This blog was originally published on June 6, 2023, and was updated with new information on August 8, 2025. First day drop-offs are never easy — especially for parents. A recent survey found that 63% of moms feel the first day of preschool is harder for them than their kids!
Let’s take a look at how you can make parents feel more comfortable when they drop off their kids at your preschool for the first time.
1. Host an Preschool Open House for Parents
Invite parents to tour your daycare and preschool classroom before the first day. Hosting a preschool open house will help them get a feel for what you have to offer and lower their anxiety.
Create a presentation with your plans for the year and show them where their little one will be sitting. Be sure to have some activities on hand for any soon-to-be students who might tag along.
An open house for preschool parents will help calm their jitters and introduce both them and their preschoolers to the new environment.
2. Get Personal
Other great parent tips for first day of preschool that will help families feel welcomed and appreciated include having a personalized note and/or small gift waiting for each of your students when they arrive. This is a great way to kickstart your relationship with families and show that you’re excited to have their kids in your classroom. It will also help put parents’ minds at ease knowing their child will be cared for while they’re gone.
Not sure where to begin with your welcome letter? Check out our customizable welcome letter for teachers in daycare and preschool classrooms. Once you’ve customized your welcome letter you can print it and send it out to parents at the beginning of the school year or as new students enter your classroom. It comes as a PDF so it can also be shared digitally!
3. Provide Ideas for Goodbye Rituals
Encourage parents to practice a positive departure on the first day. Tell them to prepare a short farewell routine with a hug or handshake followed by a fun phrase like, “see you later, alligator!” These types of parent tips for first day of preschool are great because parents and their little ones won’t feel as bad about separating from each other.
4. Assure Parents that You’re Monitoring Their Child’s Progress with Vine Assessments
Parents value assessments, which help them understand how their child is developing. The 2025 Child Care Business Trends Report from Procare Solutions found that 71% of respondents use natural observations to assess the developmental growth of children in their care, and other common assessment methods include collecting data for portfolios and using assessment tools such as questionnaires:
But online assessments, especially those that are built into an all-in-one child care management software program, make this easier when teachers can log milestones in a single platform. This eliminates tedious paperwork and ensures all information is organized, searchable and easy to access.
Plus, using technology that can connect customized learning standards, daily activities and milestones with early learning education state standards will aid centers in meeting state requirements.
Vine Assessments is an integrated framework that gives early childhood educators a way to clearly articulate the growth and development of children in their care. Its assessments align with standards in all 50 states. Teachers using Procare can tie their lessons and observations directly to the appropriate Vine Assessments indicator from the web-based software and Procare child care mobile app.
It includes clear and easy childhood assessments that align with all 50 state standards and provides developmental continuums with 21 goals that apply to children from birth to age 5 as they prepare for kindergarten.
Students benefit greatly when their teachers use Vine Assessments. Their development is properly measured and the need for early intervention can be identified sooner than later.
Because Vine Assessments is embedded into Procare, it’s easy for teachers to use and does not require additional software purchases. It provides numerous reports for administrators and parents can learn from the tagging of activities and the descriptions that teachers include.
Request a demo to see how your center can use Vine Assessments in your preschool classes and in other rooms of your child care center!
