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Preschool
Nursery Rhymes for Transition Times
Terrific
Transition Times
What are transition times? These
are the periods of time between activities. It can be the
period of time waiting for all of the children to finish a
task, or it can be waiting in line to wash hands. Transition
times should last only a few minutes.
Change
as a rule is not something any of us deal with easily, for
children it can be particularly stressful. Children tend to
act up during this time which is why it is a great idea to
have transition activities organized to ease into the next
activity.
Children
respond well to transition activities that are fun. Transitions
that they can participate in gather their attention and accentuate
the positive rather than negative behavior. A simple game
of clapping hands in a pattern for them to repeat will surely
get their attention. There are signal phrases as well that
can be spoken to obtain a particular response from the children.
One
example of using signal phrases came when I was a Director
for the Boys and Girls Club. I would walk into a room full
of 200 children, say something in a loud voice like "surfs
up" and the children would shout back "Hang 10".
I had another signal phrase that I have used for many years
with my preschoolers. That was "Stop and give me 5."
The object of this exercise was to get the children's attention
without yelling, or stressing anyone out. The kids knew that
when I raised my hand and said stop and give me 5 that they
were to stop what they were doing and come to where I was
standing in the classroom.
I
have found in my years of teaching that in order to get positive
results, you must keep it simple, and upbeat! I cannot stress
that enough. Children (and adults) tend to tune you out if
you are using a gruff voice....If you have an element of fun
in your request, and reinforce good behavior with praise,
the children will respond in a favorable way.
Here
are some transition ideas that may come in handy for you:
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Sing a song
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walk backwards
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Pick an animal to imitate while standing in line
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Learn a new chant (create one specific for your group!)
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Clap hands in patterns
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Play Simon Says
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Have a contest
There are many other transition ideas. Click here and you
will be taken to a new page which has some transition poems/chants
on it.
If
you have a transition idea that you would like to contribute
EMAIL me and
I will post it, giving you full credit for the idea. :)
TRANSITIONS part
2
Welcome to the Childcare Resource :: Transitions
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