We have recently had a big switch in our household as some readers may know. My daughter and I moved to a new city and with this new city comes a new change in school for my girl. When I knew that we were going to make this switch, I made it a point to keep an open communication about it. We would talk about things like what her fears and worries were. What she was excited for and how I could help her within her first weeks to get settled into a new routine.This new school isn’t new people per say. It is a sister synod school that my daughter shared playing basketball on the school team with. Her current school wasn’t big enough to have a basketball team of their own, so the new school allowed those kids to be a part of it. During her time at basketball, she developed relationships with these new girls so it wasn’t necessarily a fear of mine on whether or not she was going to be able to make friends, because she already had. My concerns were things like every day routine and if she would be too far ahead or behind in subjects. The classroom size was about the same.
In the tour, Daniella’s eyes got big when she discovered that they have a library that she can check books out in and that she was very well received by the teacher. Miss. V and Mr. P were so kind about everything. Prior to her arriving for her first day (about a month out) I received the newsletter, all of the actions items that I need to do at home, and just general things about upcoming activities ,etc. It was very nice to be included so early on. In this transfer, I had made the decision that I would not transfer her until after the New Year since she would have a nice Christmas break between schools. I had expressed to both Miss V. and Mr.P my concerns and they well reciprocated on the ending of the first day of school and the first week on the things that she will need improvement on and what actions we can all take to help her improve. The first day was nerve racking. We didn’t know where her lunch should go to get to the fridge, where to hang her things, or what she should be prepared for. There was no way that I was going to tell Daniella that I was more nervous than she was. With a few tears shed in the end, she was happy because she had an AWESOME first day! All the kids were so receptive to having a “new girl” and she even said that learning from Miss.V was a little easier than Mrs.T. In counseling her on why that may be, she let me know that it doesn’t feel so stressful and it is fun. Communication is key to everything in life. Daniella and I have open communication about everything and we learn from each other. I let her know that she is doing so well and seeing her papers every day when she comes home is great because I can help her each day if she needs it and not wait until a Thursday folder comes home. There are a few things that I have learned both from the school and from Daniella in this transfer. Communicate and come up with a plan of action. Relieving my child’s fears before the first day and prepping her was one of the best experiences and things that I could do for her. It made the transition more seamless than I expected. I can tell that she is happier, not so stressed and enjoys learning. I want that for her and I want to be able to commit that time to her for my availability to be there. Creating a child’s success starts with the parent. I can only help her so much, yes because a teacher is a teacher for a reason BUT at home, we talk consistently about math, we are reading everything, and she is telling me about science and I explain further. Learning in the developmental years is an ongoing partnership between the child, the teacher and the parent. I love learning and I love learning from her.
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