Mamadou Starts a New School
A social story about new places, big feelings and brave steps.
A social story about new places, big feelings and brave steps.
What happens
Mamadou is starting a new school.
Some things will be new.
New can feel very big.
What I might feel
Mamadou’s tummy feels fluttery.
He might feel shy, or worried, or wobbly.
All feelings are okay.
What to expect
At school, there will be new things to find.
A peg for his coat. A new classroom.
A teacher who says hello.
New children
There will be new children too.
Anya waves at Mamadou.
He can wave back, or just smile. Both are okay.
Someone who understands
Ben was new once, too.
Ben felt wobbly on his first day.
Now school feels like his place.
The plan
If it all feels too big, Mamadou has a plan.
Who can help
Grown-ups at school are there to help.
Mamadou can say, “I need help, please.”
Or he can point to how he feels.
What happens next
Little by little, new becomes known.
The new school becomes Mamadou’s school.
New faces become friendly faces. One day at a time.
Ending
Mamadou did something big and brave.
Hooray for Mamadou!
New things can become known things.
And Mamadou can do big things.
Reading this story · Mamadou Starts a New School
Read daily for one to two weeks before the first day, at a calm time. Avoid leaving it until the night before.
Let the child point, comment, ask, or simply look. Page 2 doubles as a feelings check-in: “Which Mamadou are you today?”
Try the breathing and hand-squeezing when the child is already calm, so the plan feels familiar before it is needed.
Swap in the real teacher’s name and classroom details as you learn them.
Once school has started, it becomes a “look how far you’ve come” celebration story.