The transitions in our classroom generally go quite smoothly. From the first day, the children overall eased from one activity to another without too much redirection or reminders. Now that we've been in school for 23 days, the group is now more aware of the daily routine and therefore knows what to expect next. When we do change things up, there are only a couple of students who might have difficulty with the switch, but nothing extreme.
I think that the transitions have moved so smoothly, because we have created a sense of community and patience, rather than demands. We respect that each child is different and give them just enough time to join the group or activity and if they are slow to join, then they face the natural consequences of missing all or part of the activity. Jean also will sing to them as a way to catch their attention to what's happening next.
It is amazing how far the kids come in one month in terms of learning expectations within the classroom! I love that you and your mentor use natural consequences and a feeling of community to create the behaviors you want in the classroom instead of "rewards and punishments" based systems.
ReplyDelete