Transiting to a new childcare centre.

BabyOOPS had always enjoyed his time in his childcare centre. The centre is about 10 minutes drive away, conducive environment and facilities and really great teachers. I would have to be honest - there's nothing much to complain about the school.

We had no plans to change the childcare, except when a new and reputable childcare centre opens at our estate which is of walking distance to us. The convenience of having it nearby and not needing to drive him to and fro is just too alluring. This convenience will be even more important when MeiMeiOOPS also starts attending school. It also seems like a right time when we confirmed a place in the school. So, with a heavy heart and multiple mixed feelings, we started to prepare BabyOOPS to say goodbye to a familiar ground and people.

Even though it's only slightly less than a year, he had build strong attachments with some of the teachers in school. He also often talks about his friends in school in our conversations about children matters.

So in this post, I will be sharing what we did to help him transit to his new childcare centre. But of course these are going to be the same steps which I'm using with Meimeioops when she go her centre this year!

Familiarizing him with the physical environment

We will bring him to the childcare premise during evening walks and introduce him to the school premise and surrounding facilities.

Preparing him mentally for the change that's about to happen

Children thrives on predictability. It enables them to know what to expect so that they can organize their behaviors. Major changes like change in schools throws them off tangent into a completely new environment. Knowing that, we started talking to him about going to a new school and he will no longer see the teachers and friends in his old school. It's interesting to hear the questions he asked and how he's trying to comprehend the situation.

"Are you excited about the new school?

"Yes (excited tone)"

"Me too. Yay!"

"New school has Teacher R?

"No"

"New school has K?"

"No"

"New school has C?"

"No"

and it goes on with him asking me if new school has each and every single one of his friend. After clarifying that they are all not going to be in the new school, he started to ask who will be there. I talked about new teachers and friends and I started to see this side of him, something like having butterflies in the tummy and looks of uncertainty. He even asked if he can stay on in the new school.

Allowing him to share his feelings of discomfort and sadness

Shortly after changing to the new school, BabyOOPS didn't comment much or talk about his old school. Although my parents told me to stop reminding him about the old school, we decided to do the opposite. We would still intentionally talk to BabyOOPS about his old school, showed him videos of the performances he did at his old school and even sing the old school's school song with him. There was once he suddenly had these tears lingering at his eyes but yet he did not break down. He just stayed silent and insisted on rewatching those videos again and again. We told him that he is experiencing this feeling called "sad" and it's because he miss his teachers and friends. At that developmental age, he was still not speaking in short sentences. But it's an opportunity to let him experience and identify the feelings.

Allowing him to bring a transition object / security blanket

Just hitting 3 years old, BabyOOPS got scared about going into a totally new environment without any of us. To make matters worse, we made the change with all the Covid-19 restrictions in place. We were unable to go into school and stay with him for the first few days in school. The boy requested to bring his blanket to school. We later on found out that he never used it in school but would always want it in his bag.

Having more conversations about school on a daily basis

For the first one month, I have almost daily conversations with him about school. He wasn't able to tell me his thoughts and feelings using very complex words and sentences but that doesn't stop me from talking about it. We also learnt the new "Good morning" songs that his teachers had been singing to him so that we can sing it to him every morning. We started this whole process of memorizing all his classmates and teachers names and talking about them with him so as to help him draw connections to his experiences in school. He continues to complains about the new school but we observe that overtime the complains reduced.

It took BabyOOPS about 3 months to fully adjust into his new preschool but I'm glad he is enjoying school again.

To all parents who are struggling whether to change school or not, I urge you to consider the following points.

1. Is this change going to allow the child to stay in the new school for at least the next 2 years?
2. Is this change going to help your family's finances significantly? (If finances is an issue at home)
3. Is this change going to benefit the child holistically?
4. Is this change really necessary?

If you answered Yes to all 4 questions, then don't hesitate to make the change. 

Cheers,

Mrs OOPS