Welcomes and Wobblers

Well, today was the Big Day. According to my boss, today is the toughest day of the year. It certainly had it's moments!

Oh God, the homesickness. One little girl couldn't speak she was crying so hard. Another little boy was shaking all over and crying. It would break your heart. </3


But, I was prepared for this sort of thing! Here's how I dealt with it:

1. Emotion labeling. 

I tried to recognise the kids' need to feel these emotions, and not immediately redirect them. So I'd sit/ crouch down beside them and say "I can see you're feeling very sad. The first day of pre-school can be hard, can't it? It can make you feel a bit sad, but that's okay. But this is a really fun place, and you'll be feeling happy soon; what would you like to do?"

2. Redirecting. 

Usually kids in that state won't suddenly stand up and say "Lego", so I found myself making suggestions and drawing their attention to other children and activities in the room. In some cases, this was all that needed to be done, and there were no more tears all day! Yahoo!

3. Ignoring.  

That was a tough one. Sometimes, when there was no getting through to them, I had to step away (just a little bit away) and engage with another child close-by. This would catch the attention of the first child and often they'd wander over and join in. This strategy doesn't always work, and you can tell pretty early on when it's not working and you need to try something else.

4. Helpers. 

Asking the kids to be your 'helpers' can allow them to adapt the role of confident, competent little people who don't feel scared anymore, but who can do Awesome Things, like sweeping and finding the lost toy (hidden in quite an obvious place, natch).

5. Choice. 

This one doesn't usually work if the child has worked themselves up into a state of tears and shivers, but if they're just apprehensive and shy, offering a choice can be perfect. It can give a feeling of "This is a place for me, and I can do what I like to do". If they're Very shy, you could say "How about this?" and give a suggestion, because giving a choice of anything in the room can feel a little overwhelming for some.

Of course, sometimes a kid needs that special person and nothing else will do. No, not Spiderman, but a parent/sibling/favourite carer... And so, once or twice today I had to admit that I was just not cutting it, and ask my boss (who also works in the pre-school room) if she could step in. A lot of the kids already know her (small community) and were comforted pretty quick.

But, I'm proud to say that I became the SAVIOUR (I'm exaggerating) of many children today, and I was able to help them get their groove back and have the craic.

I expect mostly the same reactions from the kids tomorrow. And for the next week. Pre-school is hard when you're new!