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(MY E-MAIL FOR SHARING YOUR IDEAS: stormie@preschoolbystormie.com)

 OPEN HOUSE, ORIENTATION, & EASING PARENT-CHILD SEPARATIONS

From a Pre-K teacher in Southern California who has taught and/or been a Director for 20 years:
Open House: Stormie, one idea that my center used for Open House is to let the parents be kids for the evening.  The centers were set up just as they would be for the kids.  The teachers actually did a lesson with the parents who pretended to be their children.  What a blast!!!  It really gave the parents the real scoop on what their kids did during the day.  We've also made videos or picture collages of the kids in action during the day to present at Open House.

New Teacher Idea: If you're a new teacher looking for a way to break the ice with a new group of kids, you might want to try what Shelley Erickson, from Kansas did: "I sat at a desk real close to the children and left a magnet on the top of the desk.  While talking about something, I moved another magnet underneath the desk.  When the children saw the magnet atop the desk move, they all got up and ran over to me.  It was lots of fun."

Orientation Home Visit Magic Bag: From "Seek": Dear Stormie: My preschool requires that we do a home visit for each child before school starts.  My goal is to make this visit a child centered, bonding experience.  I take a large bookbag (called the Magic Bag) filled with materials that will be in the classroom on the first day of school.  (A geoboard, a sorting activity, a bean transferring activity, etc...).  I also include markers and paper, so that there is child created art on the walls from the very beginning and each child has participated in making the room feel like their own.  This practice has eliminated tearful first days, raising the children's comfort level by having things around them they are familliar with.  While I am spending time with their child, I give each parent a booklet filled with information about the classroom.  I include pages on my philosophy on process oriented art and learning through play, my Show 'n Tell activity, descriptions of each Center and it's learning objectives, and a questionnaire to be filled out with their child for a class book to be taken home by all the children.  This takes some time to prepare, but the rewards are well worth it.  The children benefit from the visit and the parents feel like they have some real information about what their child will be "learning."

Orientation Home Visit Photographs: From Ann Rand, in St. Louis, Missouri: I do a Home Visit with each child before school starts.  I take my camera and spend 10 to 15 minutes with the child in his/her room, playing whatever they want to.  I take a picture of the child, telling them it will be at school when they arrive.  I put the pictures of all the children on a bulletin board outside my door.  The children LOVE to look for their own picture and the parents ADORE it as well.  I can then change the bulletin board seasonally, keeping the children's pictures.  The pictures are on fall leaves, ornaments of the Christmas tree, on snowflakes, hearts, etc., depending on the season.  Interest in the pictures is kept alive and it also helps parents identify other children in the classroom when their child refers to a name.  The pictures go home at the end of the year along with a picture taken in May, side by side, to see the change.

Separating From Parents: From Susan Wray, Library Storytime Leader, Dyersburg, Tennessee:
Take a pinwheel and bubbles to school.  A child cannot cry while blowing!  I use it to distract my 5-yr-old granddaughter.  I make her blow my bangs away, try to blow me off my chair, blow me backwards, etc.  Of course, I have to try very hard to stay where I am, and I get off-balance with all that strong wind coming at me!  Soon she stops crying and ends up laughing
hysterically, forgetting about any booboo or disappointment.

From Melissa Hull Pulaski, New York:
Separation Anxiety Ideas:
1. Take the child by the hand and lead him/her around the classroom while explaining all the fun things you're going to do that day.
2. Post an age-appropriate schedule and show it to the child.  S/he soon learns that once we reach that last activity, it's time to go home.
3. Post a photo of a family member where the child can always see it or go to it to feel secure.

From Chris Sloan, preschool teacher at the US Army Part Day Preschool on Robinson Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany.
Stormie, We suggest to our moms whose child suffers from separation anxiety that they and their child create a "Mommy Book":  Mom and child pick out a picture of Mommy for one page, plant lipstick kisses on the second, and write a letter to the child on a third.  By giving input, the child sees the book as more meaningful.  Kids can keep Mommy everywhere with them in the preschool.  The kids really enjoy the process and the end result!

From Julaine:
Stormie, my day care children loved the book "The Kissing Hand" and wanted to kiss each others' hands to show they loved each other.  This led to my coming up with a great idea for beginning-of-the-year parent/child separation anxiety: Trace the child's hand on construction paper and cut it out, placing a small red heart shape sticker in the palm of the hand.  Before the parent leaves, they kiss the paper hand and place it in the child's cubby.  Then, when the child has a rough time, they can pull out their kissing hand and curl up with the book.  A picture of mom and/or dad can be substituted for the heart sticker.
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Reminder from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards."  Click here to check them out.