Nursery Novice No More

I'm THRILLED to report to you that Olive is a nursery novice NO MORE!  

She has grown to love her teaches, her classroom and her little friends.  She no longer cries at drop off, reaches for her teachers and has so much fun when she's there.

These results took WEEKS of hard work and tears so I thought I'd share what we learned for getting kids acclimated to the nursery.

1. Be consistent and don't give up.  Drop off, don't linger, blow kisses and pick up in a timely manner.  Olive would get a bit weepy when other kids started getting picked up so we try to be prompt.  It'll be hard to leave your screaming child, but they really do settle down eventually.  It took us about a month of crying at drop off and fit throwing before she settled into her new class.

2. Pack a bag with everything your child might need - paci, blanket, diapers, change of clothes, snack, sippy and a favorite stuffed animal.  We saw a big difference in her comfort level when we started letting her take her special Bunny.  She took it for about 2 weeks, would carry the bunny around with her in the nursery and once she felt comfortable she no longer needed it.  Also dress your child in clothes that are easy to play in.  Olive's class plays outside on the playground so I always dress her in clothes that will be right for the weather and easy to run around in.

3. Thank the teachers for helping your child acclimate and let them know your goal is to keep her in her classroom to play and make friends.  Olive learned early on that if she had a meltdown, someone would take her on a stroller ride.  It was fine at first, but they buckled down and made her stay in the room.  Now she smiles and waves when she sees her teachers.  They dote on her and it's so sweet to see them together.

4. Talk to the teachers - see how things went and listen to what went well.  We were lucky to have such sweet teachers who were willing to help Olive with this transition.  They figured out that Olive didn't want to be with the babies (crawlers -17months) and moved her up to the 17-24month room.  She was SO much happier!  She loved the toys, the bigger kids and it was a big game changer.  I would have never thought to ask to move her up so I am very thankful that they came up with this idea.

5. Ooohhhh and ahhhhh over special crafts and things that your child makes in their class.  Let your kiddo show you around their class.  Olive always wants to show me the toys she's played with.

5. Give big hugs and talk about their time in nursery.  Olive usually has lots to say (aka babble) about her morning with friends.

Thank you for all of your advice/encouragement over the last several weeks.  It was rough on all of us so we are so thankful that we've all adjusted to life at our new church.  If you are in the midst of nursery/daycare drop off drama, I feel your pain.  Keep being consistent and I promise that it will get better.

We got out of the car to go to Bible Study yesterday.  The clouds were beautiful, there was a chill in the air and the sun was shining!  It was the perfect start to our day!!