Soapy Fun

Something fun and simple for outside? Paint rollers and very soapy water! Bubble solution works even better!

What Made the 2's Happy

I've been meaning to put this post together since Thursday, after our second day with the 2's class. Life has been very busy, wrapping up week one of school PLUS sending our son off to college. Whew!

So, on Tuesday, the 2's first day, most of them cried almost the entire morning. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this was the first time that's happened in my 12 plus years of teaching. I thought I was prepared for any type of back to school, but apparently not!

So, my co-teachers and I wondered how their second day would be. Someone suggested they'd probably walk in with smiles. My co-teacher and I were pretty confident that would not happen. And we were right. All but 3 of the 10 children cried. One was lying on the floor. We brought the Pre-K teacher over to play her guitar. No go. I could see mamas peeking through the small window in the door. Oh dear.

So, we opened the door and took them outside. We had also done this on Tuesday, but perhaps it would have better results on this day. Slowly, one by one, the crying started to subside. And then.....silence. No tears! We had a birthday to celebrate, and that child was having the hardest time. I remembered her mama telling me she loved to be a princess. So I asked her if she wanted to wear the princess crown. She looked up at me. I saw a small curl on her lips suggesting a smile. I got the crown, placed it on her head. Ta-da!!!! Smiles! And then, smiles from all the others! We ended the morning singing, laughing and dancing with scarves. The parents were outside the door, ready for departures, expecting to see tears, I'm sure. I could see their smiles as they peeked through the window. We were ALL smiling!

Some things that made the 2's smile:

Painting a teacher's hands, and then their own hands. 

Little umbrellas. To poke in play dough. To carry around.

Books.

Sand. Little animals in the sand. A party for the animals!

Dancing with scarves. And watching Teacher put them on her head. And then everyone tried it.

And, of course, celebrating birthdays.

First Day with the 2's

This is the first year none of my parents mentioned possible separation issues at open house. Perhaps I was a bit over-confident, also, because most of these children were younger siblings and had watched their older sibs go to preschool for one or two years. They always wanted to come into the classroom and join us and today was finally their time! 

All it took was for one child to start crying after she was dropped  off. That started a chain reaction and soon almost every child was crying. I tried all my old solutions: books, dancing, instruments! Nope. Then I remembered one thing that worked every time: my Five Little Monkeys prop. The children have always enjoyed pulling the monkeys off the bed one-by-one. A sure cure for any separation issues. Well, nope, not this year! We opened the doors and let some go outside. Sand? Water? Ah....bubbles! Bubbles always soothe tears! Nope. Fortunately, we had an extra teacher on duty who came over to help. Three teachers, 9 children. We doled out hugs and love and soothing voices. A few times all was quiet. And we started to see some smiles! And laughter! Then one would start crying, and that would trigger the chain reaction all over again. Quite humbling to a teacher who's done many back-to-schools! But I did manage to capture glimpses of happy moments. I tucked them in my heart.

Some of you have asked for tips on the first day with 2's. My biggest advice is to keep it simple, with as little transitions as possible. Be prepared to tweak your schedule to fit their needs. They want to feel safe, secure and loved. Good luck to all of you who are also just starting out your year with 2's! I'm hoping Thursday will have less tears!

Open House

School starts next week! The few weeks I get between summer camp ending and the school year starting is filled with family outings and lots of back-to-school prep work. Yesterday was our open house. My 2's met from 9:30 - 10:30 and my 3's met from 11:00 to noon. I love this event because it gets everyone together before the first day. We have moms, dads (some took an hour from the office to jet over for the visit), grandparents, some siblings. I really think this helps ease the jitters that can come with the first day of school. I love hearing the parents introduce themselves to other parents. Children getting to know other children. 


With my 2's, we actually all gather for about 15 minutes, informally, so I can go over some information and hand out paperwork. Afterwards, they can roam inside and outside and play while the parents watch and chat with other parents.


With my 3's, we wait for the meeting and paperwork until we have a separate parent night (tomorrow night). We have a lot more to discuss with our 3's parents that we feel deserves its own time, separate from the open house (and for parents only).


It's hard to believe a new school year will start soon! Until then, no one can see the top of my dining room table. So much to do before that first day!