Going to school for the first time, resuming school routine after a month of vacation, welcoming a new friend to class… When children get in touch with new places, contexts and interactions, it is natural for them to experience intense emotions and feelings. As a school, we look with utmost respect to the moment of each child. Therefore, embracing a child is fundamental for us. This is the method we propose in our educational process.
Our Early Childhood Education pedagogical coordinator, Camila Maia, explains that unlike “embracing”, the concept of “adaptation” assumes that the child will adapt to a rigid external condition imposed on him or her. “At be.Living, we cause the outside to move to embrace the children. We prepare a particularly careful environment to welcome each child. Teachers prepare themselves, considering that children’s processes and timing are different, and their needs are unique. Therefore, the idea is not that children get used to an imposed routine or pace, but rather received slowly, with genuine affection and individual attention, and that their incoming time is respected.”
It is important to emphasize that the embracing process is not restricted only to the beginning of the year or the first time a child comes to school. The opening moments of the second semester are challenging for the entire school community, including the children who were already in school.
Camila says that resuming the projects of each group, reconfiguring the classes and returning to the school routine after a full month of vacation requires a lot of attention and care. “Coming back to school can be extremely demanding for all children. During vacation, they often do not follow the same bedtime or eating routine. Some of them travel and spend days away from home. Going back to a more structured routine is always quite challenging. In the case of young children, we see that even those who have been with us since the beginning of the year, are familiar with the school space and routine, and already have a bond with the teachers, often cry when they parents say farewell. They also feel rather fragile and tired throughout the day.”
In addition, usually in the month of August there is something new for the children who were already in school: the arrival of new classmates! This event arouses everyone’s curiosity and brings new challenges. “In Early Childhood Education, it is part of the process of embracing the children who are arriving that their fathers, mothers or adults with whom they have a bond of trust stay at the school with them during the very first days. Children who were already in school have to deal with the feeling of no longer being in the presence of their parents. However, teachers conduct a welcoming work to strengthen each of these children, showing them that they already know the school, are capable of doing so many things for themselves and have already made so many friends. Reinforcing these achievements and skills invites children to put themselves in a more powerful place, seeing themselves as a model and reference for those who are coming.”
On the other hand, children who are arriving at school for the first time are having a deep experience in their lives. It is a whole new context, full of challenges. In this case, throughout this initial embracing period, in addition to the teacher and the class assistant, each child is closely monitored by other members of the team to make sure that an individual look can be effectively provided. That way, whenever their curiosity is sparked, they always have an adult by their side to help them explore the school and participate in other processes, even if the group is involved in a different activity with the teacher. “In addition, as we mentioned, there is the presence of an adult who is a safe reference for them (e.g., the mother, the father, a nanny or a grandmother) to help the child to explore, play and experience this new space. Over time, the adult slowly moves away from the process. The adult will still stay at the school, but the child will gradually start disassociating that person from the school environment. When teachers realize that the child is feeling confident enough, and has already established a bond of trust with an adult from our team, they start saying goodbye to their parents and can stay longer periods at the school.
For new families, this period also brings many challenges. Therefore, when we think of the embracing process we also bring a caring look to children’s mothers and fathers. “We hold a meeting with all families who are coming into the school. We tell them how we are organized, what we expect in this first moment and, above all, we open ourselves to listen to their emotions. It is natural that some fathers and mothers feel anxious, worried and distressed about this new stage of life. We attempt to embrace and help them with these feelings. It is also the time to get to know and understand the family we are receiving, because this understanding will say a lot about the process that the child will experience here at school.”
Carolina, Rafael’s mother, who joined the school this year in Yellow Orange 3 says that one of the reasons that made her choose be.Living was the possibility of having this embracing time together with his son at school. “Children live in their own environment, and suddenly the time comes for them to go to school, which is an environment completely different from that they are used to. Having someone around as a reference, as their safe haven, to look at and turn to, is very important for children. As a mother, I was quite anxious to know what was going to happen, how he was going to behave and deal with each situation. Even when we leave school, we continue to receive news of how they are doing. We can take a peek and we feel reassured to know that they are being well cared for and embraced when they cry. It is a preparation for the next moment, when we will not be there anymore. As a mother, it is critical to understand what the school is like, how it takes care of my child during such a challenging time. We treat the child in a certain way and we would like school to be an extension of what we do at home. Being inside reassures us that this is being done.”
For Paloma, Maria Clara’s mother, who is in Yellow Orange 2, the time she spent with her daughter at school was also indispensable. “It is not just a time of adaptation for the child, it is for the mother as well. On my first day, I came to the school for a parent meeting and started crying. I felt so many different emotions: ‘my daughter is growing up and we will spend time away from each other’… We are very close. Cacá was born at the peak of the pandemic, without much contact with the outside for a long time. As the pandemic receded, we started to have more contact with people, but even then she did not have much experience with other kids. I was insecure. So, this time be.Living allowed me to stay with her at the school was decisive for me to know the school and see how the dynamics happen. I saw children crying and being embraced with great affection by teachers… This soothed my heart. Embracing is precious for children: their timing is respected until they feel safe. It is not an abrupt thing. Gradually, seeing teachers so affectionate and my daughter starting to feel more comfortable to talk with her friends, and being herself in the moments when she felt more at ease, made me calmer and happier, feeling that I chose a good place for her to stay.”
