Inside: Handling transitions with toddlers can be tough, unless you have a plan. Here are my favorite tips that have been learned during my 20 years of teaching!
The Secrets to Handling Transitions with Toddlers
You have a specific classroom schedule to follow. Your eye is on the clock. But those toddlers have their own agenda. They are not going to budge. They are, after all, busy toddlers. They want to keep on moving. They have the momentum happening. And suddenly you, the teacher, tell them they must stop what they are doing right now because it’s time to (fill in the blank). The response you get is either they ignore you and keep on doing their thing, or they fall apart. None of those is what you had planned. And before you know it, your perfectly planned schedule is just not happening. You are frustrated. Your toddlers are frustrated. Yep, I’ve been there. Many, many times. But eventually I started to put the pieces together. And decided it was time to tweak some things. It’s not magic. It’s not fool proof. We still have our moments. But transitions have gotten a whole lot easier during my 19 years of teaching.
And you know what? As an adult, I don’t do well with someone telling me to stop what I’m doing right now because there’s something else I should see. I have a real hard time when someone interrupts my work. I am focusing on something, I have plans to finish it, and someone tells me to stop because it’s time to do something else. If I have a hard time with this as an adult, imagine what a toddler feels? It goes like this:
Centers Time Clean Up Meet on Carpet to Look at Books Go to Gym Return to Class and Meet on the Carpet to Look at Books Circle Time Snack Activities Clean Up Meet on Carpet to Look at Books Go Outside Return to Classroom and Meet on Carpet to Look at Books Activities Meet on Carpet to Look at Books Sing Goodbye Song
When looking at this in print, it appears like a lot of transitions. But they really run smoothly because our children know where our meeting place is before and after a transition (meeting on the carpet), and what they should be doing (looking at books). And this signals that we are moving on to something new. It’s important to stop here and mention how you want to start this on the very first day of school. Yes, it will be hard at first. But don’t give up. Just keep on doing the same routine. Once they get the hang of it, they will know exactly what comes next. (A couple of times I tried to skip that step because we got a bit behind in our day, and THEY reminded me where they were supposed to be. Lesson learned. Don’t mess with their routine!)
Don’t Make them Wait Long
Even though they are busy looking a books, their attention spans are short. At the beginning of the year, looking at books is super short. As soon as I see one child put the book down, I know it’s time to tell the children to put their books in the basket and move on with our next transition. As the year progresses, I continue to monitor how long they look at books. It increases a little, but we still keep it rather short the entire year.
Have a Visual Schedule
This is huge, especially for those children that have a real hard time with transitions. I like to have a visual schedule that has an arrow that I can keep moving down as we progress through our morning. Having a visual schedule can help children who are dealing with separation anxiety, especially at the beginning of the school year when they aren’t familiar with our routine. By showing those children where we are in our morning using the visual schedule, they can be comforted knowing that after a few more transitions, it will be time to see their parents again.
Use a Preschool Clock
Yes, there really IS a clock that is made specifically for young children! This particular clock is made by Preschool Collection and instead of using numbers, it uses colors and animals. Edited to add 8/24 – The company has since changed this clock so it DOES now have numbers. Instead of saying “In 5 minutes we will go to the gym” (which really means nothing to young children), I can say “When the big hand reaches the frog, we will go to the gym.” This has been a HUGE help and I wish I had this clock years ago. Scroll down for more information on our preschool clock. On those days, it can be a challenge to transition smoothly. I had one morning where the children eventually came to the carpet, but ended up piling on top of each other instead of even being interested in looking at a book. So one of my solutions is just as I discuss in my Secrets to a Successful Circle Time video. Props. Get out the Props I can’t say enough about the importance of having props available when the children are pumped with an extra dose of energy. I love using the flannel board partnered with a favorite finger play. (Our 2 and 3 year olds adore our Five Speckled Frogs felt figures.) Puppets are awesome, too! Song & Rhyme Props #1 Song & Rhyme Props #2 When all else fails, music saves the day. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t only use music during these high-energy moments. Music and movement is a big part of our every day routine. But I’m not afraid to add even more music when our toddlers have a case of the super-duper wiggles. Once we jump and clap and swing here and there, I calmly invite them to sit before we transition to the next part of our morning. Check out my classroom playlist here! Take that time. It’s so worth it. I can honestly say YES! My young preschoolers love relating to the animals, knowing that they represented different parts of our routine. CLICK HERE for link to the Preschool Clock. Best Music for Energetic Kids 20+ Fun Ways to Teach Toddlers Colors
Toddler and Preschool Activity Plans
I have helped create each of these packets, along with a team of talented educators and homeschoolers. Easy to follow activity plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners. Every theme comes with recommended reading lists, songs, material lists, and more. Click on the graphics below for more details. Toddlers (18 – 36 months): Preschool (3 – 5 Years): Here is my Privacy Policy
