Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/i-almost-missed-it!/5023026/
We have no outdoor play yard in our program so every day our lively class of preschoolers exits the school, walks down the city block, crosses the street and plays at a public playground. This proves to be challenging with 21 three- to five-year-olds. As a staff we reflected on our schedules and routines and agreed transitions were a high point of stress for both the children and teachers. We wanted to figure out how we could improve our transitions to be as smooth and stress-free as possible. I decided to start by studying our transitions. I wanted to become a master transition artist. I’d take photos, listen to the children and teachers, and then reflect.
To focus my transition study I created a question: What happens when I slow down, learn to be present, and trust the competency of the children? These three stories illustrate my discoveries:
Healing Hands
The cathedral’s bell tower strikes at noon, “Dong, dong, dong….” Before the bells finish their resonate song, I’m urging the children to find their partner and follow me, “Let’s go! It’s almost circle time!”
As I was lost in this frenzy of rushing, something happened that jolted me back to the present moment. A child ...