It is important that your child's first few days of school are successful, so allow yourself plenty of time to get ready for school and to separate after your arrival.

Upon arrival, please sign your child in on the attendance sheet and make introductions with all the teachers and your child, and pass on any important information to them. Assist your child in discovering where his/her lunch, coat, napping supplies, extra clothes, etc. belong.

On your child's first day at ICC, please bring:

  Blanket, pillow and soft toy for nap time
  Lunch
  Spare clothes, clearly marked with your child's name or initials

Other suggested materials that can help your child:

  Photo of your child
  Framed photo of your family

Please give all medication and permission, and administration forms to a teacher directly. Educate the teachers directly on any allergies and medical response procedures related to your child. Please give any sunscreen, chap stick, cough drops directly to a teacher or administrator for safe keeping.

When you want to leave, let your child know you're leaving, don't just disappear! When you say good-bye, feel confident that the teachers will support your child with his/her feelings, offering comfort, reassurance, and acknowledgment of what she/he is feeling. Allow the teachers and classmates to help comfort and entice your child into the going-on's in the classroom. It may help you to make a specific plan with your child on the way to school about how the drop-off time will look like, for example,: “Let's read two books together, and then you can give me two hugs and three kisses, and push me out the door.?” Our intention is to honor the bonds between you and your child, and to make room for your child's feelings. The first few days of school can be stressful and/or fatiguing for children, and this is sometimes expressed by regressive behavior or irritability. Feel free to discuss any concerns you may have with your child's teacher. You may also wish to consider picking your child up a little earlier than usual for the first few days of school. Having quiet routines at home will ease the transition.

Please bring your child to school in clothes designed for active indoor and outdoor play. These should be clothes that you and your child are willing to get dirty, and that your child can get in and out of by herself or himself. We will go outside for play and exercise each day, so please help your child dress comfortably and appropriately, including shoes for running and climbing and a jacket or raincoat for the ever-changing Ohio weather. Also, your child's clothes should be comfortable and easy for your child to get in and out of on his/her own. Please avoid belts, overalls, and difficult fasteners to help promote successful bathroom experiences at school.

Please make sure there is a full change of clean clothes in your child's cubby at all times, clearly labeled with your child's name or initials. Please check your child's cubby or coat hooks for soiled clothes at the end of each day and replace any extra clothes that your child has used. Indianola has a limited supply of spare clothing. If your child is sent home in ICC spares, please launder them and return them the next day so that they may be used for another child.