Because you are reading this, I am going to guess that you are are a lot like me when it comes to getting ready for the first day of preschool or Pre-K.

You do NOT want to fail. In fact, you want everything to be perfect for the first day of preschool or Pre-K. But you worry that you might not be doing enough, have enough, planning enough, or have everything perfect enough.

I find that the earlier I start getting ready for preschool, the more compulsive I get about making everything perfect for the children when they walk in the door on that first day. It can be exhausting and if things don’t go perfectly, after all that work, it can be quite the let down.

Permission to fail

So for today’s post, I want to give you permission to fail but there is just one catch. Don’t worry, it’s a good catch that you can easily do and it doesn’t require any extra preparation or work.

What’s the catch?

I want to give you permission to fail AS LONG AS you go into your classroom that very first day, and every day after that, putting relationships between you and your students FIRST.

Put relationships at the core of every decision and you will not fail.

If you put genuine and healthy relationships between you and your students and between your students and each other at the core of every decision you make or word you say, right from the first day of school, then you will not fail.

You see, you can have the perfect art center, amazing toys, the very best books, and all other essentials that make up a perfect preschool classroom but student success and your success as a teacher will be a direct result of the time and effort you put towards nurturing a healthy relationship with each of your students and a sense of community.

Make your classroom feel perfect to your littles, not to you.

I know that this sounds too simple but after 30 years in the field of early childhood, being a parent, and a grandparent of four (plus one on the way) grandchildren, I am here to tell you..

When you put relationships first, everything you do, whether it is perfect or not, will feel perfect to your littles.