Helping Young Children through Daily Transitions

What's In This Kit?
This training kit helps early childhood professionals understand the importance of how to facilitate transitions in their daily work with young children. Well-managed transitions can lead to a better classroom environment and reduce discipline issues since transition times can be a prime time for challenging behavior to erupt. Teachers will identify key transition times and learn practical and easy-to-implement ideas to help children throughout the day.

This training kit contains the following components:

• Expected training outcomes and learning objectives
• Training research, models, benchmarks
• Preparation and implementation steps
• Handouts
• The article “Helping Young Children through Daily Transitions” by Tara V. Katz
• A bonus (related) article “On the Other Side of the Door: Celebrating Transition in
Children’s Books” by Jean Dugan
• References and resources
• Training Certificate for Learner �" Certificate of Attendance and Participation
• Training Certificate for Trainer �" Award Certificate

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audiences for this training kit are beginning, intermediate, and advanced Learners who are working with young children (3 through 5 years).

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
This training activity is designed for independent reading and reflection (30 minutes) followed in about 1 to 2 weeks with group instruction (60 minutes) and applied activity (60 minutes). Then about 1 to 2 weeks later a second group session should be convened (30 minutes). Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1 to 2 hours. Implementation and actual training time is 3.0 hours, which includes 1.5 hours of face-to-face training and 1.5 hours of independent study and an applied activity project. Two optional bonus activities can add as much as 1.0 hour each to the training time.

Training Outcomes:

By the end of this training, Learners will be able to:

• identify key transition times and evaluate their current implementation in the classroom.
• explain why planning for transitions is important in children’s environments.
• locate and implement new activities for children in their age group.
• provide examples of effective transition strategies and activities to other staff that work well.
• describe at least 3 ways they can improve transitions for the children in their classroom.

These training outcomes address the following American Standards:

1.D. Creating a Predictable, Consistent, and Harmonious Classroom:
1.D.03 a. Teaching staff anticipate and take steps to prevent potential behavior problems.
1.E.03 Rather than focus solely on reducing the challenging behavior, teachers focus on . . .

b. using environmental modifications, activity modifications, adult or peer support, and other teaching strategies to support the child’s appropriate behavior.

2.A. Curriculum: Essential Characteristics:
2.A.07 The curriculum guides the development of a daily schedule that is predictable, yet flexible and responsive, to individual needs of the children. The schedule:

a. provides time and support for transitions.

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