The Transition to Summer
by Edye Katz, Learning Specialist
As an educator, the month of June, the end of the school year, is always bittersweet. I take stock of all the growth that the children went through this year, as well as thinking about my individual accomplishments for the year. According to an article by NAEYC, “Reducing Challenging Behaviors during Transitions: Strategies for Early Childhood Educators to Share with Parents,” we need to understand how difficult transitions can be for our little ones. “By considering children’s needs and abilities and planning accordingly, parents can avoid problems at transition times. Encouraging parents to put themselves in their child’s shoes and look at the world from their vantage points as they consider how to show their children what to do, how to keep children busy, and how to prepare their children for what comes next.”
Since becoming a parent, this transition has a new meaning, as I prepare my son for his summer camp. This is a challenging and confusing time for some children, and it shows through their behaviors. A couple years ago my son was exhibiting behaviors that were saying, “help I don’t know what is happening because my schedule has changed so much.” So, I started to create some tools to help him deal with these changes, as well as prevent further chaos and frustration in the future. Here are some of the preventative strategies that I have used at home:
I looked at our family schedule and tried to figure out which parts were necessary and which I could delete. For instance, before bath time my son would stall and then bath would take forever. I started to think about how he could help with the bath routine, and he started prepping his pajamas and choosing the toys he wanted to have in the bath.
If I knew we were going to be in the car for 7 hours, I made sure I planned and packed activities for him to do, so he didn’t feel like he needed to escape the dreaded car seat. I packed magnets, stickers, snacks, and road games like “name that tune”; this all helped make the car ride more fun for both of us.
I always give my son at least a five-minute warning before it is time to stop and do something else. By using music or predictable noises to signal the transition, he has become familiar with understanding that something else is going to happen next.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that sometimes children are not developmentally ready to complete a skill that is being asked of them. For instance, when telling your child it’s time to brush their teeth, they may have trouble unless you model the activity and they practice a lot with you, until they are able to share when they can do it themselves. Otherwise the challenging behavior will pop out.
Instead of telling him over and over “hands are not for hitting,” I created a visual cue that was placed upstairs and downstairs. This way he was able to recognize behavior that is expected and what is not expected without me being a nag.
Use language phrased as “First___, then___” to communicate the expectations of what is happening, as most children at this age can follow one or two step directions, such as: “First we clean up the game, then we can read a book”.
Validate and label emotions and feelings so children can start to understand and describe their own, such as: “I see that you are sad because you wanted to stay at the playground longer.”
As summer camp begins and children experience many different transitions throughout these next few months, it is always important to ask others for help. The teachers and staff are here to help and assist with anything needed. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, or I can create individualized charts and tools for you to use at home.