Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/moving-through-grief/5024866/
“I have to tell you some sad news.”
My colleague and director of my son’s preschool met me with these words one late summer morning. One of the school’s much-loved preschool teachers had died suddenly the day before and the school staff were already immersed in the emotional work of sorting out their own shock and grief while also planning for notification of families. At the forefront of all our minds, of course, was how we could best support the children’s processing of this event. As a teacher education faculty, former teacher and child care center director, I turned to some of my own experiences with children and loss. As a mother, my journey had a different quality.
Opening Dialogues in a Safe and Comforting Way
In this moment, I knew that this presented the first experience with death for my 3-year-old son, and I knew he was ready for some kind of processing of the experience. Considering the concrete nature of young children’s thinking and experiences with the world, I decided to have several discussions, which began like this:
“Greisan, we are going to school tomorrow, even though it is Saturday. We are going to gather with friends and teachers to remember ...