By Renee Hennessy, Preschool Director

The first days of Preschool are exciting for many reasons: we’re meeting new families, seeing our “old” friends, and starting a new year together. We’re building new communities in our classrooms and developing new friendships, and very soon the tears at drop-off will fade away. (I promise.) Children need time to feel comfortable in new situations. Fortunately, our Preschool faculty are quite adept at helping children transition into the classroom. Sometimes, though, we do see a few tears. This is normal, as it often takes children several weeks to fully adjust to a new routine and often the second week is the hardest. Parents can help ease the transition by establishing a morning routine that is relaxed and unhurried. Allow enough time to arrive before 9:00 a.m., and if at all possible, use our carpool drop-off system. For most of our families, we have found that the carpool routine makes for the smoothest goodbyes. Before separating, calmly remind your child that you will be back (after lunch, after rest time, etc.). Before too long, the transition from home to school and back again will become natural, and your child will have learned that greetings and goodbyes are a predictable part of the daily routine. 

Did you notice the beautiful sunflowers on our playground? This past spring, Preschool parent Hallie Moser (Gus’ mom), planted sunflower and zinnia seeds for us. She spent many summer afternoons weeding and watering our playground garden. Thank you, Hallie, for sharing your green thumb with us so our friends could return to school and see a lovely sunflower surprise.

We want to thank Jacquelyn Stack (Barrett’s mom) and Renee Reithel (Malakai’s mom), our wonderful Preschool PA reps, for providing refreshments, bubbles, and Wyvern tattoos at the Back-to-School picnic on Saturday.

Sunny days are here …
We recommend applying sunscreen to your child before arriving to Preschool in the morning. A good covering of bug spray (daily) is also advised. We spend quite a bit of time exploring and playing outdoors!