Preschool Family
It takes a while to build community. At the beginning of the year 10 children arrive and many of them do not know each other and many of them have never been in care outside their families home. Building friendships takes work and intentionality. Think about your friendships as an adult. There may be the rare time you walk in the room and click with someone and immediately all of your days are filled with texts, phone calls and coffee dates but most likely what happens is you run into them a few times over the course of a season and figure out you have a lot in common and get closer. That is what happens in preschool too.
As a parent the first few weeks of school it’s hard to watch your child be in pictures and you can tell they’re not engaged with other children. Your heart breaks and you just want to fix it for them. ( Believe me when I tell you this does not end at any point in their life- it goes on forever )
With the right atmosphere that promotes safety- With the right classroom structures that build community- children start to build friendships
This takes time.
This also takes parents that are supportive and looking at their child every day and smiling and saying you’re gonna be OK -go make friends-
This morning when these three girls showed up in costumes together I almost cried
Each of these three girls have struggled since the beginning of the year trying to find a friend circle. I’ve done activities to place them together. I’ve read stories. I’ve encouraged. Finally today on their own it happened. ❤️❤️❤️
Since the beginning of school when we do our “I love you ritual” during family time Lucy has chosen me every week because I am her safe spot . Today Lucy chose someone else. I was sad and happy at the same time. Growth. I knew we would get there. Lucy has been my shadow for almost two months. Today !!! Today she did not cling to me one time. Today she played everywhere without thought to where I was.
Teamwork! Lucy’s grandma played the game at home where she would walk out of the room and pretend to be me and come back. Finding a way to reassure Lucy that I would always come back. ❤️❤️ When I learned this it made my heart swell. Instead of thinking something must be wrong she worked to help Lucy make sense of this new environment. Much love to granny P.
Sure, we can learn the ABC’s and all of the letters and all of the kindergarten skills but this is the important stuff. These are the things that matter. Being able to make friends and build community is paramount to success in life.
It was a good day.