How to Use Goodbye Rituals in Sophie’s Classroom

Just as your morning greeting ritual provides a way to connect with every child and parent/guardian at the beginning of the day, your goodbye ritual sends each child off with the message, “You are valued. I’m glad you were here today.”

As children are picked up from class, offer each child a goodbye. It can be as quick as a pat on the back with eye contact or as intimate as an I Love You Ritual. The verbal and nonverbal message to send is, “You are valued. I’m glad you were here today!” Too often we tend to use the goodbye time to give parents/guardians a quick report about children’s challenging behaviors. Instead, focus on the message of value and connection; tell the parent/guardian one helpful or kind thing their child did during the day. Remember, what you focus on, you get more of.

Props like a greeting apron or a greeting poster offer children choices about how they would like to say goodbye, just as they did during your morning greeting. The School Family Make-n-Take, available as digital downloads as part of our Premium Resource Toolkit, contains a helpful template for homemade greeting aprons.