What happens in the story
Omar is starting in a new classroom. At home he looks at his picture schedule; at the door he holds on tight. The teacher shows him his own coat hook, and his parent points to the last picture on his schedule card: pick-up. At circle time Omar watches from the edge. In the block corner he grabs a block from Ben, and it doesn't go well, so he tries again with a "play together" card and Ben shares. After lunch he misses home, and the teacher checks the schedule with him. By story time he's sitting next to Ben, and at pick-up he proudly shows his parent the bridge they built.
It's a full first day told in three small stories, each with its own feeling and its own solution.
Who it's for
- Parents preparing a child for preschool, kindergarten or a new school.
- Early years and kindergarten teachers welcoming new children, or planning a "starting school" or "feelings" unit.
- Speech-language pathologists working on longer retells, time words and turn-taking language.
- Autistic children and children who like to know what's coming: the story uses a picture schedule throughout, just like many real classrooms.
Skills you can practise
- Retelling a long story in parts, then as a whole day.
- Time words: first, after lunch, at the end, pick-up.
- Using a visual schedule: what's happening now, and what comes next?
- Problem solving with peers: grabbing versus asking to play together.
- Talking about feelings that change across a day, without one "right" answer.
A 10-minute session
- Choose one part for today: goodbye, joining in or until pick-up.
- Look at the four pictures together and point to Omar's schedule card in each one.
- Put the four cards in order and tell that part with first, next, then, at the end.
- Talk about the turning point. In "Joining in", compare grabbing the block with showing the "play together" card. What changed?
- Wonder about feelings: how might Omar feel at the door, by the window, at pick-up? More than one answer can make sense.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: use pictures 2, 7, 8 and 12 for one short telling of the whole day.
- Harder: retell all twelve scenes using the schedule card as a guide, and compare circle time (picture 5) with story time (picture 11).
- Extend: make a simple picture schedule for your child's real first day.
Try it at home
Before a real start, make a picture schedule together and, if you can, visit the new place or look at photos of it. Watching first, joining slowly and asking for a break are all fine ways to begin.
Pairs well with
- The Night Light in the New House: another twelve-scene story about getting used to somewhere new.
- Rain Changes the Plan: an eight-scene story about adjusting when plans change.
- How to use story sequencing cards.