Today I thought I would leave you here a short therapeutic story that I wrote to help little ones integrate more easily into kindergarten. Most children, whether neurotypical or not, have various difficulties when it comes to kindergarten: separation from parents, adapting to a new place, fear of being abandoned there, difficulty making new friends, fear of activities, or refusal to participate in them, etc. So I hope this short story will help you prepare your little ones for kindergarten, help them better understand what will happen there, and realize that they have nothing to be afraid of.

I decided that the heroine of the story would be a little girl named Iris, just like my daughter. When you read the story to your children, you can use their names.

Once upon a time, in a faraway magical land, there was a little girl, very beautiful and smart, who was deeply loved by her parents. They protected her from all dangers and were always by her side.

In that magical land, people used magic dust to create their homes, food, clothes, and everything else they needed. There was also a very important rule: when people had small children, they no longer had to work to earn magic dust—they received it from the Queen. But when the children grew up, the parents had to take them to kindergarten so they could return to work, where children were not allowed.

And since the little girl in our story, Iris, had grown up, her parents had to go back to work, so they told her:

— Iris, starting next week you will go to kindergarten. The Queen can no longer give us magic dust, and without it we cannot make food, clothes, or toys.

— What is kindergarten? asked Iris.

— It is a very beautiful place, full of toys, with many children, and there will be a kind teacher who will take care of all the children.

— And where will you be?

— We will take you there in the morning, then we will go to work, and when you finish playing, we will come pick you up.

— But what if I need you?

— The teacher will always be with you. You can tell her everything you need, and she will help you.

— What if I don’t like her? What if I don’t like the other children? What if I don’t like the toys? No, I don’t want to go there alone.

And Iris began to cry and hugged her parents tightly. That night, she had a very restless sleep, full of bad dreams about kindergarten.

Her parents were very sad and worried. They would never have left Iris at kindergarten, but they had to go to work, and children were not allowed at their workplace.

The following night, Iris had another dream—this time, a beautiful one. A magical fairy appeared in her dream and said:

— Hello, Iris, I am your guardian fairy!

— You are so beautiful, Iris said. I like you very much.

— I will go with you to kindergarten every day and stay with you whenever you need me. Together we will solve all your problems. All you have to do is think of me, and I will appear right away.

— And what will the other children say about you?

— They won’t know I am there. I will appear only in your thoughts, and only you will be able to see me and talk to me.

— But it will be like I’m talking to myself…

— No, because you won’t speak out loud. Everything will happen in your mind. I will appear there, I will understand the problem, and we will find a solution together. Every child has their own fairy who helps them at kindergarten.

— Do grown-ups have fairies too?

— Yes, but grown-ups can no longer see us because they no longer believe in us. They think they solve their problems on their own, but actually, we arrange their thoughts.

Iris woke up very happy the next day. She told her parents she was sure she would manage at kindergarten, that she would like it there, and that she couldn’t wait to go. At that moment, the fairy appeared in her mind and smiled at her. She and the fairy became best friends, and kindergarten became a wonderful place for Iris.

The End!

I hope this story will be helpful. Encourage your children to find their own fairies, heroes, angels, or anything they trust to protect them, and to take them along—in their thoughts—to kindergarten.

If you have other story ideas, leave a comment and I will try to create them for the little ones.

Lavinia Chirvase