When preparing first-week plans, organize an "I Spy" treasure hunt for the preschool students and parents to participate in together. Give each child a list of items and areas to find around the room and the preschool "campus" that children will need to access throughout the school day, such as the bathrooms, craft supplies, tissue, coat cubbies, nap mats, and teacher's desk. End the treasure hunt at the lunch tables where the parents and children can share a snack together to help lessen separation anxiety.
You can help the children create a "friendship flower garden" to help them get to know one another. Create one flower for each student by using a shape stencil and pencil to trace a 4-inch flower shape onto a piece of cardstock and cutting it out with scissors. Cut a 2-by-6-inch strip of green cardstock as the stem and affix two 2-by-3-inch leaves to it with white glue. Affix the stem to the flower with white glue.
Take a digital photo of each student, print it and use scissors to crop it into a 3-inch circle to affix in the flower center with double-stick tape. After you take a student's photo, ask him about his favorite food, color, game, book, or television show and write the fun facts on the leaves. Each day during the first preschool week, "pick" a handful of the flowers and discuss them with the class.
It is important to help the children understand that it is okay to share their feelings through an expressive preschool project. Affix long pieces of butcher paper along a classroom wall at the children's eye level. Read a short picture book to the class in which the characters experience emotions like fear, worry, sadness, happiness, excitement, or frustration.
Invite the children to draw pictures on the paper that show what the characters were feeling. Discuss the pictures, situations and emotions with the class and explain that you are always available to discuss their feelings if they are having a tough day at school.
Give each child a medium-sized, gift bag with handles to decorate as a "take-home bag." Write each child's name across a bag with a black marker, and then let the children use stickers, self-adhesive foam shapes, washable markers, and glitter glue to embellish the bag. Place an inexpensive composition notebook inside each bag.
Instruct the children to take the bag home each night to carry class projects and updates about upcoming school events. Use the notebook to write progress notes to the students' parents and encourage them to use the notebook to write questions and concerns in the notebook to you, as well.