Tips for Facilitating Better Routines and Transitions in Early Childhood Programs
By Nicole Malenfant, University of Montréal, author of Routines and Transitions: A Guide for Early Childhood Professionals

Routines and transitions are a significant part of every early childhood schedule. Depending on the age and development of the children, 40 percent to 80 percent of an educator's time may be devoted to these activities. With this much time used for routines and transitions, an educator should learn to value these activities.

What Is a Routine?

Routine activities include filling basic needs such as eating, drinking, going to the toilet, sleeping, and taking care of personal hygiene. They are distinguished from other activities by their ritualized aspect—the repetition and anticipation of gestures, the prior designation of place, the familiarity of the people involved, and/or the child's knowledge of the activity.

What Is a Transition?

Transitions involve the organized passage from one activity to another and help the children adapt to the change. Changes in activity, place, instructions, materials, staff, educator, or group all involve a transition. In such activities, tidying up, moving from one place to another, and organizing into a group are a part of the transition. Well-organized transitional activities will help the child develop autonomy.

In Early Childhood Education Programs

More and more educators are recognizing the educational significance of basic activities in the development of the child, which offer natural opportunities for every kind of learning and skill acquisition—psychomotor, cognitive, linguistic, social, and affective. For example, tidying-up activities help a child situate himself in space. Cleanup following a messy activity sensitizes him to the importance of taking care of his environment. A child putting on her own shoes develops dexterity at the same time as it interests her in addressing certain personal needs.

The challenge for the educator is to make routines and transitions as agreeable to children as possible. We know that a child who is rested, well fed, and confident has a better chance of blossoming than one who is tired, hungry, and anxious. By assuring optimal quality in routines and transition activities, we help children develop their talents more fully and encourage the acquisition of basic skills that will be useful throughout their lives.

View Routines and Transitions as Legitimate "Activities"

Routines and transitions merit the name "activities" just as much as workbooks, active games, or educational trips. An educator can use the time putting on a child's coat to encourage her to speak. She can use the time a child spends getting dressed to increase self-esteem. By eating with the children, an educator helps instill good dining habits. By encouraging children to listen to each other, she can help children learn to pay attention to each other and reduce noise during mealtime. In short, routines and transitions should be viewed as important learning opportunities.

Create a Warm Atmosphere

A calm, inviting atmosphere helps children feel comfortable and secure. It's important to speak softly to children, receive them warmly on their arrival, and send them off in a friendly way on their departure. By offering equal attention to each child, an educator shows she is sincerely interested in what each child says and does and that she looks upon each child as a sovereign individual. Frequently smiling and singing adds warmth and can create a positive and relaxed atmosphere. It is also important for an educator to minimize noise and to encourage children to help with this. Too much noise makes it difficult for children to concentrate and raises the stress level.

Spend Time on Routines and Transitions

To enjoy and gain satisfaction from routines and transitions, such activities must not be thought of as a race against time or in terms of problem management. It's important to take advantage of opportunities for enriching experiences when they arise. A good provider finds the moments, uses them, learns from the children, takes time to breathe, has fun, and is involved with the children and their capers.

Supervise Each Child in the Context of the Life of the Group

Since each child is unique, a child's differences should be considered when helping him adapt to the life of the group. For example, a four-year-old who does not sleep during rest time may, when asked to by the educator, relax on his mattress over the course of the half hour, after which he will be able to take part in games calmly. In this way, a child grows to respect the calm necessary to the unity of the group insofar as it corresponds with his own needs. Some children eat their meals with a good appetite, whereas others are content to just taste their food. Nonetheless, they should all learn to wait for the others to finish eating before getting up.

Put the Needs of the Child First

An educator needs to make sure that a parent's request does not hinder the physical or psychological health of the child. For example, if a child sleeps for the first twenty minutes during rest period, it's because she needs to sleep. To respond to a parent's request to not let her sleep or to wake her up after half an hour even though she is sleeping soundly makes the child feel as if she is in the wrong. Providers should understand the role of sleep in the health and development of the child, and then supply pertinent information to the parents. Strengthening the immune system, secretion of the growth hormone, development of the brain, and the organization of newly acquired information are all benefits associated with sleep. As needed, a teacher can ask for help from her director on how to deal with parents who have questionable requests.

Plan for Many Contingencies

Several positive conditions need to occur to assure the proper development of routine and transition activities—security, the application of security rules and hygiene measures, instructions, organization of the space, time management, materials preparation, and knowledge of the real needs of the children. During the midday meal, the warm, calm voice of the educator may not by itself make up for uncomfortable furniture when it comes to calming the children down. The cleanliness of the mattress and the bedding may not be enough to get children to sleep if the air quality in the area leaves something to be desired. A balanced menu may prove to be incomplete if an educator is not attentive to children during the meal.

Develop a Professional Image

It's important for an educator to display professionalism through her gestures and attitudes during routines and transitions. The ability to take charge is an important part of these responsibilities. Organizational sense, time management, an emphasis on active learning, a capacity for adaptation, the ability to control stress, attention to matters of health and safety, and observational skills are all measures of professionalism.

Nicole Malenfant has twenty-five years of experience as an early childhood education consultant and fieldwork supervisor. She teaches at the Universite de Montreal and is a regular contributor to the magazine Enfants Quebec and the author of two other books.

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