Imagine a day when you planned to spend some time organizing photos and scrapbooking. You have just spread out all the photos and supplies when your husband asks you to help him plant the garden. You clean up and head outside. After the tomatoes are planted and you are digging holes for pepper plants, your daughter reminds you that her soccer practice starts in ten minutes. Again, you clean up, switch gears, and grab that new book you've been meaning to read. You've just settled in to your lawn chair when the cell phone rings. It's your son saying he really needs you to take him to the store to get supplies for his science fair project. Off you go once again and think to yourself, "Has it only been two hours since I pulled out those scrapbooking supplies?"

Many of us can relate to this hectic lifestyle, but how many of us would prefer to have taken those two hours to focus on just one project? As adults, we often find ourselves transitioning from one activity to another in a short time span. Most of the time, we don't feel we have a lot of control over our schedules, but wish that we could carve out extended time to relax and focus on one project.

If we relate this scenario to the way a daily schedule unfolds in an early childhood setting, we might begin to see how young children feel each time we ask them to transition from one activity to another. Picture a group of children in the block area who have spent 15 or 20 minutes building an elaborate car wash. They have just gotten to the point where they will be using cars to develop a story and act it out when the teacher says it's time to clean up for snack. Of course, after snack there's group time and then the class will be heading outside. Are these children also wishing that they could have had an extended time to relax and focus on enjoying their car wash and the dramatic play possibilities? Do they also feel like they have no control over their schedule?

Having a daily schedule that creates routines for young children is an essential part of an early childhood classroom. Evaluating the daily schedule on a regular basis is an integral part of creating a quality program that meets the needs of both the children and adults who 'live' in the classroom each day. We would suggest that you look (with a critical eye) at your daily schedule once a year to determine whether it works for the group of children current-ly enrolled in your classroom. One of the most important things to consider when reviewing your schedule is the number of transitions that occur throughout the day.

Transitions tend to be some of the most difficult and stressful moments in an early childhood classroom. At these times teachers often find themselves dealing with more challenging behaviors and feeling more like police officers than nurturing caregivers. If you are feeling uncomfortable or frustrated during transition times, that is a sign that your current schedule may need to be revised to better meet the needs and developmental levels of the children in your care.

As you begin to evaluate your daily schedule, the following questions may guide your thinking.

How much time do children spend in transition?

— Count the number of transitions that occur throughout the day
• Optimally, a half-day setting would have 6 or fewer transitions
• In a full-day setting, aim for 8 or fewer transitions
— Determine how many minutes it takes for each transition (Hemmeter, et al., 2008)
• What percentage of your day is actually spent in transition?

Are there certain transitions that tend to be more difficult than others?

— How many and what types of challenging behaviors are occurring?

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