Adjusting to school

For both parents and children, separating can be a difficult adjustment. During the first few weeks it is not unusual for separation anxiety to occur.  We offer the following suggestions to help ease your child into school:

Talk to your child about school

Discuss what activities they may do (paint, snack, playground, special games, etc.) or friends they may see.  For older children, ask what they think they might do or see. Address feelings and reassure your children) that every day they will come home and share the wonderful things they did at school with you.

Visit the school

Each Fall we have an Open House the day before classes begin. Families are welcome to come with their child(ren) to meet teachers and see the classrooms. For those families arriving during the course of the school year, a preview visit will be arranged between the family, the Program Director, the classroom teacher and any therapist your child may work with.

Home-School Communication

We value communication between the home and school. We would like to be able to communicate with you regarding your child's progress in the classroom. This way you can reinforce at home what your child learns in school, by talking and sharing stories on the same topics. Likewise, it would be helpful for us to know if there are any changes in the home situation. 

Upon your child's entry into the Preschool, classroom teachers will provide you with their contact information (i.e. classroom phone number, email etc.). Please feel free to be in touch with your child's teacher on a regular basis but understand that they may not respond to an email until after your children leave and the teachers finish their other work. We usually can respond to emails within 24 hours.

Preschool Policies

Toilet Training Policy

For children who are not toilet trained upon entering the Lincoln Preschool we utilize a variety of techniques based on what fits the child's need, from verbal praise to social stories, books, sequencing pictures, charts, stickers, etc.  Each child, as an individual, has his or her own learning pace, which we respect.

Discipline/Conflict Resolution

Children need help learning what is acceptable behavior and how to express their feelings appropriately. One of our jobs is to set limits and help the children work within these limits.

We focus on a positive approach. This involves anticipating behaviors, emphasizing what children can do (versus emphasizing what is not allowed) and providing a lot of praise throughout the day for positive behaviors.

Some of the strategies we utilize in our classrooms are:

*   Help the child(ren) work through the issues (identify actions/ causes where possible/ feelings/ alternatives).

*   Use social stories, pictures, charts, books on related situations or feelings, and the use of art or writing for expression of their feelings.