Dos and Don’ts for the First Days of Kindergarten

Do:

• Read all the information the kindergarten teacher sends home before the school year starts. If you can’t understand it, ask for a translation.
• Walk with your child for the first few weeks of kindergarten.
• Stay for the first lesson or so on the first day of kindergarten.
• Pack a healthy snack in a special bag: the Z’nüni bag, usually a small satchel but could also be a small backpack.
• Say goodbye when you leave your child. It may seem that your child is happy and involved in an activity, but he or she could become very upset when they notice you are no longer there.
• Be firm when you leave. If your child begins to cry, remind him or her that you will be reunited soon. Leave, and do not come back, even if you hear your child still crying.
• Remember to help your child put on the special florescent V for the walk to and from school. Keep it in a handy place at home so that it can be found each day.
• Dress your child according to the weather.
• Ask your child about what he or she learned. Get involved in the songs they sing and the stories that they hear at school.
• Send in an easy-to-serve birthday treat on your child’s birthday.

Don’t:

• Drive your child to school.
• Show apprehension when you leave your child after the first lesson of kindergarten.
• Allow your child to feel sorry for YOU. No matter how painful it may be to leave your child, don’t let it show.
• Bring toys from home.
• Badmouth your child’s teacher or his/her methodology.
• Be late.
• Send in chips or chocolate, cookies or cake, except for a birthday treat.
• Expect to volunteer in your child’s classroom. This is generally not a common practice in Swiss public schools.
• Forget to review your child’s schedule. The idea of leaving your child all morning or all day is not a given in all Swiss public schools.

By Mary Bider, with the help of Erika Welsh, a kindergarten teacher in a Swiss public school

Illustration by BVisual

Beth (“BVisual”) graduated from university after studying visual communication, specialising in illustration. She’s has been working as a freelance creative and undertaken projects such as the V&A Illustration Awards in London. Currently living near Lausanne, Beth has projects involving portraits and editorial illustrations under her artist’s name BVisual.