Open House: a welcoming fresh start for children and families

The beginning of the school year is always marked by expectations, reunions, and new discoveries. At be.Living, this transition is carefully planned through the Open House, an event that anticipates the official arrival of children from Early Childhood Education and Year 1 of Elementary School. Accompanied by their families, they experience a welcoming first school experience, in which they have the opportunity to explore the spaces, meet the teachers, and gradually resume the school routine.

More than just a reunion, the Open House plays a very important role in this back-to-school process. After a long vacation, we understand that it is important to provide children with time to reconnect with affective and spatial references in order to feel secure in this return. This moment allows the rapprochement to happen in a light and gradual way, strengthening the bonds between school, children, and families.

For Camila Maia, coordinator of Early Childhood Education, the Open House reflects the school’s commitment to welcoming. “The idea is to familiarize, to welcome the child, to show the space that will be the new place of reference for her at school. It is to show the face of the teachers, to create an environment of reunion with friends, to remember the things they like to do here”- she explains.

In Early Childhood Education, the event is organized in order to stimulate the interest and active participation of children. The rooms are prepared with play corners, with a wall of photos of the children and names of the new groups. The environment invites interaction, while offering emotional security. For the teachers, the Open House is also a valuable moment of observation. It is an opportunity to notice which children arrive more introverted, which are more “clinging” to their families, which explore the space with more ease, and which may need a closer look in the first days of school.

Rudra Avella, father of Elis, from the Orange group, participated in the Open House with his daughter and highlighted how important this experience was for both. “We feel much more connected to the school environment and the people who are with us throughout the year. “It is very good to see the children returning different after the holidays, more grown-up, and to observe their reunion with their friends and with the new classroom,” he shares.

He also highlights how the moment allows families to experience a bit of the children’s school routine. “Participating in this first day, seeing how the room is organized, getting to know the materials and the teachers helps us better understand the child’s daily life at school.” This brings us closer to their universe and gives us more security as well. The school is not just a place where the child stays during the day, but a space where they develop, learn, and create bonds, and the Open House helps us to see this up close.”

About Elis’ reaction when she returned to school, her father says that she showed a lot of joy. “She hugged the teacher a lot, she missed her.” She was a little shy at first, of course, but soon began to explore the new room, curious and lively. It was beautiful to see how this first contact has already awakened in her the enthusiasm for the new year.

For him, the event marks not only the beginning of a new phase for children, but also reinforces the role of the school in their education. “The Open House shows that Be.Living values this initial welcome and the building of the school community. As a father, I feel included in this process and I realize that this makes all the difference for Elis’ adaptation and for our relationship with the school,” he concludes.

In Elementary School, the Open House is aimed at Year 1 children, who are entering this new stage of their education. According to coordinator Gabriela Fernandes, this moment helps to smooth the transition for children who, until the previous year, were in Early Childhood Education. “Last year, they were the oldest. Now, they reach Elementary School and become the smallest. This is a great milestone and can generate insecurity. Our goal is to ensure that this change happens in the most welcoming way possible” – he explains.

For this, the school organizes a special moment of integration. Unlike other elementary school classes, which start classes together, Year 1 starts one day after the other children. This break is essential to prepare the older students to welcome the first-year students, especially those in Year 5, who play an essential role in welcoming the younger ones. “First-year children come from the circumstance in which they were the oldest and now enter an environment where they are the youngest.” On the other hand, Year 5 is starting its last year in the Elementary 1 cycle. This is a very powerful meeting. Our intention is to ensure that Year 1 children see their elders as allies, as peers who make their lives easier, and not as oppressors or sources of fear. At the same time, Year 5 develops a sense of responsibility and welcome for those who are starting a process they have already gone through” – emphasizes Gabriela.

During the Open House at Elementary, families and children participate in playful activities, presentations, and circle games. The event ends with an explanation about the routine of the first day of school and the role of older students in welcoming the younger ones. “We explain that, the next day, the older ones will be waiting for them, that the whole school is being prepared to receive them. “This generates enormous tranquility for this arrival,” says Gabriela.

The Open House experience has shown very positive results in recent years. “This year, we received 31 new children in Year 1. I was already prepared to see the school full of family members for a long time accompanying their sons and daughters, which is natural during the adaptation period. But at 8:20 am on the first day of school, all the family members had already left. The children were safe and confident because they had already gone through this introduction. The Open House is this moment of belonging, of making the child feel welcomed and prepared for the beginning of the school year,” concludes Gabriela.

By creating spaces and moments of affection and safety such as the Open House, we reinforce be.Living’s commitment to an education that values gradual adaptation, welcoming, bonding, and respect for the time of each child, who is unique. The Open House provides a calmer start to the year for children and their families.

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