Amongst the beginning of the year chaos of getting
routines established, finding a groove that works for this year’s class,
beginning of the year paperwork, meetings and life itself, some of our
student’s parents returned from being deployed for three to six months.
(Deployment is a necessary part of working on a military base. When a parent is
deployed he/she is sent to a location where a military presence is needed for
several months or longer.) Having a parent return is a happy time but also
requires some adjustment within the family and as teachers we are well aware of
this. But with the beginning of the year madness, we forgot to look at having
mommy and daddy come back through the eyes of a four/five year old. One child
in particular was doing fine during the school day, but was not sleeping at
night. His mother was able to figure out that her son was terrified that he
would wake up and find that his daddy was gone again. Can you imagine the
anxiety that child was feeling? It breaks our hearts to know that young
children have to experience these types of anxieties or worse in classrooms all
over the world. BUT it was a crucial reminder that the ABC’s and 123’s is just
a portion of a child’s development. We as teachers need to focus on the
emotional development of a child just as well. A hug, an encouraging word or
some one-on-one time just to talk can go a long way in helping a child through
a difficult time. And not just children, adults need some TLC too!
These books are great for anyone
who has had to say good bye. You can find them at Amazon.com
And I’ve linked to a freebie “Hug”
from my Salute to the Military Kids product.
Have a great week!
No comments:
Post a Comment