Dealing with Arrival and Departure Times

Arrival:

How you start your morning can influence the rest of the day. All children have a hard time saying goodbye to their parents at one time or another. This is part of learning to love. It is important to establish departure and arrival rituals so that the child and the parents become familiar with your routine. When children have positive and supported experiences with separation, they learn to trust people and the world in which they live. A smile, a positive attitude, and enthusiasm for the activities will certainly make children feel welcome in your home. Children love to hear their names, and they enjoy seeing you and hearing a cheerful hello each morning. Look up and acknowledge parents and their child everyday as they arrive. Try to greet the parents by name everyday as well as the children.

When children arrive, your own children may be getting ready for school or to begin the day with you. Some children will need breakfast. Following breakfast, infants need to be changed and put down to nap. It helps to have something interesting planned that children can do independently. Prepare materials and learning centers before the children arrive. Then, you will be free to focus your attention on the children, and you will have time to communicate with them and their parents. Place inviting puzzles, play dough, collage materials, books and games out on the tables and in the learning centers to get children actively engaged. Try to offer a wide variety of toys and experiences from which the children may choose. Continually add new props and toys to spark interests. Sometimes its fun to surprise children in the morning with a hat, puppet, stuffed animal or other prop that will create interest for an activity that you have planned for the day.

Ways to help make saying goodbye to mom/dad easier:

• Show children how happy you are to have him/her with you. Give them lots of attention when they arrive. Help them settle into the day.
• Be understanding of children who have trouble saying goodbye. Remember how hard it is for you to say goodbye to someone you love.
• Give children something exciting to look forward to each day when they come to your house.
• Individually greet each child by his/her name each morning. Bend down to the child’s eye level to speak to him/her. A gentle touch, hug, or smile also reassures children.
• Be available to sing, rock, read a story, or distract with a favorite toy or activity for the child who finds it hard to have his/her parent leave.
• Encourage parents to stay long enough to do an activity such as a puzzle or collage with their child.
• Encourage parents to stay and have breakfast in the morning with the children.
• Tell parents they should always say goodbye to their children when it’s time for them to leave. Hang a poster by the door to remind parents to say goodbye, kiss, hug, and remind their child that they’ll be back before they leave each morning. These rituals mean a great deal to children.
• Always handle problems with kindness and lots of reminding that the parent will be coming back.

Departure:

Children go home at staggered times. Some will become anxious when they see other children leaving with their parents. Below are some tips to make departure time go smoothly.

• It helps to plan some quiet activities for this time of day.
• Select toys and materials that can be put away easily, such as puzzles, table blocks, crayons and paper, books, story tapes, and records.
• You may want to offer special end of day toys the same way that you offer morning toys.
• Many providers find that an additional outdoor time also works well at this time of day.
• Try to have all projects assembled, diapers changed, and parent information made ready such as their nap schedule, eating habits, play time, etc. Remember to share a special event that occurred with parents.
• Discuss the events of the day and plans for the next day with children and parents as they leave.
• If circumstances do not allow you to communicate/talk to parents daily, then send home daily messages or notes giving parents information about their child. Include the following:

• What We Did…
• Where We Went…
• Just For Fun…
• Tomorrow…
• My New Friends…

You should also have a special area set up for sharing information with parents. This area of the house should be close to the door that the parents use. It should be a bright area filled with an abundance of information for parents to read. Inform parents that you have a place to pick up artwork or dirty clothes that need to go home so that they know to check the area on their own.

Arrival and Departure Activities:

The following activities can be used in the morning or late afternoon to help children transition during arrival and departure times.

• Happy Boxes- Offer children who arrive early or stay late something special to capture their attention and keep them interested.

Decorate a large box and fill it with fun, challenging materials that will interest children. Place the boxes on the floor or tables before children arrive. Rotate the materials weekly or keep adding new happy boxes to your morning routines. Happy Box Ideas:

• Blank books, pencils, and pens
• Play dough, small rolling pin, and cookie cutters
• Plastic or wooden animals or characters
• Toy cars, trucks, or road signs
• Hole punch and paper
• Puppets
• Flannel board stories and small felt boards
• Birthday party paper products
• Plastic dinosaurs
• Squeeze toys
• Pasta, buttons, spools and string
• Junk mail
• Sticky notes, pens, envelopes
• Musical instruments
• Magnets, magnifying glass
• Pegboard and pegs
• Books
• Band-Aids, stethoscopes
• Picture box
• Plastic foods
• Timer and stop watch
• Nature collections
• Sewing cards
• Flashlight
• Play money
• Puzzles
• Old jewelry
• Different textures to feel
• Deck of cards
• Things to smell
• Letter boxes
• Baby doll, clothes, and blankets
• Color boxes
• Objects to sort
• Action characters
• Tape measure, ruler
• Restaurant menu, pad, pencil,
• Theme boxes
• Interlocking blocks
• Concentration cards or games
  
• Pools of Fun- A plastic swimming pool gives children something to dive into when they get to your house. Fill the pool using some of the happy box materials. Limit the number of children to one or two for each pool.
• Children can look at books or color in coloring books. As each child enters, make eye contact and greet them by name.
• Towards the end of the day, gather children in a circle and discuss the events of the day and what you will do tomorrow.
• Try to end the day with some fun songs and finger plays.
• Books, story tapes, and table toys are a good choice for morning activities, and children can use them right on the kitchen floor and table.
• Some family child care providers offer special “hello” toys, making them available only at arrival times, and the children look forward to this morning play time.
• Older children can help with clean-up and play with table toys, read books, or listen to story tapes until everyone finishes breakfast and cleans up.
• Tell a goodbye to mommy/daddy story to all the children in the morning, using little dolls or flannel board pieces. Remember to repeat that mommy or daddy is going to work and will be back.

Sample Schedules:

The following depicts various ways you can write out a schedule to include your arrival and departure times and activities.

Infant Schedule- Infants need individual schedules written for them. Make an outline and fill it in with times and activities for each child.

Sources

Albrecht, Kay; Miller, Linda G., The Comprehensive Infant Curriculum. Gryphon House, Inc., 2000.

Corum, Beth, Be The Best You Can Be. Wray Graphics, 1997.

Cryer, Debbie; Harms, Thelma; Ray, Adele Richardson, The Active Learning Series. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1996

Dodge, Diane T.; Cloker, Laura J., The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood. Teaching Strategies, Inc., 2001.

Dodge, Diane T.; Cloker, Laura J., The CreativeCurriculum for Family Child Care. Teaching Strategies, Inc., 2001.

Schiller, Pam; Phipps, Pat; The Complete Daily Curriculum For Early Childhood. Gryphon House, Inc., 2002.

Technical Assistance for the Coordinator

• Read and review the information on Arrival and Departure Times with your provider.
• Assist the provider in writing a week’s schedule for their program using the arrival and departure ideas in this lesson. Make sure they list all of the activities that they have planned for these times of the day.
• Help the provider gather the materials they will need to conduct the activities. Suggest an easy storage solution for their materials.
• Encourage the provider to establish an arrival and departure routine with the children and parents using the ideas from their schedule.
• If needed, answer questions that offer more information on arrival and departure times.

Closure: Tell the provider to ask themselves the following questions a week after they complete this lesson:

Are arrival and departure times hectic for you and the children you care for?

Do you have activities planned for these times of the day?

Do children know what is expected of them during these times of the day?

Are you able to stop what you are doing to talk with the parents in the morning or afternoon?