Everyday Goodbyes

Separation often evokes feelings of fear and anxiety in all of us―children, parents, and teachers alike. Because the success or failure of early separation experiences can affect a child’s movement toward independence, teachers and parents must know how to help young children cope with the unpleasant feelings sometimes associated with separation.

In Everyday Goodbyes (her follow-up to Starting School: From Separation to Independence), Nancy Balaban once again addresses this critical aspect of child development. Emphasizing the need for parents and teachers to work together in phasing children into a child-care, preschool, or kindergarten program, she offers many sensitive, practical suggestions to ease the separation process for all involved.

Positioning separation as the underlying curriculum for all early childhood programs, this wonderful book:

-Helps teachers and parents to understand why children take time to adjust.

-Uses photographs and real-life anecdotes of children, teachers, and parents to illustrate all aspects of the adjustment process.

-Includes activities for the classroom that support children’s movement toward independence and self-confidence.

-Includes children with special needs, those who come from special circumstances, as well as the range of cultural differences.

-Provides sample “phase-in” schedules for planning the first days of a program, a sample letter of introduction that can be sent to parents, and a list of books for children, adults, and professionals.