Starting at a new school is a big adventure - for kids and parents alike.

Children all over the country are returning to school this week. While for many it's a chance to catch up with friends who they may not have seen for weeks, compare escapades and have breathless, 'OMG-did-you-see-that-movie' conversations, some are nervously embarking on a big adventure.

Somewhere around 270,000 children will be putting on their new uniforms, wide-brimmed hats and shiny shoes for the first time. They'll be carrying oversized bags packed with unbroken pencils and lunchboxes as yet unsoiled by squished fruit.

Parents and carers will gaze at them fondly, perhaps a little tearily, thinking that they look so grown-up and yet so young. They'll say that it seems like only yesterday that this little person was just a babe-in-arms, completely dependent on their parents - and now look at them, all ready for big school!

Little ones who are used to having a daytime nap will have to get through excited, action-packed days without a kip; they'll return to their waiting parents wilted but full of stories about their new friends.

And then there are the kids starting high school.

I'm not there yet, but to be honest I'm already a little nervous about that day, which will come next year. Katie is full of questions about the next stage in her education, which is why her Christmas parcel this year included a book on surviving high school. It immediately went to the top of her reading pile. She'll be moving from a smallish public school to one of the largest high schools in the country, so I'm sure there'll be quite an adjustment period ahead for all of us.

Both my girls started school without any major tears, although we all had swarms of butterflies in our stomachs. They settled in nicely to their classrooms and I left the school feeling pretty good. What I didn't realise at the time was that it was not only the children starting a big adventure, but that I too would meet new friends, do homework and occasionally scrape a knee - and learn many important lessons along the way

Whether or not your circumstances allow you to get heavily involved in the school community or PandC, your children's relationships will expose you to a new group of people with all the good and bad that goes along with that. Sometimes it can feel a little like you're back at school yourself, with all the 'do-you-think-they-like-me?' anxiety that comes with that, but mostly it's a great opportunity to connect with a new community.

So, good luck! If you've got a child starting at a new school of any sort this week, or if yours is returning to the scene of last year's educational trials and triumphs, I hope they don't get the scary teacher or find themselves seated next to their worst enemy. May they make lots of friends to run around with at recess, and secure a prime position in the playground for lunch.

This week on Web Child we have some great lunchbox ideas in Family Feeds to help you get the school year off to a delicious start. In Tech Talk, we're reviewing educational software to support your child's learning at all ages. And next week, the February back-to-school issue of your local Child magazine will hit the streets packed with features including an examination of the information included in school reports and an article discussing the physiological, behavioural and cognitive changes that coincide with the beginning of primary school.

How did your child's first day at school go? How did you handle it, and do you feel their education has changed you? Share your stories in the comments below.

Alison Sainsbury
Web Editor