We spent the week preparing for Kate's transition to childcare. The school had "open house" days that lasted two hours each day in which the classroom was open for her to come visit. It went something like this:
Clutching, clawing, and grabbing at Mom. Burying head in my armpit. Avoiding all eye contact. No vocalizations. (20 minutes)
Holding tightly to Mom, sitting on her lap, facing out (10 minutes).
Sitting next to Mom, avoiding eye contact with others, but playing with toys. Eye contact puts us back at the previous step. (10 minutes)
Allowing a teacher to sit in proximity and talk about play, but no eye contact. (5 minutes)
Interacting with the teacher only if the teacher a) does not demand eye contact or physical contact, and b) if the teacher does not demand answers to questions. (Rest of visit)
By the last day she would wander around the classroom (avoiding other children) and allow the teacher to play with her. She still got really squirreley about it and made me feel as though come her first day I will be bawling in the car on the way home.
2 comments:
I cried on Eleanor's first day of day care, but it got better :)
Sounds intensely painfull, but looks like a really cute school!
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