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Eliminating Transitions
August 10, 2011
If you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.
-Alice Walker, American novelist
-Alice Walker, American novelist
"Picture a group of children in the block area who have spent 15 or 20 minutes building an elaborate car wash. They have just gotten to the point where they will be using cars to develop a story and act it out when the teacher says it’s time to clean up for snack. Of course, after snack there’s group time and then the class will be heading outside. Are these children also wishing that they could have had an extended time to relax and focus on enjoying their car wash and the dramatic play possibilities? Do they also feel like they have no control over their schedule?
"Having a daily schedule that creates routines for young children is an essential part of an early childhood classroom. Evaluating the daily schedule on a regular basis is an integral part of creating a quality program that meets the needs of both the children and adults who ‘live’ in the classroom each day. We would suggest that you look (with a critical eye) at your daily schedule once a year to determine whether it works for the group of children currently enrolled in your classroom. One of the most important things to consider when reviewing your schedule is the number of transitions that occur throughout the day.
"Transitions tend to be some of the most difficult and stressful moments in an early childhood classroom. At these times teachers often find themselves dealing with more challenging behaviors and feeling more like police officers than nurturing caregivers. If you are feeling uncomfortable or frustrated during transition times, that is a sign that your current schedule may need to be revised to better meet the needs and developmental levels of the children in your care."
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 CommentsUnited States
The children who struggle most with transitions are the ones who teach us most about minimizing the number of transitions in the day. Madeline taught me to make open or work time longer and to give earlier warning for the transition to family snack. She changed from screaming when I gave the warning to being able to tell me that she didn't want that work time to end when I gave the warning. By the time work time ended she was able to tell herself it was OK. We both grew.
United States
This would be a great platform for making the case that teachers should have autonomy over their own schedules. I work with many programs where that is just not the case. Management decides on the schedules and the teachers must live by it.
Children's' needs changes as they grow and sometimes the age and the temperament of the children may dictate the rhythm of your schedule. Many factors should go into planning your daily schedule not just what time lunch arrives.
Citizens for Citizens Inc. Head Start
Fall River, Ma, United States
Hi, I just received an email on Transitions and found the information to be very informative. I am the Family Service Coordinator and would like to see articles on Family Partnership, Parent Involvement etc. Thank You
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