
The course was designed to help teachers plan out an effective schedule and transitions to help decrease the number of behavior issues that happen throughout the preschool day. They enjoy moving, making sounds, and singing! There’s something about music that draws them in and points their attention at whoever is making music.Ī few summers ago, I took a class on early childhood transitions with a lot of preschool teachers.


Have each child pick up 10 items (or however many).Assign different colors of items to each child to pick up."I Spy" (naming overlooked items, having children figure out what they are).Beat the Clock" - use an egg timer, kitchen timer, the clock, etc.Politely redirect the child back, because he/she "forgot to do something." Thank the parent(s), let them know you appreciate their support with this, that you know they are tired and probably just want to get home,etc. Children often want to run to their cubbie and get their coat the minute they see their parent. Ask parents to help and to reinforce you by having their children put away what they're doing before they go home.It is really not fair to that 6:00 pm child to have to clean up the entire Block Area because all of the other children have left for the day. Only certain areas of the room should be open at the beginning and end of the day for manageability purposes.They can then expand upon it over the next few days. If your children build an elaborate block structure they want to show their parents, consider the possibility of saving it. Don't be locked into everything having to be cleaned up daily.If you can see an area is going to be difficult or time consuming to clean up, get a head start on it. And there is always the natural and logical consequence of "The sooner our room is clean, the sooner we can _." Use the next activity as a motivator. Thank that child for helping, even though it wasn't his/her mess. Acknowledge that fact, talk about being a team and working together. You will, of course, hear the, "I didn't do it/It's not my mess" argument. Working together is the focus of clean up time.Let them make an informed decision and retain having that control. Some children don't mind putting something away halfway through, and some do.

When a child wants to start some elaborate or complicated game or activity ten minutes before it is time to clean up, let him make the choice.You have to love the child who, when you give your five minute transition warning, scoots quickly out of the really messy Homeliving Area! You also know that someone was playing with the blocks even though everyone insists "not me!". Make a mental note of which children were playing in which area(s) during freeplay time.If only 4 children are allowed in the Homeliving Area, you don't need 10 purses or a table setting for 8. We often add to the environment, yet forget to take things out of it, creating an overwhelming mess at clean up time.

An example of this would be the Homeliving Area. If one area of the room is consistently a nightmare at clean up time, examine the problem.Children should not be allowed to leave an area to go to another area without first picking up what they took out. Clean up as you go throughout the day.You may have to teach children to sort the manipulatives, instead of just throwing them all into the closest bin. They actually need to be taught this skill. Many young children come home to a magically clean home and are not expected to clean their rooms.
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Some children truly do not know how to clean up or know where to start. Your environment should 'make sense' and areas should lend themselves to appropriate use and clean up. This makes putting toys away self-correcting, and a skill building matching game, in which children can experience success and be self-sufficient. Have shelves labeled with words and pictures &/or silhouettes.And then there's the Mary Poppins-thing- music and a positive attitude can make a chore seem more fun. Children will learn to associate that song mentally with clean up time.
