From Nancy Render: As the parent of a preschooler, you are at once both excited an anxious about how things will go at school and about whether your child will separate with ease or experience difficulty when you leave them at school.  I hope I can share with you ways to prepare your child for preschool separation and help put your mind at ease in the knowledge that this very common and normal experience for children and together I know we can work through separation difficulties.

As you work along side other parents and their children, a special camaraderie develops between you and your child, other children, coop parents and the teacher fueled by our shared intent.  This joint venture of parents along with their child, other parents and the teacher carve a high quality preschool experience because we are all committed to the best use of these very important preschool years.

We become companions in our commitment to a shared learning experience for your child and your selves.  Parents work with their child, other children and the teacher and in process, develop skills for interacting effectively with children.  Wholesome growth is experienced when parents develop powers of observation and modeling as they watch the teacher and other parents interact with children.

You can learn through parent education opportunities inherent in the assist parent experience and through organized parent ed programs designed to enhance your parenting skills and address interests and issues regarding child development and family life.  You will learn about patterns of growth and development in children that make certain childhood behaviors more understandable and you will have opportunities to observe, learn about and question all aspects of child behavior.  You are encouraged to discuss your observations, concerns, and questions with the teacher for interpretation and understanding, secure in the  knowledge that this school is a loving, nonjudgmental, nurturing and edifying environment for every student and parent.

Initially, if you feel reluctant or hesitant to handle situations with children that arise on your assist days, know that the role of the teacher is to guide, help, support and encourage parents, equipping them with techniques that work to help children and /or modify behaviors.  I attempt to make myself accessible to coop parents because I’m committed to the dual role of a coop teacher, to teach children as well as parents.

From Nancy Render: Entering school either as a new or returning student can be a very stressful event for children and for their parents.  Anxiety is generally experienced by both the child and the parent as you all prepare to separate from each other, perhaps for the first time.

As my four year old granddaughter, Lily, entered preschool for the first time, my daughter shared her anxiety with me one evening with tears in her eyes and expressed her hope that all would go well for Lily in this new school experience.  Her concerns are surely not unlike your own as you think about leaving your child in a new setting with a somewhat unfamiliar adult, albeit loving and friendly, but still new and completely different from the home setting where you both find the most comfort.

To ease the transition for Lily, we visited her preschool in the Washington D.C. area, and while it was closed for the summer, we peaked in the windows, played on the playground, took lots of photos of interesting things around her new school, (in Lily’s case, rocks, flowers, steps, porches, trees etc.), all in an effort to make the setting of the school more memorable and comfortable for her.  We made a book entitled, “Lily’s New School”, added photos and she dictated a story about what she remembered about the school.  Hopefully, referring to this book throughout the rest of the summer will help both her and her Mom feel bonded to the school and less anxious about leaving each other.

In our next entry, we’ll discuss preparing your child for separation.