First Day at Preschool

Hi, I’m Tim and this is my little dog, Flea.

I can go anywhere with him by my side! We can climb trees, go down the slide backwards, or ride our bikes against the wind. We can even ride a white whale across the sea, carried by the waves.

Glug!

I’m not afraid of anything with him by my side.

That’s why I wished he’d been with me on that dark, terrible, scary first day at preschool!

Mom and Dad had explained everything a hundred times: We would arrive together at the preschool door . . . I’d take off my jacket and put on my blue slippers with the red dragons.

Then they’d kiss me and I’d go into a room full of toys, together with a nice, smiling young lady. After lunch they’d come and take me home. In my mind everything was clear, but my tummy was still upset: I couldn’t stay there alone!

Here was the door to my preschool, blue with white polka dots.

I began to feel knots in my tummy. I couldn’t even hear the voices of my schoolmates playing because my heart was beating so hard.

I took short breaths for those last few seconds I still had with Mom and Dad. Crying and sobbing, I thought, “How can you leave me here? I

want to stay with you!!!”

There was nothing left to do but look for a way out of it!

I could water my feet so they’d grow like tree roots and I wouldn’t move from the door so I’d stay with Mom and Dad!

I could become as small as a button, crawl into Mom’s purse, and go to work with her!

I could build a gigantic bridge with a construction kit and reach Dad’s office with a little running and a quick slide!

I could tie a very long string to my wrist and to my mother’s, click!click! ding! so when I missed her,

I could pull it and she’d return to me!

whoosh ... whoosh ...

whoosh ...

I could make many little paper airplanes and throw them from the window so I’d send my thoughts to Dad and remind him that I was waiting for him!

I thought I could . . .

Become smaller. Grow roots.

Throw paper airplanes.

Build a bridge.

Tie a string to my mom’s wrist.

Do you want to know how it went? In the end, my ideas worked! I felt close to Mom and Dad even when they were far away. I discovered that in preschool there are many more games than in my bedroom! We sing fun songs, we play ring-around-the-rosy, and I have made great friends to go down the slide with. And every time my tummy has knotted a little, the smiling young lady has hugged me so I’m not sad anymore.

Whenarewegoingbackto preschool?

S.O.S. parents

ADVICE FROM THE THERAPIST

The first day at preschool is a delicate and important moment in children’s development. Their daily routine changes radically. Suddenly, their world is new, unknown, and out of control. They have to deal with adults they haven’t met before, with children who want to play with their toys, and with a routine they have never experienced. It is a long way from Mom and Dad’s reassuring presence.

What can we do to make the transition happen in a calm and positive way?

Here are some suggestions.

EXPLAIN:

Children need to have experiences that are clear, consistent, and predictable. A few days before the beginning of preschool, tell your child that when Mom and Dad are at work, they will go to play in a place with many other children like them called preschool. If possible, go to see the school together with your child, letting them see the route you will follow to get there and perhaps the playground where they will play and the door they will go in.

ACCOMPANY:

Like all of us, children need time to get to know new contexts and new points of reference and understand what will happen in their life. Accompany them very patiently and confidently. Stay and play with them, showing them how you interact confidently with the preschool teachers, and spend some time on several mornings enjoying yourself at the nursery school with them! If Mom can do it, so can they!