WELCOME TO THE NATIVITY SCHOOL PRESCHOOL

On behalf of The Nativity School, I would like to welcome you to our preschool program for the 2023/24 school year. We are privileged to be able to offer your child an excellent preschool program with a strong Montessori Influence while maintaining our Catholic beliefs and values. I am looking forward to getting to know you and your children and having your family join our Nativity School family. It promises to be a great year with a lot of new adventures and learning opportunities.

Preschool offers many benefits. It can be a great place for kids to interact with peers and learn valuable life lessons such as how to share, take turns, and follow rules. It also can prepare them academically for kindergarten and beyond.

But going to preschool does come with some emotions, for both the parent and the child. For a child, entering a new preschool environment filled with unfamiliar teachers and kids can cause both anxiety and excitement. Parents might have mixed emotions about whether their child is ready for preschool.

Here are some tips to help to ease any separation anxiety and make the transition a bit easier on both of you.

Prepare yourself for leaving your child at preschool ~ Children can pick up on nonverbal cues, and will sense your anxiety or uncertainty about the classroom, teacher or decision to leave them at school. Portray a sense of calm and confidence. You are making the right decision. Preschool is a wonderful place for your child to grow, learn and develop new and fulfilling relationships with caretakers and friends outside of the family.

Create a consistent routine ~ Children thrive on routine. They need to know what to expect and what is expected of them. Create a consistent morning ritual – having breakfast and packing their lunch together, preparing for school, choosing their clothes, happily departing home and saying hello to their new teachers and friends before saying goodbye to each other.

Drop-off and pick-up ~ Be sure to be on time for morning drop-off and after school pick-up. When you get your child to school on time, it saves them the uncomfortable feeling of walking into the classroom where all of the other children have started their day and settled in. Being on time to pick up your child is extremely important as it can create anxiety in a child when all of the other mommies are picking up their child and they are still waiting and wondering when, or if, you are going to get there. The best way that a young child can end their school day is to see mom waiting for them with a simile and a hug.

A quick good-bye is best ~ During the first few days of school, you may have stuck around a little longer to help ease your child’s anxieties and help them to feel safe and comfortable in a new environment. Now that they have a few days under their belt, it’s time to give a quick goodbye. Give a loving hug or kiss, assure your child that they’ll have a wonderful time at school and that you will return shortly… and promptly leave. Your child will soon come to accept that that’s how the separation plays out. Sticking around to comfort your child only prolongs the goodbye, making it tougher on everyone involved.

Don’t sneak out ~ Leaving without saying goodbye with hope of avoiding a tearful farewell or a full-on meltdown, only makes the separation worse. You don’t want your child to feel abandoned or tricked. You also want them to know what to expect, including a loving goodbye.

Send along a little love ~ it might help your child to have a transitional object to take to school for comfort. A photo of the family usually works well.

Involve the teacher ~ If your child has trouble separating, talk with your child’s teacher about their reluctance about going to school or their anxiety to leave you. If she knows how your child feels, she’ll be ready to help you with the separation and provide extra comfort. Our teachers have many effective strategies for helping little ones adjust to the goodbye.

It’s reassuring to remember that starting school and being away from a parent is often a tough transition for preschoolers and their parents. Children adjust to the change at their own pace, some needing a little extra time to feel comfortable and excited about their time away. Your patience, reassurance and consistency will help them to make the transition and embrace a rewarding new experience. 

Sincerely,

Cathy Towner

Director of Early Education

(858)756-6763 ext. 116

ctowner@nativitymail.org