S1E20: Having FUN with Transitions, Schedules, and Routines w. Katie Zabel

Nebraska Extension Early Childhood Program Area-Emily Manning, Dr. Holly Hatton, Ingrid Lindal, Erin Kampbell, Linda Reddish, Katie Krause, and LaDonna Werth Author

05/28/2024 Added

7 Plays

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In the final episode of the season, host Emily Manning interviews Katie Zabel about strategies to support young children through daily transitions and the shift from school to summer. Katie and Emily discuss the importance of routines, predictability, and support in easing these transitions for children, as well as the emotions and behaviors that may emerge in children during these times.

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[00:00:00.000](upbeat music)
[00:00:05.490]This is "The Good Life in Early Life."
[00:00:08.400]A production of Nebraska Extension.
[00:00:10.470]I'm your host, Emily Manning,
[00:00:11.970]an early childhood Extension educator in Seward County.
[00:00:15.090]Before we get into our episode today,
[00:00:18.240]I wanted to do some housekeeping and some announcements.
[00:00:21.750]So this is our final episode of our first season
[00:00:25.320]and I just wanted to thank all of our listeners
[00:00:27.600]who have followed along and joined us on our journey
[00:00:30.030]in this very first season of the podcast.
[00:00:32.820]Coming out very soon will be a survey
[00:00:35.340]where you can give us your feedback on season one,
[00:00:38.100]such as, like, what was the most helpful episode,
[00:00:40.710]what segments of the show you liked the most.
[00:00:43.620]And you can also submit topic ideas for season two.
[00:00:46.920]We'd really appreciate your feedback on this survey
[00:00:49.320]because it'll help us plan and develop a podcast
[00:00:52.290]that is tailored to what you want,
[00:00:54.060]and what you need, and what you like.
[00:00:55.530]After this episode,
[00:00:56.880]we will be taking a break until September,
[00:00:59.610]which is when season two will start up,
[00:01:02.460]but we do have a special bonus episode planned for you
[00:01:06.420]coming out right before Father's Day,
[00:01:08.160]and, of course, it focuses on fathers.
[00:01:10.290]And I just interviewed the two guests for that episode
[00:01:13.140]and I'm so excited for you to hear that.
[00:01:15.420]So it's just something for you to look forward to
[00:01:17.910]and a little something to get you through the break,
[00:01:20.190]but, again, we look forward
[00:01:21.450]to continuing our journey with you
[00:01:22.605]in season two in September.
[00:01:25.200]And so without further ado,
[00:01:26.880]we will get into our episode today with Katie Zabel
[00:01:30.330]about transitions, schedules and routines.
[00:01:32.970]Before we get started with our other questions, Katie,
[00:01:35.640]would you tell us a bit about your professional history
[00:01:37.920]with early childhood?
[00:01:39.000]I have been lucky enough to have a variety of roles
[00:01:42.180]in early childhood.
[00:01:43.500]I taught preschool, I taught kindergarten,
[00:01:46.287]I was a center director.
[00:01:48.570]I did some licensing of early childhood programs
[00:01:51.930]throughout this state.
[00:01:53.310]And then about 12 years ago I joined the Getting Ready team
[00:01:58.823]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:02:01.440]We are part of the Nebraska Center on Research
[00:02:04.217]for Children, Youth, Families and School.
[00:02:07.020]And so the Getting Ready team has developed
[00:02:10.770]and it's been researched since 2004,
[00:02:14.010]the Getting Ready approach,
[00:02:15.990]which is really an approach about family engagement.
[00:02:19.800]And so I am a trainer for the team
[00:02:23.730]as well as an early childhood coach.
[00:02:25.770]Thanks for sharing that, Katie.
[00:02:26.970]You have a wealth of experience in early childhood,
[00:02:29.790]so you are the perfect guest for this topic.
[00:02:32.400]So thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:02:34.440]Let's start with kind of a fun question
[00:02:36.300]that I ask all of my guests and that is,
[00:02:39.270]what is a funny story about you as a child,
[00:02:42.450]or maybe a favorite memory from your childhood?
[00:02:45.180]I would say a favorite memory
[00:02:47.460]is me going to the Wright Nursery School
[00:02:51.748]in Palo Alto, California where I grew up.
[00:02:54.660]Wright's Nursery School
[00:02:55.980]would pick you up in a Volkswagen van
[00:02:59.037]and I went there for two years and it was a fantastic place.
[00:03:05.370]It had a swimming pool so you had swimming lessons.
[00:03:08.317]It had barns and outer buildings
[00:03:11.880]that you can jump off from the hayloft
[00:03:15.060]into a whole bunch of hay.
[00:03:17.610]It had, like, an art studio they used to call it
[00:03:20.485]where you could be as creative as you wanted to
[00:03:23.460]with all different types of materials.
[00:03:26.910]It was a fantastic place.
[00:03:29.220]I know my diploma that I still have
[00:03:32.430]from the Wright's Nursery School said,
[00:03:35.107]"I was the master of mud pie making and leaf kicking."
[00:03:39.150]It was just a great memory for me.
[00:03:43.230]It was a great experience and I think I went,
[00:03:46.590]like, twice a week and it was just always fun to go.
[00:03:51.210]That sounds amazing.
[00:03:52.290]It sounds like it was a haven for children.
[00:03:54.394]It really was.
[00:03:55.950]It was a wonderful program
[00:03:57.660]and I was really lucky to be a part of it.
[00:03:59.790]Absolutely.
[00:04:00.750]So we are talking about transitions today
[00:04:03.630]and transitions are so important
[00:04:06.150]and they occur pretty frequently for children
[00:04:09.210]and for adults, truthfully.
[00:04:10.620]And so we're gonna talk about that today.
[00:04:12.600]My first question related to that is
[00:04:14.460]when we think about everyday transitions for children,
[00:04:17.310]what does that mean?
[00:04:18.630]Children go through a number of transitions all day long
[00:04:21.660]and if you think about their days,
[00:04:23.730]you know, oftentimes they start off at home
[00:04:25.860]and they then transition to maybe childcare of some type.
[00:04:31.260]And from there they may go to school
[00:04:34.980]and come back to the childcare and then back to home,
[00:04:38.910]but then once they're at a location,
[00:04:41.760]if they're in childcare all day,
[00:04:43.590]or if they're in a school setting,
[00:04:45.900]they're transitioning from one thing to another
[00:04:48.390]all day long.
[00:04:49.380]They're transitioning from breakfast possibly,
[00:04:52.320]to center time,
[00:04:53.550]or then to small group or large group,
[00:04:56.580]outdoor playtime, lunch, rest time.
[00:05:00.150]All of these are transitions throughout their day,
[00:05:03.660]which can be made easier with a few things
[00:05:06.540]to help them through those transitions,
[00:05:08.760]but it is a day full of transitions
[00:05:12.480]if you think about it that way.
[00:05:14.790]Yeah, they're experiencing a lot of different activities,
[00:05:17.820]and every time that you change an activity,
[00:05:20.190]or change what they are doing, that is a transition.
[00:05:22.890]So it occurs pretty frequently for children
[00:05:25.620]throughout their day,
[00:05:26.453]and for adults we're transitioning quite frequently.
[00:05:29.430]So challenging behaviors as defined
[00:05:31.890]by the Center for Social Emotional Foundations
[00:05:34.273]for Early Learning
[00:05:35.790]are any repeated pattern of behavior
[00:05:38.280]that interferes with learning or engagement
[00:05:40.950]in pro-social interactions with peers and adults.
[00:05:44.820]And these are behaviors that are not responsive
[00:05:46.800]to developmentally appropriate guidance procedures.
[00:05:50.010]Examples of challenging behaviors
[00:05:51.960]include prolonged tantrums, physical and verbal aggression,
[00:05:55.740]disruptive vocal and motor behavior, property destruction,
[00:05:59.846]self-injury, non-compliance and withdrawal.
[00:06:04.200]So that was the definition of challenging behaviors
[00:06:06.900]and sometimes we see children exhibit challenging behaviors
[00:06:10.418]during transitions.
[00:06:12.510]Why do you think young children
[00:06:15.480]might have these challenging behaviors
[00:06:17.490]when they're asked to change activities?
[00:06:19.950]There could be a variety of reasons.
[00:06:22.380]One is they may be enjoying what they're doing
[00:06:26.010]and they don't wanna stop.
[00:06:27.630]So changing abruptly to something else is hard
[00:06:32.400]'cause they're enjoying what they're doing.
[00:06:34.080]The fear of kind of unknown.
[00:06:36.960]What am I gonna do next?
[00:06:38.760]Do I know what that is?
[00:06:40.560]Have I done this before?
[00:06:42.300]I don't know if I know what that is.
[00:06:45.030]And so kind of that fear of I like what I'm doing now
[00:06:49.170]and I may not wanna go to whatever the next thing is
[00:06:52.500]because the next thing I don't know.
[00:06:54.810]And for young children as well as adults,
[00:06:58.770]I would say research has showed us
[00:07:01.200]that routine and schedules,
[00:07:05.070]we find safety in that and children find safety in that.
[00:07:09.450]And so they're in a safe space
[00:07:12.180]and they don't necessarily know what's next
[00:07:15.780]if they're not sure what the routine is,
[00:07:18.210]or if they don't have a routine or a schedule.
[00:07:20.787]And so that's another reason
[00:07:23.130]that it might create some challenging behaviors.
[00:07:25.920]Yeah, so what I'm hearing is that children may experience
[00:07:28.680]some really big emotions with transitions
[00:07:31.260]'cause they might feel disappointed or angry
[00:07:34.020]that they have to leave the activity
[00:07:35.460]that they're very thoroughly enjoying.
[00:07:37.260]And I think as adults we can empathize with that too
[00:07:40.380]because we would feel the same if we were in their position
[00:07:43.800]and then just maybe haven't fully learned
[00:07:47.190]how to regulate those emotions in an appropriate way.
[00:07:50.550]And that's where teachers come in to help support
[00:07:52.890]and guide those appropriate reactions.
[00:07:55.650]I would say what you're saying is very true
[00:07:57.900]because especially young children, toddlers,
[00:08:00.360]with those big emotions,
[00:08:02.610]they may not have the tools yet in their little tool bag
[00:08:06.150]to be able to regulate
[00:08:07.633]and express their emotions appropriately.
[00:08:11.490]So it is up to adults to help them through that process
[00:08:15.810]and kind of facilitate that process for them to regulate
[00:08:20.041]and to know what's okay when we have big emotions,
[00:08:24.840]that's fine 'cause we all have those
[00:08:27.240]but expressing those in a way that is appropriate, so.
[00:08:31.620]Again, the result of those bigger emotions
[00:08:34.200]can be those challenging behaviors that people see.
[00:08:37.230]Absolutely, 100%.
[00:08:39.150]And then the second thing that I heard you talk about
[00:08:41.220]was the importance of routines and schedules for children.
[00:08:45.390]And so would you speak to,
[00:08:47.310]like, what happens when there is a routine disruption?
[00:08:51.270]I mean, it happens, like, sometimes you can't control it,
[00:08:54.330]like, there's a fire drill,
[00:08:55.560]or some other thing that is going on at the school.
[00:08:57.900]Yes, you know, I was observing one day in a classroom
[00:09:02.550]and the educator did such a great job
[00:09:06.390]at their morning circle.
[00:09:08.070]She knew their normal routine
[00:09:10.890]was going to be a little bit different.
[00:09:13.230]There was outside, they couldn't do outdoor play
[00:09:16.230]because there was, like, smoke in the air
[00:09:18.900]and it was kind of a health hazard.
[00:09:21.570]So they were gonna have to switch that
[00:09:24.000]and not do their normal outdoor routine.
[00:09:27.390]So at the very beginning during circle time
[00:09:30.660]she had marked it on their visual schedule
[00:09:33.900]that there was a big star there,
[00:09:35.790]which meant there's a change.
[00:09:37.680]And she explained the change to them
[00:09:39.930]that unfortunately they weren't gonna be able to go outside,
[00:09:43.440]but instead of that
[00:09:45.450]they were going to ride tricycles in the hallway
[00:09:49.050]and that was going to be the change.
[00:09:51.540]And so no outdoor play,
[00:09:53.730]but they were gonna do the tricycles in the hallway
[00:09:57.600]and then they were gonna use some big balls, too,
[00:10:00.720]I think in the classroom.
[00:10:02.580]So she alerted them right at the beginning of the day
[00:10:06.420]of the known change
[00:10:08.250]and let them know what the alternative was going to be
[00:10:12.330]so that they could start to plan for that.
[00:10:14.880]Yeah, so just really preparing
[00:10:16.740]and communicating with children
[00:10:18.270]about what's gonna be happening in their day
[00:10:20.250]and just preparing them for that shift
[00:10:22.320]so they're not caught off guard, they know what to expect.
[00:10:24.900]Kind of preventing the fear of the unknown
[00:10:27.240]that you were talking about before, Katie.
[00:10:29.430]So what makes a transition feel helpful
[00:10:32.520]and supportive for children?
[00:10:34.350]Yes, again, having that routine or schedule
[00:10:38.190]can really help children.
[00:10:40.110]Visual schedules really help children, so,
[00:10:43.030]having a visual schedule of what their day looks like,
[00:10:46.890]what they're doing from the minute they arrive in a program
[00:10:50.220]to the time that they leave.
[00:10:52.020]And those can be done in a variety of ways,
[00:10:54.750]but, you know, kids love pictures of themselves.
[00:10:57.840]So taking a picture of themself at mealtime and adding that,
[00:11:02.280]or outdoor play,
[00:11:03.660]or like I said, small or large group art time,
[00:11:07.830]any of those things can be added into the visual schedule.
[00:11:11.790]You can have visual schedules at home as well
[00:11:14.640]for the routines of when you get home,
[00:11:17.280]what you're gonna do if you're gonna do some play
[00:11:19.470]and then you're gonna make dinner together
[00:11:21.780]and then maybe have a little bit
[00:11:23.790]of reading time and then bedtime.
[00:11:25.710]Those things can all be made into visual schedules.
[00:11:28.740]Visual schedules can really help
[00:11:30.750]young children know what happens next.
[00:11:33.660]So those types of things really do help
[00:11:36.990]as well as something preparing them for a transition.
[00:11:40.770]So making sure that we're giving them the heads-up
[00:11:44.340]that we're going to stop whatever we're doing
[00:11:47.370]in five minutes.
[00:11:48.990]We call it the five minute warning,
[00:11:51.270]giving everyone a five minute warning
[00:11:53.790]that we're gonna stop what we're doing,
[00:11:56.160]and we're gonna do whatever we're gonna do next.
[00:11:58.980]So if we're in a classroom,
[00:12:01.350]we might have a peer walk around to everyone
[00:12:03.840]and let them know that it's the five minute warning.
[00:12:07.500]They can play with whatever they're playing with.
[00:12:10.260]After five minutes it'll be time to clean up
[00:12:13.350]and then maybe go outdoors.
[00:12:15.630]So, again, having the five minute warning
[00:12:18.720]really helps those kids,
[00:12:20.220]especially the kids that struggle with transition know
[00:12:24.600]that I've got five more minutes to play.
[00:12:26.995]Some classrooms use visual timers to help kids see that
[00:12:31.260]how much time they have left.
[00:12:33.030]So it can be the five minute warning showing the class,
[00:12:37.260]or all the students the five minute timer,
[00:12:41.100]and that next we're going to go outside.
[00:12:44.280]For children who are especially struggling,
[00:12:47.550]it might be the use of a first-then.
[00:12:51.240]So first we're going to clean up this
[00:12:54.510]and then we're going outside.
[00:12:56.610]And, you know, giving them an understanding visually,
[00:13:00.180]a first-then board, or just verbally,
[00:13:02.700]depending on how much help that individual child needs.
[00:13:07.560]And, again, I think all of those things can help
[00:13:11.160]and they can be translated from school to home
[00:13:14.520]and from home to school you can do both.
[00:13:16.680]Absolutely.
[00:13:17.513]I think one of my favorite things that I've seen
[00:13:19.710]is, like, a visual schedule of
[00:13:21.840]you're getting ready for bed routine for children.
[00:13:24.467]And so it's like teeth brushing, read a book, pajamas, bath.
[00:13:28.890]It might not be in that specific order,
[00:13:30.870]but then it's folded so that children interact with it
[00:13:34.110]and mark when it's done.
[00:13:36.240]So there's different examples like some of it's folded,
[00:13:39.450]some of it's like a Velcro piece
[00:13:40.890]where the children can move it
[00:13:42.540]when they've gotten that done.
[00:13:43.920]So it gives them a little bit more control and independence
[00:13:46.500]over that routine,
[00:13:47.460]but then they're still getting those things done
[00:13:49.260]that you want them to do before they go to bed.
[00:13:51.450]Just an example of how you can be doing this
[00:13:53.370]at home as well to help support children.
[00:13:55.950]And then while you were talking, Katie,
[00:13:57.510]I was thinking about
[00:13:58.590]just how to empathize with children on transitions,
[00:14:01.680]and just thinking of when you're in,
[00:14:03.210]like, a really deep work stake,
[00:14:05.430]and you're working on a project
[00:14:06.690]and imagine somebody coming in and being like,
[00:14:09.060]I need your help with this now.
[00:14:10.680]And then you have to transition.
[00:14:12.450]I mean, as adults
[00:14:13.380]we should be able to do that appropriately,
[00:14:15.368]but just knowing all those feelings
[00:14:17.280]that you would feel inside if that was happening
[00:14:20.580]and you were expected to suddenly shift what you were doing.
[00:14:23.670]I think about that all the time.
[00:14:25.320]I think about how my life revolves around my planner
[00:14:29.340]and I have everything written down
[00:14:32.070]and as adults many of us are like that,
[00:14:34.500]but then when we think about this for children,
[00:14:37.080]and why we would want to do a visual schedule,
[00:14:39.870]or why we wanna have a routine.
[00:14:42.983]I mean, why sticking to those things are important,
[00:14:46.440]it's because that is a safety,
[00:14:49.560]and they know then what comes next.
[00:14:52.260]We as adults in a classroom know what comes next,
[00:14:55.020]but we've gotta make sure we're letting children know, too,
[00:14:57.840]because like you said,
[00:14:58.980]being abruptly stopped in the middle of work is hard.
[00:15:03.600]We can pivot as adults,
[00:15:05.485]but it's harder for young children to do that.
[00:15:09.120]And so all of those things make sense to do for children
[00:15:13.708]to ease transitions, so, yeah, I agree.
[00:15:18.721]Oh, another thing, I know you mentioned at home,
[00:15:23.130]you know, the Velcro or the flip chart,
[00:15:25.980]those kinds of things.
[00:15:27.120]And, again, that's another reason, you know,
[00:15:29.520]having that independence, young children
[00:15:31.260]are starting to like to use their independence,
[00:15:34.110]so it's great to have those things.
[00:15:36.390]The National Center for Pyramid Innovations
[00:15:39.690]have some really great resources for parents to use at home,
[00:15:44.670]and on transitions and that kind of thing.
[00:15:48.270]So they have some wonderful resources, they're all free,
[00:15:52.500]and you can get some of those pictures of things,
[00:15:55.920]and those routines there for both home and classroom.
[00:15:59.700]Perfect.
[00:16:00.533]Well, we'll put that resource in our show notes
[00:16:02.250]so that people can access that and find it really easily
[00:16:05.400]'cause it sounds like a great resource.
[00:16:07.020]So earlier you mentioned common transitions
[00:16:10.500]that happen throughout the day for children,
[00:16:13.200]but now let's talk about
[00:16:15.240]what's happening right now with the year.
[00:16:18.240]So it's getting towards the end of the school year
[00:16:21.270]and summer is nearly upon us
[00:16:23.310]and children might be shifting their schedules and routines
[00:16:26.490]a little bit as maybe they're gonna be at home,
[00:16:29.100]or just in a different situation for care during the day
[00:16:33.240]and there just might be less consistency for children.
[00:16:36.300]What are some ways that we can prepare and support children
[00:16:39.990]with this transition from school to summer?
[00:16:42.913]Yeah, that is hard 'cause like you said,
[00:16:45.210]schedules get a little bit less predictable,
[00:16:48.330]and everything looks a little bit different
[00:16:50.910]during the summer, so.
[00:16:52.127]I think it's important for parents for sure
[00:16:55.530]to be talking about those changes
[00:16:57.420]and what those look like during the summertime.
[00:17:00.450]Maybe talking with your child
[00:17:01.800]to see what is important for them
[00:17:04.530]that they wanna do during their days,
[00:17:06.690]maybe they're home more days of the week,
[00:17:08.820]you working together with your child
[00:17:10.920]to make some sort of daily routine or schedule
[00:17:14.400]that you're gonna do.
[00:17:15.630]And so there is some consistency at home.
[00:17:18.210]At a program during the summer
[00:17:20.460]it also looks a little bit different as well
[00:17:23.130]because now you might have more school-aged children
[00:17:25.860]that aren't there normally.
[00:17:27.570]And so I think it is important for programs
[00:17:30.540]to also let children know,
[00:17:33.990]and how their day might look different.
[00:17:36.330]We might have to make a new schedule.
[00:17:38.670]Why is that?
[00:17:39.503]Well, maybe it's because, you know, it's so nice outside,
[00:17:42.180]we wanna spend more time outside,
[00:17:44.340]so that time might be lengthened a little bit.
[00:17:47.070]That might be hard on kids
[00:17:48.390]that don't necessarily like outdoor time.
[00:17:51.309]So those are all things
[00:17:53.460]that you need to kind of work with children
[00:17:56.722]and let them know
[00:17:58.569]that they're still gonna be able to do all the things
[00:18:01.500]that they like to do or they normally have done.
[00:18:03.780]It may look a little different.
[00:18:05.070]We're gonna have to make a new schedule
[00:18:06.900]to accommodate some other children
[00:18:08.672]within the facility possibly.
[00:18:11.160]So those things, good talking points,
[00:18:13.862]like at a program we might start talking about this
[00:18:17.640]and including, again, the children in the planning stages
[00:18:21.540]so that they have a part of this,
[00:18:23.670]just like at home, it's important to include them
[00:18:26.852]as they start to get a little bit more independent.
[00:18:29.910]This can also, you know, if they have a little buy-in
[00:18:32.370]this can also make transitions go smoother.
[00:18:35.790]Thanks for sharing those tips
[00:18:37.200]on how to support children through those transitions.
[00:18:39.840]Another thing that I was thinking
[00:18:41.400]that might occur during the summer is vacation.
[00:18:44.730]Families might take a vacation with their children.
[00:18:47.280]How can we support children during this change
[00:18:51.240]where their sleeping schedule might be different,
[00:18:53.843]and activities are different,
[00:18:56.092]how might we maybe support them through vacation?
[00:18:59.280]Even though it's kind of a fun thing,
[00:19:00.690]we still wanna provide kind of
[00:19:02.100]some routine and structure for children.
[00:19:04.290]Well, I think having kind of some transition items
[00:19:07.961]to something that they like.
[00:19:09.990]So, you know, maybe if you're doing kind of a road trip
[00:19:12.780]that we're having to leave and get back in the car,
[00:19:15.390]or there's some things that are good transition items
[00:19:18.294]for them to go with them.
[00:19:20.483]Do they have a favorite truck or some favorite books?
[00:19:23.521]Sometimes, too, letting them know, again,
[00:19:27.090]what you perceive the day is gonna look like.
[00:19:30.120]So alerting them that we're gonna go swimming
[00:19:32.940]in the afternoon after, you know, maybe nap time.
[00:19:36.480]So, you know, putting those things
[00:19:38.340]that they're used to having into their normal schedule.
[00:19:41.908]So it's a little bit different 'cause we're on the road,
[00:19:45.246]but we're gonna still have a nap time,
[00:19:47.070]and then after nap time we're gonna go swimming,
[00:19:50.910]but I think it's always good for parents, too,
[00:19:53.940]if they're on vacation kind of tell them
[00:19:55.890]what the days events are gonna look like
[00:19:58.230]and when they're going to happen
[00:20:00.627]and in a frame that the child may know.
[00:20:03.510]They may know breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
[00:20:05.800]So we may want to frame it
[00:20:08.220]when those things are gonna happen within that framework.
[00:20:12.420]Great, thanks for that advice for vacation
[00:20:14.667]and hopefully that'll make some family vacations
[00:20:17.219]a little bit more smooth this summer.
[00:20:21.399]It is a fun time but it also can be really tiring.
[00:20:24.246]And so having a little bit of that same,
[00:20:28.320]like, at least a modified schedule can help the children.
[00:20:32.490]Sometimes vacations don't always feel like a break.
[00:20:34.680]I don't know if that's just me,
[00:20:35.880]but sometimes, like, I need a break after my vacation
[00:20:38.497]because I'm tired.
[00:20:40.297]I think that, yeah,
[00:20:42.570]I think we try to pack so much into vacations
[00:20:45.840]and then we come home and we're completely exhausted.
[00:20:49.170]And so us as adults are completely exhausted
[00:20:51.570]and the children are completely exhausted.
[00:20:53.610]And, again, that's kind of
[00:20:55.410]when we start to see those challenging behaviors.
[00:20:58.050]Why is that?
[00:20:58.883]Some of it is they are out of their normal routine.
[00:21:01.740]So that's been a lot.
[00:21:04.410]There's, of course, the lack of sleep,
[00:21:07.350]or their routine has been adjusted to something
[00:21:11.850]that they're not used to and so, therefore,
[00:21:14.880]it's just exhausting for them and, again,
[00:21:18.090]that's when sometimes we have those big emotions come out.
[00:21:21.120]Absolutely.
[00:21:22.650]So I think one more question that I had for you is,
[00:21:26.550]if I as, like, an educator or a parent,
[00:21:29.798]if I wanted to improve my transitions and my ability
[00:21:34.350]to help children transition,
[00:21:36.390]what advice would you give to me?
[00:21:38.280]I think as a parent, again,
[00:21:41.040]kind of building in that home routine,
[00:21:43.680]what it looks like at your home,
[00:21:45.750]possibly getting some of those visuals
[00:21:48.390]and having your child, you know, kind of help with that.
[00:21:51.210]They can even draw pictures of themselves, you know,
[00:21:54.450]sitting at the table they can draw that's mealtime.
[00:21:57.570]but having a routine, possibly a visual routine,
[00:22:02.160]and then helping them through transition, giving them jobs.
[00:22:05.880]You know, if we're gonna transition
[00:22:07.410]from playing to mealtime,
[00:22:10.920]can we give them a job in the kitchen
[00:22:13.110]to help with the mealtime?
[00:22:14.610]Can they set the table?
[00:22:16.230]Can they pass out napkins?
[00:22:17.940]Giving them a job or allowing them to participate
[00:22:22.710]helps with their independence as well as,
[00:22:25.680]you know, transitioning, and maybe a little bit smoother,
[00:22:28.830]making sure that we're giving them a five minute warning
[00:22:32.550]as a parent knowing that they can play for five more minutes
[00:22:36.316]and then we're gonna transition to bath time,
[00:22:40.200]or something is important.
[00:22:42.180]So every time we transition we give a five minute warning
[00:22:46.140]so that they can prepare themselves.
[00:22:48.300]So I think in the classroom, again,
[00:22:52.320]you've got your visual schedules,
[00:22:55.020]making sure that all the children know how to use that
[00:22:58.650]where they are during the day,
[00:23:00.690]or having some marker on it or something,
[00:23:02.940]or we're doing flipping things over
[00:23:04.920]when we're done with them.
[00:23:06.240]So if we're done with breakfast, we flip that card over
[00:23:09.720]and next we're in large group.
[00:23:12.030]And I think the use of timers,
[00:23:14.460]so the five minute warning,
[00:23:16.230]and the use of timers, visual timers can help children.
[00:23:20.466]I think, too, making transitions fun.
[00:23:25.170]If we're transitioning from centers
[00:23:28.230]to then we're gonna go outside, you know,
[00:23:30.450]how are we gonna transition outside?
[00:23:32.130]Can we transition like butterflies?
[00:23:34.666]Can we transition like snails?
[00:23:37.770]Can we hop like bunnies?
[00:23:39.510]Making transitions fun
[00:23:41.550]so it's active a little bit more active
[00:23:44.040]can also help young children.
[00:23:46.350]I love those ideas.
[00:23:47.880]And I'm just gonna summarize a little bit
[00:23:49.320]what you said I heard,
[00:23:50.580]so, like, giving children advanced notice is very important
[00:23:53.640]and then really engaging them in the transition.
[00:23:57.150]So giving them a job or making it fun and interactive
[00:24:00.960]and incorporating play,
[00:24:02.370]and also incorporating timers so that they know, like,
[00:24:05.880]how long that transition is supposed to happen and occur.
[00:24:09.360]So those are some really good tips for improving your skills
[00:24:12.660]with transitioning children from one activity to another.
[00:24:15.810]I did wanna chime in on prepping children for a transition
[00:24:20.100]and when you give them that five minute warning, if you can,
[00:24:23.160]and this isn't always possible,
[00:24:24.900]but if a child is like engaged in some kind of play,
[00:24:28.050]going up to that child and say like,
[00:24:29.460]Hey, what are you playing with?
[00:24:31.200]And kind of talking to them about
[00:24:33.150]what they're currently doing.
[00:24:34.470]And then once you've done that saying like,
[00:24:36.540]okay, like, just so to let you know
[00:24:38.490]in about five minutes we're gonna start cleaning up.
[00:24:40.770]So you'll wanna maybe start wrapping up what you're doing.
[00:24:43.200]So it's not just like an abrupt kind of,
[00:24:45.840]we're changing in five minutes.
[00:24:47.640]It's a little bit softer, I guess.
[00:24:49.191]And I think you bring up a really good point
[00:24:51.411]'cause as we're talking to young children
[00:24:53.670]about what the five minute warning means,
[00:24:56.580]I think that's something that we talk about with children
[00:25:00.450]anytime we're trying to teach a new skill.
[00:25:04.530]So what five minute warning means
[00:25:06.870]is you have five more minutes left
[00:25:09.120]to play with whatever you're playing.
[00:25:11.520]Maybe that's your role that we can't give out anything new,
[00:25:15.690]that you get five more minutes to play with this item.
[00:25:18.870]And I think it's important to, like,
[00:25:21.720]when you're teaching this new five minute warning,
[00:25:24.993]then how it will look in your classroom.
[00:25:27.600]So if we have a peer going around to everyone
[00:25:30.240]and tapping them on the shoulder
[00:25:32.302]and saying, you know, maybe wearing a mitten
[00:25:35.430]and saying five more minutes.
[00:25:37.770]And then you acknowledge that peer saying,
[00:25:40.800]okay, these are all skills that you kind of teach around
[00:25:44.820]that five minute warning.
[00:25:46.290]So I think that's a really good point that you bring up.
[00:25:49.740]So another tip to really help children through transitions
[00:25:54.360]is making sure that we're praising them
[00:25:57.030]when they transition smoothly from one activity to another,
[00:26:01.800]or one part of their day to the other.
[00:26:04.050]Us as adults need to make sure
[00:26:06.480]we're letting them know we saw what they were doing.
[00:26:09.883]They stopped their play, they cleaned up,
[00:26:14.040]they went and lined up,
[00:26:15.810]whatever the directions were and what a great job they did
[00:26:19.320]during that transition,
[00:26:20.700]or at home when they came in right away for dinner,
[00:26:25.800]or they helped with the transition,
[00:26:27.750]what a great job they did,
[00:26:29.250]giving everyone a napkin
[00:26:31.050]and putting the utensils in are on the dinner table.
[00:26:34.980]All of those things are super important.
[00:26:37.200]When they do something well in a transition,
[00:26:40.440]when they transition smoothly,
[00:26:42.570]making sure that we're praising them,
[00:26:45.870]and affirming what they have done,
[00:26:47.820]and letting them know what they did.
[00:26:50.550]I love the way you put the napkins on the table.
[00:26:53.010]You're helping us get ready for dinner.
[00:26:55.110]Making sure that they understand, they know what they did,
[00:26:58.929]and that you appreciate them,
[00:27:01.560]they did it well can help kiddos.
[00:27:04.000]If they're receiving that praise,
[00:27:05.808]they then kind of internalize, okay, I did that well.
[00:27:10.080]I'm gonna keep doing this.
[00:27:11.640]I know what it looks like.
[00:27:12.870]I like to call it
[00:27:13.830]catching them in the act of doing something good.
[00:27:16.620]And it's important to be really specific
[00:27:18.646]in naming what they are doing right,
[00:27:20.880]so they know exactly what they are doing right
[00:27:23.190]so that they can increase those behaviors.
[00:27:25.500]You mentioned a little bit
[00:27:26.670]why it's so important to praise children.
[00:27:29.100]Would you go into more about
[00:27:30.390]why it's important to praise children?
[00:27:32.790]It's really important to be using praise with children
[00:27:36.337]when they do something well,
[00:27:39.150]or something you want them to do,
[00:27:41.820]a behavior that you want to continue to see,
[00:27:44.400]because, again, they internalize that
[00:27:47.190]and it makes them feel good
[00:27:49.380]that they know what they're doing and they did this well
[00:27:52.560]and they're gonna continue that behavior then.
[00:27:55.260]So if it's transitioning,
[00:27:57.270]they understand that this went well.
[00:28:00.540]I listened to the five minute warning.
[00:28:02.641]I put things away
[00:28:04.920]and I moved to outdoor play like a butterfly,
[00:28:09.270]but I did that whole process very well.
[00:28:13.110]And so it gets easier for them
[00:28:15.360]to understand what they're supposed to be doing,
[00:28:18.420]what we want them to do.
[00:28:20.340]I often think of if you as an adult get feedback
[00:28:24.206]from your boss that you're doing something well,
[00:28:27.090]you're probably going to continue to do whatever that was.
[00:28:31.140]So if it's, you know, you do great Excel sheets,
[00:28:34.410]so you do great presentations,
[00:28:37.440]you're going to probably continue to do those things
[00:28:41.190]in the same way.
[00:28:42.023]Yeah, so it's doing several things.
[00:28:43.950]Praise does several things when we are specific
[00:28:47.026]and targeted with our praise.
[00:28:50.070]So it's a very intentional approach to use with children
[00:28:53.700]and it's very helpful.
[00:28:54.780]And I think it's that important link, you know,
[00:28:57.757]what they did and the behavior that we like to see
[00:29:01.590]that it's not just good job.
[00:29:04.020]It was great job transitioning from center time to mealtime.
[00:29:09.755]You did that awesome.
[00:29:12.664]I loved how you did it
[00:29:14.280]and I loved your butterfly, how you did it.
[00:29:17.010]And it made the child's day go better during transitions.
[00:29:20.970]Just another tip
[00:29:21.803]to put in our educator and parent toolbox.
[00:29:24.510]Katie, I think I have one final question for you.
[00:29:26.730]And that is, like, what are some resources here in Nebraska
[00:29:30.300]for parents and educators
[00:29:31.800]that can help improve their transition skills
[00:29:34.560]and maybe also helping support children
[00:29:36.900]socially and emotionally?
[00:29:38.460]We're lucky here in the state of Nebraska.
[00:29:40.740]We are a pyramid state.
[00:29:42.600]So there's the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovation,
[00:29:47.877]and we are a part of that organization as well,
[00:29:51.720]but based on their training modules,
[00:29:54.900]we adapted those for the state of Nebraska.
[00:29:58.110]And so educators can go through training,
[00:30:02.250]pyramid model training specific to Nebraska
[00:30:05.547]as well as the National Center,
[00:30:09.360]also has parent pyramid modules.
[00:30:12.180]And those, again, speak to a lot of the things
[00:30:15.780]that we've talked about today as far as some tools,
[00:30:19.560]resources, and talks about social emotional skills,
[00:30:24.660]talks about challenging behaviors.
[00:30:28.110]So, again, those resources are available
[00:30:31.332]not only to educators, but parents as well.
[00:30:35.430]And just to kind of piggyback up of what you said, Katie,
[00:30:37.830]there's quite a few early childhood extension educators
[00:30:41.010]who are trained to be facilitators of the pyramid module.
[00:30:45.090]And so just reach out
[00:30:46.500]to your local early childhood Extension educator
[00:30:48.930]and we can try and either hook you up with someone
[00:30:51.420]who is a facilitator, or in Extension,
[00:30:54.090]or maybe an outside facilitator
[00:30:55.860]if you're interested in taking the pyramid modules,
[00:30:58.680]which I highly encourage.
[00:30:59.987]It's a wonderful program
[00:31:01.770]and you'll definitely have a lot of growth
[00:31:03.660]as an educator and parent if you participate in them.
[00:31:06.840]Well, thank you so much for joining us today
[00:31:10.200]on "The Good Life in Early Life."
[00:31:11.820]I appreciated you speaking on the topic of transitions,
[00:31:14.820]a very important topic,
[00:31:16.080]and I think we're just kind of scratching the surface
[00:31:18.510]on this topic of transitions,
[00:31:20.220]but it's very, very important for children
[00:31:22.650]and helping support them throughout the day.
[00:31:24.750]So thanks so much, Katie.
[00:31:26.160]Well, thanks so much for inviting me, Emily.
[00:31:28.470]I've enjoyed it.
[00:31:29.580]I've enjoyed learning from you and our conversation.
[00:31:33.300]Oh, that's so kind of you.
[00:31:34.676]Thank you so much.
[00:31:35.700]I enjoyed learning from you and seeing you.
[00:31:37.410]It's been fun to work with you and collaborate with you.
[00:31:40.230]Next up we will hear from a young Nebraskan about
[00:31:43.020]how they like to have fun at their center.
[00:31:45.697](child giggling)
[00:31:47.580]How do you like to have fun here?
[00:31:49.463]I like to play with my friends.
[00:31:51.877]They like to play all day.
[00:31:54.540]All day long. Yeah.
[00:31:56.805](cheerful music)
[00:31:58.170]This has been another episode
[00:32:00.000]of "The Good Life in Early Life."
[00:32:02.023]A Nebraska Extension Early Childhood production
[00:32:04.500]with your host Emily Manning.
[00:32:06.180]For more information on early childhood,
[00:32:08.100]check out our website at child.unl.edu.
[00:32:11.400]If you like the show,
[00:32:12.270]subscribe and tell your friends to listen.
[00:32:14.310]The show production team is Emily Manning, Dr. Holly Hatton,
[00:32:17.910]Erin Kampbell, Ingrid Lindal, Linda Reddish, Kim Wellsand,
[00:32:21.623]LaDonna Werth, and Katie Krause.
[00:32:23.760]See you next time and thanks for listening.
[00:32:26.100]Bye-bye.
[00:32:27.059](upbeat music)

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S1E20: Having FUN with Transitions, Schedules, and Routines w. Katie Zabel

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