The first morning goes more smoothly when the bag was packed the night before and nothing in it is a surprise. Every program sends families its own specific list, and you should follow that one over any article on the internet, including this one. What follows is the general shape of what a Calgary preschool or daycare will ask for, plus two things that are easy to get wrong here: food rules and September weather.
The usual list
- A full change of clothes, or two for a younger toddler, including socks and underwear.
- Indoor shoes that stay at school, if your program uses them.
- Outdoor gear suited to the day, since most programs go outside in nearly all weather.
- A water bottle.
- A comfort item for rest time, if your child uses one and the program allows it.
- Diapers and wipes for children who are not yet potty trained.
- Lunch, if the program does not provide it.
Lunch, snacks and nuts
This is the section worth reading twice. At Conifers, families send their child with their own lunch each day and we provide healthy snacks. We are also a strict nut-free facility, which means no food containing nuts comes into the building at all. That rule catches people out more often than you would expect, because nuts turn up in granola bars, spreads, some breads and plenty of packaged snacks that look harmless. Read labels carefully for the first week or two until you have a reliable shortlist, and ask us rather than guessing when you are unsure. The rule exists because for some children a trace is genuinely dangerous.
Dressing for a Calgary September
September here cannot decide what it wants to be. The same week can deliver twenty-five degrees and a snow flurry, and the temperature routinely swings fifteen degrees between drop-off and pick-up. Layers solve this better than any single warm coat. Send a light jacket even on a hot morning, keep a warmer one in the bag once the month turns, and add a hat and mitts earlier than feels reasonable, because they will be needed before you expect.
Two further things matter more in a Montessori room than they might elsewhere. Send clothes your child can manage alone: elastic waists rather than stiff buttons, and shoes with velcro or a pull tab rather than laces they cannot yet tie. A child who can dress themselves does not have to wait for an adult before going outside or using the bathroom, and that independence is a large part of what the whole day is built on. Then send clothes that are allowed to get ruined. Painting, pouring, gardening and sand are the work rather than accidents, and a child worrying about their good clothes will hold back from the activities that teach the most.
Label everything
Every item, including boots, mittens, water bottle lids and the inside of jacket collars. A room full of small children generates an astonishing volume of unclaimed single mittens by October. A permanent marker is enough.
What to leave at home
- Toys from home, which are hard to share and easy to lose.
- Anything valuable or irreplaceable.
- Anything containing nuts.
- Complicated outfits, costume shoes, and anything your child cannot manage in a bathroom on their own.
The first morning
Our doors open at 7:00 AM and the Montessori work session begins at 8:30, so there is room to arrive without rushing. Coming a little early on the first day helps, because your child gets to settle into a quiet room rather than walking into a busy one. Pack the night before, let your child help pack, and let them carry their own bag in. Walking through the door carrying your own things is a small thing that makes a child feel like they belong there.
If your family is starting with us in September and you are unsure about any of this, just ask. Conifers Montessori Academy is a licensed Montessori preschool, daycare and kindergarten in Saddle Ridge, NE Calgary, open Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM and serving families across Skyview Ranch, Cityscape, Redstone, Cornerstone, Savanna, Martindale, Taradale and nearby communities.