eating lunch with your child the first two weeks of school because the could cry and want to come home. There is a lot of things parents would not think about that in the eyes of kids, it does upset them. Form good habits. After those first two weeks, I would highly recommend for the parents to come and eat with them.”

Ogle also recommends a book titled “The Kissing Hand” for parents to read to the child on the first day of school.

“It’s about a raccoon scared of going to school,” Ogle said. “The momma kisses the inside of the palm of the little raccoon’s hand and tells him whenever he misses his mom to put the palm to his cheek and the kiss would go to his cheek.”

Carroll County’s Back-to-School Supply List for kindergarten includes nine necessary items (the list can be found in this section) as well as six optional items. Of the optional items, Ogle said antibacterial wipes and tissues are probably the most important for kindergarten students.

“We don’t usually use the antibacterial wipes until the winter months when the flu season begins, but you wouldn’t believe how many we go through,” Ogle said. “We use them to clean our desks, hands and that sort of thing.”

Parents also need to understand that kindergarten has changed dramatically since they were in school. Don’t be surprised to see your child return from school with homework. Ogle said that aspect is probably the most surprising for parents with children entering school for the first time.

“It is not the kindergarten it was when they were in school. The academics of kindergarten now are unreal. That has been the biggest shocker when I go over all the things we will be doing in kindergarten, such as the high-frequency (words) list,” Ogle said. “They are blown away about how difficult kindergarten is now. We send a Kindergram now that has their week of homework. When I was in kindergarten we played. It was nothing like it is now.”

And while that might sound a bit scary at first, it’s actually a great thing as today’s kindergartners are able to take advantage of many new technologies that weren’t available just a few short years ago.

“The kindergarten program in Carroll County is exceptional. The technology we use with the smartboard and air-liners, there’s so many things they are involved in now that parents don’t realize they have access to,” Wilmoth said. “It is just amazing the change in our curriculum. First-time parents will be very surprised with what their child is experiencing and accomplishing as they move on into kindergarten. I think that will be a change for a lot of parents, the higher-order thinking skills they use in kindergarten and the engagement with technology.”