Making The Transition From Home To Early Education

Afternoon Pick-ups 101

At morning drop off, you’ve kissed and hugged your young one (so they know you’ve gone, it’s super important) and promised you’ll be back to get them at pick up time. So don’t bloody well be late! Obviously, emergencies will happen, but if you can get there with plenty of time to spare you’ll come up roses each time. My child knows when I’ve only just made it, I get the stink eye coupled with ‘Why were you last in the door?’ oh yes, nothing gets missed.

You would think then because he was so eagerly waiting to see me, that he would also be bursting with stories of his exciting day. Bar a small amount of ‘good’, ‘fun’, ‘motorbike’ information, this was not the case. After the initial celebration of our reunion, I have learnt to follow the protocol of minimal chatting whilst he relaxes in the car on the way home. My Spanish inquisition regarding his day of kindy activities just has to wait until he’s ready. It’s like he has to totally unwind from his hard day of work before he’s ready for discussion!

Lucky the teachers take lots of notes and photos during the day for us parents!

Find Your Happy Place

Going for a visit to your chosen Daycare or Kindy and meeting the staff the year before starting there for a few plays can help dramatically improve your chances for an easy transition. Talking about those visits and the great things there are to do there keeps the memory fresh so that when you venture back it’s not such a new and different place.

When we discussed such visits, my buddy would ask ‘So you’ll stay too?’ and each time I replied honestly and simply ‘No, you get to stay with all the other kids and play, you’re teachers will look after you and I will be back to pick you up’ Every single time. After about seven exact same discussions were had, the idea was no longer foreign and was not the worst thing in the world to be heading towards.

Not A Perfect Score

Obviously, I did something right, having had our very cautious and always close-by little man transition from home to pre-prep so easily, but that’s not to say we didn’t have our hard days. We’ve had the kleenex moments.

Babies and children have a pre-frontal lobe that picks up on the surrounding emotional atmosphere in about 20 seconds and on the days when I felt stressed (too rushed) or sad and worried, I can see the little guys both had a difficult time.

Sometimes it can just be that they are tired or feeling unwell too. Whatever the reason, don’t worry if your child has off-days, it happens to all of them just the way it happens to us big kids too.

Tough Times

Goodness knows I wish myself luck every morning and give myself a mental pat on the back of a night time if we’ve made it through a school routine day relatively calmly and emotionally unscathed. I know how lucky I am to have those days.

It’s important that I add a big hug to the parents who’s little people have a really hard time each daycare or kindy drop-off.  Your trust and support will enable kids to find ways in ironing out the transition from home to early education without the anxiety.

If your little person is one who doesn’t do well at separation time, whether or not they’ve been at home full-time or in daycare in the past, won’t make any difference. It’s a developmental stage that will be overcome eventually. Have patience with them and have confidence in yourself that you can handle it. This too shall pass.

How did you help your kids’ transition to daycare or kindy?