Transitions That Work: A Transition System for Child Care Programs

May transitions can make or break your classroom calm. In this episode of Elevating ECE, we walk through a repeatable transition system using Resource 2: Transitions That Work from the May Monthly Packet. We cover: a daily arrival checklist, a consistent parent goodbye script, teacher-to-teacher handoffs, what to do when distress lasts longer than 5 minutes, and a simple plan for classroom/kindergarten moves.

Download the May Monthly Packet: Finish Strong, Start Ready and use Resource 2 this week. https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/qdw8D2KC4e7BGjWMNfmZ 

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

If transitions are chaotic in May, it's not because kids suddenly forgot how to behave. It's because transitions are the first place stress shows up. You have new schedules, end-of-year energy, and family emotions. Today I'm giving you a simple system that makes transitions smoother before the child walks in because consistency is the intervention.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Elevate childhood education. And your program becomes a legal excellence.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Hello and welcome back to Elevating ECE. And I am your host, Beatrice Hutcherson. And this month, we are covering the theme Finish Strong, Start Ready. And this week we're focusing on transitions because smooth transitions protect. They protect our classroom, they promote classroom calm, they promote child regulation, they protect parent trust, and they also protect teacher energy. Today you'll learn how to use the toolkit and resource number two, because we're in our second installment of it. And so the toolkit includes for this week how to run a predictable arrival that stabilizes the whole day, how to coach parents into a consistent goodbye, how to create teacher-to-teacher handoffs that reduce escalation, how to respond when a child is distressed without all of the chaos, and how to plan a classroom moving up ceremony or how to plan classroom kindergarten moves with a simple transition. Something that's important for you to understand. Smooth transitions are built before the child even walks in. So we're going to fix the transition by fixing three things. What the adult does in the first two minutes, what the adult says to the parent, and what the team says to each other before escalation happens. Because when adults are consistent, children calm faster. They're able to co-regulate and calm down. So just to highlight again, smooth transitions are built before the child even walks through the doors. The biggest myth is that transitions are solved in the moment, as they happen. That's the biggest myth. Most of them are solved by what you set up, what you do in advance, being proactive. And so what you set up, what it is what the child sees first. It's what the adult sees first when they walk in. It's what the parent does consistently. And it's what the teacher team communicates ahead of time. Consistency is the intervention. Next, let's talk about your two highest leverage moments is your arrival window that sets the emotional tone for the day. What happens when the child and the parent arrive in the morning? What does the child do? What does the parent do? What do the staff do? Right? Does the teacher team do they have a welcoming environment? Do they welcome in the student as well as the parent? Right. So what happens in those moments during the arrival time sets the emotional tone for the entire day. And now the next highest leverage point, number two, is your room-to-room handoff. So depending on how the handoff occurs, that prevents any type of escalation. So you may have a child that comes in for the day and they are upset, right? They didn't have a good day with their parent or guardian. And so they come to you and they're already not in a good mood. So that handoff is very important, right? So what when the parent hands off the child to you is in your response, what do you do? If you have an you have opening classrooms and then you have to transition a child from one classroom to the other, all of those things, how you handle that prevents escalation. So it's important that you not do it on the fly or do it in the moment of. So we want to take advantage of our two highest leverage moments. Now let's talk about why wording matters. Why do the words that we speak matter? Let's talk about it. Words matter because unclear, emotional, or inconsistent messaging creates negotiation, especially during the goodbye time. And so you'll see that that happens often when a child is dropped off. If you don't have a system that you've already built up, because now remember, we're at we're in May at this point. So all of your routines should be in place, all of your structure to your classroom, your organization, all of that should already be set in place. And so what have you built up to this point, or what has your staff built up to this point? There should be some structure for how you hand children off. There should be some type of structure structure around what you say, especially if a child is disgruntled or a child is not having a good morning. How do you assist them or support them in saying goodbye? There should be some structure that's in place because if it's unclear, you're trying to figure it out in the moment, then it will cause the matter to escalate, especially during this time. So we want to make sure that we have our consistent process. This is our structure, this is how we handle our times of arrival, including the parent leaving the classroom. Sometimes you get parents that will stick around and hang out and want to talk and do all of those things, or just sometimes parents have an issue with attachment, right? And so they will uh kind of stay because it's uncomfortable for them to even leave their child, right? So you have to know how to support the parent even in leaving, so that it also supports the child. So if it's unclear and if it's uninconsistent messaging, meaning that each teacher does something different, then it leaves room for negotiation and it opens up lots of other situations that you don't want. So knowing ahead of time what your process and your structure is can really be helpful and that that would include the wording that you use during that time. And so that means that all teachers would use that same language so that the consistency would be seen. Now let's talk about why do transitions blow up in May? We've come through the entire year. Children know their routines by now. Well, May transitions get harder because schedules change. You now have maybe some uh field days, or you have off-site trips, or you have end-of-year events happening. So there are changes to the schedule, and all of that makes transitions a little bit harder. Children are also more tired, and so that leads to them being dysregulated. Teachers are stretched in because we're almost at the end of the year. We are in anticipation for everything that is to come. And then parents are emotional. Children may be leaving the program, going to kindergarten, right? Or changing rooms. All of that creates some instability or some uncertainty. And so it causes a lot of emotions around that. So it's important that we know that everyone is affected by the changes, right? So there are lots of changes, lots of transitions that are happening in May. And so that's why uh that is the reason why we see that things become or seem to be a little out of sorts or dysregulated. It's because of the all of the transitions happening, all of the moving pieces. So the child isn't being difficult, the parent isn't being difficult, the child is reacting to the to predictability loss, right? Those what they will lose, they will move on to another classroom without their peers or to a whole nother school. They're losing teachers, right? And so that affects the child as well as the parent. And so it's important to know that it gives you a different perspective and to know how to plan and how to support in a way that would be effective to all. Now let's talk about three, the three most common transition mistakes that we make. We have too much talking to the parent while the child escalates, right? So instead of addressing the child right then in the moment, we're having more of a discussion with the parent. Number two is that no, there's no predictable first choice. The child enters into chaos. There's no structure, the child is coming in, and now they just have to figure it out on, you know, or get the support from you as they go, right? But when you have a structure that is already in place and that is set up, there's an option, there's some predictability there. Routine. Children strive in routine and consistency. So it's important when that is there. Also, number three is no handoff language. So the next adult walks in blind, they don't know what's going on, what has happened, what what is the communication that happens during the handoff or the transitioning from one classroom or one teacher to the other? So today, the toolkit, we're gonna do the activity together, it fixes all three of those. So this is a quick what we're not doing. We're not creating a brand new behavior plan. We're not blaming parents, we're not asking teachers to be superheroes, we're installing a repeatable script and checklist that works on the tired days, on the days when everyone is spent and stretched thin. And so let's dive into this demonstration together. And I'm going to go ahead and share my screen, but we're going to go over the resource entitled transitions that work. So it's the child and the parent transition toolkit. And so I am going to share my screen so that you could follow along with me as we work through this together. All right. So we are going to resource two here. And again, you can get your copy of the May Monthly packet, which is entitled Finish Strong, Start Ready. And so each week we're covering different topics. Last week, we, which was the first installment, we talked about school readiness without stress. And so today we're talking about transitions that work. So we're going to go to resource number two. All right, here we are. Transitions that work, child and parent transition toolkit. So smooth transitions are important, right? As we've discussed and talked about it during our time together today. We understand that we need to be proactive and that we need to plan in advance for our children. Especially, you know, transition doesn't just start in the moment or right as something is happening, but it starts early. Even as we have children that are leaving, we'll be transitioning to kindergarten. Then that transition shouldn't just start happening in April, shouldn't just start happening in May, right? It should all be happening or be implemented or put into lesson planning, right? Even from the beginning of the year. And so now here in May, we're talking about how to support with the child and the parent transitions. And so here we have a daily child transition checklist. And so this is to be completed every morning by the teacher. Greeted the child by name at the door with eye contact, right? How are they connecting the moment the child walks into the classroom? Offered a predictable first choice, right? Was there something set up for them to do? And we understand that there are a lot more things that happen once they come into the classroom, the child is greeted. Also, the parent should be greeted as well, right? Not by mom or dad or grandma, right? But we want to also identify the parent's name. We should know it. We're in May, so we should know the parent's name at this point. And so, of course, and then we do our our health check. We make sure the child is fine. Those are all of the regular uh regulatory items that we do. But for the sake of this, we're talking about the transition more specifically, right? So we want to greet the child as they come in as well as the parent. We want to also offer a predictable first choice. When they come in, usually there's breakfast, but there should be activities also set up that will allow the child to transition into an activity, right? So that the focus is not on the fact that the parent is leaving. They are focusing on whatever the activity is that they see that they would like to do next or engage in. The next item is acknowledged any visible emotion without rushing past it, right? So when we do our health check, we see, you know, whether or not the child has any injuries or any scars or anything of that magnitude. But we're also looking to see what state the child is in, right? Is the child uh crying? Is the child upset? Is the child angry, right? All of those things we notice in those first few moments during arrival. So we want to acknowledge and not just pass past, not just move past it, right? So if the child is crying, we don't want to just act like it doesn't matter and the child is not crying, or the child should know better at this point in the year. They are already acclimated to the environment, they shouldn't be experiencing this, right? Just to give you some, you know, I've heard them all, right? I understand them all. So acknowledge what the child is feeling, acknowledge the emotion, right? So you can address that. Like I see that you're crying. What's happening this morning? I see that you're not feeling um, you're not happy this morning. Tell me about what's going on, right? So don't just rust past it. I know it's a lot going on because you have other students coming in, but it's important that you give that individualized time or attention because if you don't, it could cause the matter to escalate. And so now what was already a busy time now becomes a chaotic time because now you have these escalation of behaviors or whatever it is, right? And now you have to manage all of that as well as still bring in all the other students and still have the individualized attention on each one of the children. So it causes, it can really escalate quickly if we pass by or ignore the emotion that we see exhibited. The next one is connected child to a peer or activity within two minutes, right? Let the child know. Oh, we have the sand area, we have the block area, we have the dramatic play that's all open. And so if you and also we have breakfast if you'd like to have breakfast, or you can go to one of the areas to play, right? So we want to give them or connect them. See, oh, your friend, you know, uh John is here. Oh, you can go and play with him. He's already in the block area, right? So you want to connect the child to a peer or an activity as soon as they come in the classroom. And the last one is notify co-teacher of any child who needed extra support. So as a child comes in, if the child needs additional support, you communicate that to your co-teacher, right? To the other teacher in the classroom. So you can let them know I need to help Molly for a moment. Um, please just watch the others, or you can ask them, can you help help support or can you help me with supporting Molly? I have to, you know, I'm I'm speaking to the parent or I'm bringing in the other children, right? So just don't ignore the child, pass the child off if you're not able to attend to them. But that communication should be happening with you and your co-teacher or the other teacher, another teacher or staff member in the classroom. So that's the transition checklist. And then we have our parent goodbye script, right? And this is something that we should have in place earlier in the school year, but this is very simple, and everyone can use it to say the same thing, right? To have the same language. So all staff should be trained in the version of the script here. And so again, you make it specific to the needs of your program what you need, right? So you modify this however, but this just gives you an idea. So it has a template here and it says, Good morning. We are glad, and I've been using the name Molly, so we are glad Molly is here. You can say goodbye now, and we will take care, take good care of her. We will see you at whatever time she the parent usually picks up, right? So very simple. Good morning. We're glad that Molly is here today. You could say goodbye and we will take good care of her. We'll make sure that she enjoys her day, right? And so you just that's that transition from the parent uh to you, and then you have that activity that's set up, right? So then you say, we will see you uh later at four o'clock. Enjoy your day, have a great day, right? And so there's that transition, but everyone will have that language. That way the parent is aware and also receives the training, right? We train them in how we respond to them and how we communicate to them so they will understand that this is the structure that I bring my child in, and then that I say goodbye and I pass my child on, right? So having that structure in place, of course, having the eye contact, you know, connecting with the family. And certainly you want to do this from the beginning of the year so that everyone is on the same page and that understanding is already had by the parent, that they understand we do have a transition process out, you know, after you drop your child off. And so the idea is to redirect the child as soon as possible, and then the teacher handoff script, and this is how the teacher will hand the child off. And so it says, Molly is having a hard time this morning. She usually responds well to playing with manipulatives or playing in the sand, and so you want to keep your voice low and offer a preferred activity, right? Would Molly would you like to play in the sand since you usually like playing in the sand? So offer the preferred activity first. And you can say I've already informed the family that the child is going to be okay. Uh, let us and let us know if anything changes, or let us we will let you know if there are any changes that are needed or that are made, right? So this is the teacher handoff script. So when you're letting another teacher know, you're letting them know that they were having a hard time. This is a situation, and this is how they use this is what they usually respond to. And so it does give a little, you know, tip in here about how to keep your voice low and to offer some, but so it gives directives on how to uh how to govern or how to support this trans, this transition, right? Because it's a co-regulation language. So you want to keep your voice low, keep it, you know, uh stable. So that even if the child is having aggressive behaviors, if the child is having uh is crying, right? If the child is screaming, we still want to maintain the low voice, the consistency of it, of our mannerisms, because our calmness in that moment will help. The child to co-regulate. They feed off of our emotions. And so if we're able to remain calm, then the child will, we will be eventually able to get the child back to that calm state. And so this just kind of gives a script. You modify it based on whatever you feel would be appropriate. The whole idea here is that we're being intentional about putting a script in. And sometimes we think we don't need to tell teachers how to do this, but we do. It matters, right? And so sometimes teachers could be a little agitated. And if they respond in that way and a child is already agitated, then that's going to just escalate the situation. So having a script, everyone knows what to say, everyone says the same thing, it is very helpful. And then the next piece is if the if distress lasts more than five minutes. So these are the things that we do. And you may have, if especially if a child has a behavior support plan, then you may already have some strategies, but this could be generally for the whole class. So you want to follow this sequence. So if distress lasts more than five minutes, then you want to stay calm and stay close. Do not leave the child alone. Don't just walk away and say they'll get a grip at some point, right? No, you don't want to leave the child alone. You stay calm and you stay close. Next, you want to offer the child a preferred object or calm down item. Sometimes uh in the classrooms, you'll have like weighted pets or weighted vests or things like that, or even just an item that you know the child likes. You can give that to the child to help them calm down. Next, you have moved to a quieter corner of the room if possible. So you can say, you know, can we can we go away in the can we go over here to the library and just sit and just talk so that we can move away so that your friends could hear what's happening in circle time, right? So we move the child away. We don't move them away and isolate them. Remember, we're staying with them, but we are moving them to a different area, a quieter corner, if possible, where there's not a lot of noise, a lot of children moving, you know, moving by a space that is kind of that's quieter, where the child can be able to regulate. Next is contact the director or backup staff if distress continues past 10 minutes, right? Because this will greatly impact your classroom. If this is going on for a long time now, then you call for support. And then next is document in the child's daily log or in your anecdotal on the child's or if they have a behavior tracking sheet, an ABC sheet, then you want to track it on there, and then you notify the family during pickup. You let them know that your child had a difficult day or whatever the issue was and let them know the update on it. And so we were able to work with the child, we were able to support her uh back to a place where she was able to go and play with her friends, right? So you want to give the entire update, don't just leave it at the point that they had a difficult time. Let's talk about how we were able to move them past the difficult time. And then this is a transition plan. So this is for a classroom move or to kindergarten, right? So they're leaving the program if they're going to kindergarten or they're moving from one classroom to the other. And so this is one plan per child. So you have the child's name, and then you have the transition date. What date are they supposed to move? What helps the child to regulate? And so, whatever that is. And so, even this is helpful to even send with the child because now you can inform the teacher. Maybe the child I've been saying, Molly, maybe Molly likes uh dolls, she likes dolls. So you can say that a doll would be an item that could help her to regulate. Known triggers. So things that you know trigger the particular child. Also, your plan for the the plan for the first three days. What are some things that you know would be helpful with helping the child acclimate to the new environment? And then parent communication plan. What what communication will be had with the family, with the parent? So you want to also document that. And then the parent communication checkpoints, at which points are you communicating? So the transition conversation was held on what date the written summary was sent to the family as a follow-up, and then a follow-up was made in five days, and then the concern, any concerns were documented and shared with the next teacher. Maybe the parents had a concern about the child's acclimating to the new environment, or were concerned that the child would not know the teachers or the new peers or the new environment and may need some additional support. So those types of concerns can be shared. So that's the communication checkpoints where you check in with the families, you communicate to them, also find out if they have any concerns, and then you follow up with documentation. All right, so that is the tool or the resource that we have for you today. And so remember, download your copy so that you could do this and modify all the sections, modify them to be specific and to really be able to help you meet the needs of your program. And do me a favor, comment down below transitions and tell me what's hardest. The arrival time, maybe room change, pickup, or nap or an event day. Um, please tell me what is the most difficult transition for you? What's the hardest? So comment below and I'll reply with a script that is specific to that particular transition. Okay, so I hope that that was helpful to you. And so the tool is for you. You can take the resource. And so again, we did resource number two, but the packet includes a resource for each of the four weeks that we're spending this time together, but it gives you tools that you could use that could really help to help your program run smoothly and really to move you towards excellence. Usually we have chaos because we have the absence of systems or systems that actually work. So we have these resources that we share to you that you can go back and implement in your program, of course, modify it based on your needs, but use them so that you have systems in place that could help your program run like a well-oiled machine. And so, if you have no other takeaway from today, I want you to remember smooth transitions are built before the child walks in. It's about being proactive and having a plan in place for how we will deal with issues. And will we be able to cover all of the issues? We may not. Every once in a while, something may happen where this is the first time that you've seen it. But guess what? It gets added to your plan now of how to address and how to support children when they most need it. And so transitions are a time when there's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of fears, there are a lot of emotions, and it impacts everyone, right? Not just the child, not just you as the teacher or the administrator. It also impacts the family and those that are connected to that particular child. So we want to look from that perspective when we are dealing or approaching these types of transitions. The end of the year is always difficult. But if we have our systems in place, then it runs seamlessly. And we have a lot less issues that occur. And or if issues do occur, we have a plan in place to de-escalate it very quickly. And so thank you for your time today. And until we meet again next time, let's continue to elevate childhood education together.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Elevate childhood education. Where leaders rise, children drive, and your program becomes a legacy of excellence.