✅ Classroom checklists
The drop-off script & checklist
The morning-separation routine that turns three weeks of tears into four predictable steps.
Before families arrive
- One teacher stationed at the door whose ONLY job is greeting (rotate daily).
- A magnet activity already out on the nearest table — something hands reach for.
- The goodbye window (or wave spot) visible and free of clutter.
The four-step goodbye (coach families on it)
- 1 · Short: one hug, one kiss, one phrase — the same phrase every day ('Mommy always comes back').
- 2 · Honest: never sneak out. Sneaking buys one quiet morning and three anxious weeks.
- 3 · Handed, not peeled: the child moves from parent's arms to teacher's arms/hand — an active handoff, not a removal.
- 4 · Bridged: teacher narrates the very next thing — 'Let's go see if the fish is awake.' Forward motion ends tears fastest.
After the door closes
- Text or app-photo to the family within 20 minutes on hard days: 'settled and painting.' Ten seconds for you, a whole workday of peace for them.
- Log which step wobbled if drop-off was hard — the pattern across a week tells you what to adjust.
Rehearse this skill
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