Arrival and Dismissal – There are lots of different ways to come and go. Infants, Babies, and Young Toddlers should be brought to classrooms and handed off from parent to teacher. Older children may all come at once on a bus or arrive in a car circle or may be walked to school from home. Some programs take the children in individually as they arrive, others have the children wait until all have arrived and go to their classrooms together.  Make sure Staging is complete before Arrival so all staff persons are present and ready to assist with this procedure.

There MUST be a “hand-off” procedure in which parent or adult care giver places each child in the hands (or under the supervision) of a staff member.  There should be a daily sign-in and sign-out procedure at this time.  Arrival/Dismissal take time but should run smoothly with the environment staged before Arrival and cleaned after Dismissal.

The responsibilities for these processes belong to teaching and administrative staff and parents.  If a walk-in system is used, the classroom should be ready for use as each child arrives.  Most walk-in system users offer children a time of quiet table or floor play until all community members have arrived.  A walk-in system must be used for Infants, Babies, and Toddlers. 

If a car circle or vehicle transport system is used, it should be done in a way that children are immediately occupied with learning materials or activities while waiting for their classmates to arrive, or it should be done so that children go immediately from cars to a playground or play area, or are escorted to their classrooms by teaching or administrative staff.  If there is a waiting time, teachers must use it to play games, have conversations, read books, or otherwise occupy the children

Send ‘Em Home Alive – THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PHYSICAL SAFETY OF THE CHILDREN IN OUR CARE!!!!! Any Arrival/Dismissal system used must be created and carried out strictly for the purpose of safe delivery of the children, not for the convenience of parents, staff, or even the facility housing the program.

I openly admit to having been called the “Safety Witch” (or something very close to that) by some parents in my days as a preschool director, as I FIRMLY reinforced my car circle and parking lot rule to them and I would proudly accept that title again if it meant the children in my care were safely ushered into and out of school.

Say Bye-Bye – The second most important factor in Arrival is the separation procedure. Let the parent and child determine how best to separate whenever possible. We all know the best goodbye is short and sweet with a casual “see you later, Alligator”, but at 18 months, two, three-an-a-half, and sometimes five, many children have separation anxiety and need a gentler farewell. Many times the anxiety comes from the parent. Try to get parents to come on time, suggest they watch from the window or webcam so they can assure themselves of their child’s situation, or give them other options for easing the separation at arrival. Do not judge, disrespect, or laugh at the feelings of parent or child during separation. Some of us do not like goodbyes.

Dismissal should be safe and secure as well, and the handoff from teacher to parent should be smooth and quick – this is not the time for conferences and “Sally bit four kids today” talk. If there is an after-program program (Extended Day or Lunch Bunch) make sure the procedure for separating the go-homers from the stay-afters is organized, smooth, secure, and careful.

Next Blog: Routine Elements – Meals & Snacks