1.2: Schedules, Routines, and Transitions

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

• Explain the terms: schedules, routines, and transitions, as well as explain the relationship between the three.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Schedule showing arrival, circle time, and stations.

Introduction

To effectively plan and implement Social Studies, Art, Music, and Movement (SSAMM) activities, preschool teachers must first understand the connection between schedules, routines, and transitions. One feature of a well-organized classroom is the use of a schedule and established routines. These are important because they influence a child’s social and emotional development.

While referred to as the daily schedule, it is important to recognize that the flow, or the predictable order of the day, should be the focus rather than abiding by rigid timelines for the different parts of the day. While there may be parts of the day that are at fixed times (for example, meals or using a shared outdoor space), teachers should use flexibility to make the schedule meet the needs of the children. For example:

• If an activity seems to be coming to a natural conclusion earlier, consider transitioning to the next part of the day.
• If children are really engaged in an activity, consider giving them additional time to wrap up their exploration.
• Flexibility also comes in handy when there are changes that affect the schedule that are beyond your control, such as bad weather preventing outdoor play.¹

Why Have a Daily Schedule?

A well-structured daily schedule is crucial in a preschool classroom as it helps create a predictable and secure environment for children. By establishing consistent routines, teachers can support children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Here are several key reasons why having a daily schedule is important:

Help Children Know What to Expect

Schedules and routines help children understand the expectations of the classroom environment, which may be very different than in other settings. Knowing expectations may lower behavior problems.

Enhance Feelings of Security

Predictable and consistent schedules in preschool classrooms help children feel secure and comfortable. Those children who have difficulty with change especially need to feel secure. Children who do not yet speak and understand English well also benefit from predictable and consistent classroom schedules and routines.

Influence a Child’s Cognitive and Social Development

When periods of play are longer, children engage in more complex social and cognitive play.

Increase Child Engagement Rates

Child engagement is defined as the amount of time a child spends interacting with his or her environment (adults, peers, or materials) in a developmentally and contextually appropriate manner at different levels of competence. Schedules that give children choices, balanced activities, planned activities, and individual activities result in a higher level of engagement.

Factors Influencing Child Engagement

Several factors influence child engagement in the classroom. One key factor is the attention span of children, which can vary greatly. It is important for teachers to plan activities that can hold children's interest and keep them engaged. By considering their attention spans, teachers can create a learning environment that maximizes engagement and minimizes distractions. This can be achieved by using other adults to assist, incorporating novel materials, and limiting the duration of activities to ensure children stay engaged throughout.

Another important factor is the alertness level of children, which fluctuates throughout the day. Planning activities that require more attention and listening skills during times when children are most alert can enhance engagement. Conversely, calming activities should follow more active ones to help children transition smoothly. Teachers should also be mindful of children who may be tired or sick.

Adult availability is also crucial. Having more adults available during active parts of the day can support children's learning and help manage the classroom effectively. Additionally, allowing sufficient time for children to fully engage in activities is essential. Longer periods of play enable children to explore, experiment, and persist in their tasks, leading to more creative use of materials and the development of social relationships. When children engage in longer periods of play, they show higher levels of exploration, experimentation, and persistence, utilize materials in more creative ways, and develop social relationships.²

Creating the Daily Schedule

A well-organized daily schedule is fundamental to the success of a preschool classroom. It creates a predictable structure that helps children feel secure and fosters an environment conducive to learning. An effective schedule should include designated time blocks for various activities, be thoughtfully sequenced, and strike a balance between different types of experiences throughout the day.

Components of the Daily Schedule

Blocks of Time: The first component is "blocks of time," which are the large chunks of time set aside for classroom activities. Preschool schedules typically include:

• Large group or circle time
• Child-initiated play time
• Snack time and meals
• Outdoor time
• Rest time

Sequence: The next component is the sequence of these blocks of time. Sequencing requires taking into consideration multiple factors, including:

• Method of arrival/departure: Whether children arrive by bus or are transported by families.
• Schedules of other classrooms: For example, determining which classroom goes outdoors at what times.
• Daily routines: While some routines, like meal times, are included in the schedule, others, such as bathroom breaks and clean-up routines, may not be explicitly listed.

Balance: When planning the schedule, it is important to provide balance. This includes:

• Alternating active with quiet activities: This helps children with self-control.
• Mix of small group and large group activities: Ensures varied social interactions and learning experiences.
• Variety in activities: Activities should differ in noise level, pace, the person leading (child vs. adult), and location (indoor vs. outdoor).
• Mix of teacher-guided and child-initiated activities: Balances structured learning with opportunities for independent exploration.

By thoughtfully planning and balancing these components, teachers can create a daily schedule that supports the diverse needs of preschool children, fostering an environment conducive to their overall development.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): This is a visual schedule that shows children images of the different parts of their day.³

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Here is a schedule that combines visual cues, written times, and text descriptions.⁴

Balance of Child-Initiated Play and Teacher-Guided Activities

Balancing the daily schedule involves incorporating both child-initiated play and teacher-guided activities. This balance ensures that children have opportunities to explore and learn independently while also benefiting from structured, guided experiences. Here’s how these activities are integrated into the schedule:

Child-Initiated Play 

A daily schedule that ensures ample time for children to initiate their own play in well-developed interest areas is critical to teaching and learning. Young children need ample time to engage in play in the company of peers in order to build their ideas, pose problems, try out solutions, and negotiate and exchange ideas. When children initiate, organize, and develop their own play in their interest areas, it is called child-initiated learning. At times, children choose to play alone, but frequently, child-initiated play takes place in small groups of their own choosing.

Teacher-Guided Activities

In a schedule with ample time for children to initiate play in well-stocked interest areas, there are times when teachers organize and guide specific activities for children. Such teacher-guided curriculum activities are clearly distinct from child-initiated curriculum activities. Teacher-guided activities occur in two contexts: small groups and large groups. A small group would consist of one teacher working with a group of four to eight children. A large group is typically a gathering of all the children in an early childhood setting. Each context serves a different purpose and requires different preparation and different teaching strategies.

Small Group 

For some aspects of the curriculum, teachers may choose to organize an activity with a small group of children. Although initiated and guided by the teacher, an effective small-group encounter of this nature should still be rich in possibilities for children to contribute and negotiate ideas with each other.

Teacher-guided activities in small groups work best in quiet spaces, away from the distractions of the full group, and provide a manageable context for children to discuss and explore ideas and experiences. The teacher listens to children’s ideas, helps orchestrate the give-and-take of ideas among children, poses ideas or problems for children to wonder about, explore together, or even solve.

Away from the distractions of a large group, teachers can easily observe, listen, and converse with children in a small group, as well as note how individual children think, express ideas, relate with others, and use their emerging skills. Such teacher-guided conversations can enrich children’s learning in all domains, particularly the children’s language and vocabulary development. In addition, teachers can intentionally guide the development of specific skills by planning small-group activities (e.g., songs, games, shared reading) for short periods of time that playfully engage children in using specific emerging skills.

Small-group activities have several advantages over large-group activities. With small groups of children, teachers can readily observe, listen, and document children’s developmental progress. Teachers can also individualize the curriculum and use questions or prompts to scaffold each child’s thinking in more complex ways.

Whether the activities are child-initiated or teacher-guided, children’s use of materials in interest areas provides teachers with excellent opportunities to observe how they build concepts and skills and how they negotiate ideas with others. Moments of observed play and interactions also provide teachers with ideas on how to extend children’s exploration and learning through future encounters with related materials that add novelty, challenge, and complexity in each domain.

Large Group

Large groups provide another context for teacher-guided activities. The large group—typically a gathering of the entire class—works well for:

• Singing
• Acting out songs and stories
• Playing games
• Sharing experiences with each other
• Telling stories
• Building a sense of community
• Organizing the daily schedule and activities

Storytelling is one of the more popular large-group experiences, one that has rich potential for adding to children’s understanding of the world around them. Storytelling allows teachers, children, family members, as well as storytellers from the community, to tap into and build children’s knowledge and experiences in meaningful ways.

Large-group time is also when teachers let the whole group of children know what new experiences will be available in the interest areas or what will happen in small groups that day.   Additionally, large group gatherings that occur at the end of the day provide opportunities to review noteworthy happenings and to anticipate what will be available the next day.⁶

Examples of Daily Schedules for Preschool Classrooms

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Half-Day Program Sample

Time of Day	Routine/Activity	Description
8:00	Arrival/Greetings	Wash Hands, Sign in, Get Name Tags
8:05-8:20	Group Time	Welcome, Songs, Stories, Discussions
8:20-9:30	Open Choice Time Outdoors	Explore classroom areas
9:30	Clean-up	Wash Hands, transition to indoors
9:35-10:45	Snack/Open Choice Indoors
10:45	Clean-up
10:50-11	Closing Circle

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Full Day Program Sample Daily Schedule⁷

Time of Day	Routine/Activity	Description
8:00	Arrival/Greetings	Wash Hands, Sign in, Get Name Tags
8:05-8:20	Group Time	Welcome, Songs, Stories, Discussions
8:20-9:30	Open Choice Time Outdoors	Explore classroom areas
9:30	Clean-up	Wash Hands, transition to indoors
9:35-11:00	Snack/Open Choice Indoors
11:00	Clean-up
11:10-11:25	Story Time	Transition to wash hands for lunch
11:30-11:50	Lunch
11:50	Explore books on rest Mats
12:10-2:00	Rest Time
2:00-3:15	Indoor Choice Time/Snack
3:15	Clean-up
3:20	Large Group Circle	Games, Songs, Stories
3:40	Explore Outdoors
5:00	Clean-up
5:05	Indoor Small Group/Choice Centers	Fewer areas open

Routines and Rituals

Schedules define the whole day, whereas routines are more specific sets of regularly occurring behaviors. Routines provide some security and a sense of what comes next; children are able to anticipate what will happen and, thus, feel more secure.

Daily routines and rituals also provide a second context for the curriculum. They offer possibilities for children to use their emerging skills and to apply emerging concepts and ideas.

Early childhood daily routines include:

• Arrivals and departures
• Mealtimes
• Nap times
• Diapering
• Toileting
• Dressing
• Handwashing
• Tooth-brushing
• Transitions between one place and another

Rituals include:

• Sign-in sheets
• Health checks
• Waiting lists
• Attendance counts
• Dictated stories
• Reminder notes
• Voting

Care Routines as Learning Opportunities

Children sit down for a meal, wash their hands, and put their jackets and shoes on hundreds of times, providing excellent opportunities for them to use and build emerging skills and concepts. In group care, the care routines during arrivals, departures, meals, naps, diapering, toileting, and dressing provide excellent opportunities for children to use and challenge their emerging skills and concepts. For example:

Infant Interaction

When an infant whose diaper is about to be changed hears her teacher describe what it is she is about to do, the infant experiences a flood of words, which eventually become an anticipated phrase that gives meaning to a familiar experience. When this same infant hears a request to put his arm into the sleeve of a shirt, he is invited to demonstrate that he has understood this phrase and experiences the joy that comes with sharing meaning with the teacher.

Preschool Child Engagement

When a preschool child looks in anticipation each morning at the helper chart to see what job she gets to do that day, they are invited not only to cooperate in the care of the classroom but also to build their emerging skills in understanding the meaning of print that accompanies the photo or drawing.

Care routines are natural opportunities for children to engage in learning. Therefore, teachers plan the routines of care and the daily rituals that pepper the day in ways that invite children to be active participants and to use and build their emerging skills and concepts in meaningful situations.⁸

Learning From Classroom Routines

The vignette below featuring toddlers shows the kind of learning that occurs in a lunchtime routine.  The lunchtime routine supports early social studies learning by helping toddlers understand routines, roles, and community through a shared mealtime. By making choices, using tools, and taking turns, children practice responsibility and cooperation. The teacher’s guidance helps them feel like valued group members, building early concepts of citizenship and belonging.

Toddler Lunchtime Vignette

Four toddlers are seated at a low table for lunch.

Their primary care teacher sits with them at the table. To his right, on a low bench, the primary care teacher has a bin that holds everything he needs for the meal. He pulls out bibs for each toddler and helps each toddler put one on.

Each toddler finds a cube chair to sit in. The teacher puts an empty bowl in front of the toddler on his left. He offers this toddler a pair of small plastic tongs, holds a plate of small sandwiches, and asks, “Would you like to take a sandwich?” The toddler grabs the tongs and, after a few trials, manages to pick up one of the sandwiches and drop it onto his plate.

Later, after each toddler has taken a sandwich, the teacher pulls from the bin a clear plastic measuring cup on which a red line is drawn at the one-cup mark. He fills the measuring cup to the red line. He places an empty glass in front of a toddler and, offering the toddler the measuring cup, says, “Would you like to pour?” The toddler wraps his hand around the handle and tips the cup over his glass.

He spills a bit at first, but adjusts his hand and manages to empty the measuring cup. He looks up at the teacher and smiles. The teacher smiles in response, saying, “You poured your milk, Stephan! You know how to do it!” The toddler seated next to Stephan reaches for the empty measuring cup. The teacher says, “And now you can pour milk into your glass, Alexi. I’ll put the milk in the measuring cup first.”⁹

The following vignette shows the kind of learning that occurs during a cleanup routine in a preschool classroom when the transition is related to their theme of study, community helpers.  This community helper-themed transition helps preschoolers learn by encouraging them to role-play different jobs, like firefighters, doctors, and mail carriers, during clean-up and movement to circle time. Pretending to take on these roles builds an understanding of how community helpers contribute to society. It also sparks curiosity and sets the stage for deeper discussion and learning.

Preschool Clean-Up Routine: Community Helpers Vignette

As the morning free-play session came to an end, Ms. Clara stood near the classroom rug, holding a set of colorful cards depicting different community helpers. She gently rang the bell to signal transition time. "Friends, it’s time to tidy up and get ready for circle time," she said with a warm smile. "But today, we’re going to use our imaginations and pretend to be community helpers as we move to the rug!"

The children paused their play, their attention shifting to Ms. Clara as she held up the first card. It showed a firefighter climbing a ladder. "If you think you’d like to be a firefighter who helps keep people safe, stand up and pretend to climb a ladder as you head to the rug," she explained. Giggles filled the room as several children began miming climbing motions, making their way to the circle.

Next, Ms. Clara held up a card with a doctor wearing a stethoscope. "Now, who wants to be a doctor? Pretend you’re checking someone’s heartbeat while you walk to the rug." A group of children eagerly stood up, pressing imaginary stethoscopes to the air in front of them as they joined the circle.

Finally, Ms. Clara showed a picture of a mail carrier with a bag of letters. "If you’d like to be a mail carrier who delivers important letters, pretend to carry your mailbag while you walk to the rug," she announced. A few children marched purposefully, swinging imaginary bags, and sat down with their classmates.

Once everyone was seated, Ms. Clara held up each card again and asked, "Who can tell me what a firefighter does? How about a doctor or a mail carrier?" Hands shot up as the children excitedly shared their ideas. "Firefighters put out fires!" called out Noah. "Doctors help us when we’re sick," added Mia. "Mail carriers bring us letters and packages," chimed in Alex.

Ms. Clara nodded approvingly. "That’s right! Every community helper has an important job. You all did a wonderful job pretending to be helpers today. Let’s talk more about what makes each of them special."

The children beamed with pride, their curiosity sparked, as Ms. Clara transitioned smoothly into their morning circle discussion about community helpers. Through this simple routine, the children not only practiced transitioning but also deepened their understanding of the roles that help their community thrive.¹⁰

Important Tips to Remember About Schedules

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Scheduling Tips¹¹

Transitions

It is important to focus on creating and managing smooth transitions between activities in the classroom. Reasons to address transitions between activities in early childhood classrooms include:

Time Consumption

Transitions take up a great deal of time in preschool classrooms.

Waiting Periods

During transitions, children often spend a lot of time waiting (e.g., waiting until everyone has finished their snack, waiting for everyone to clean up before beginning large group time). All of this time waiting with nothing to do can lead to unrealistic expectations and challenging behaviors.

Stressful Experiences

Some children (and adults) have stressful and frustrating experiences during transitions between activities (e.g., children arguing over who took out what toys and who should put them away; children not knowing where to put certain toys when they are done with them; children not knowing what to do, children not knowing expectations for the transition).

Essential Skill Development

Many preschool teachers and other caregivers consider children’s ability to independently make transitions between activities one of the essential skills needed in group contexts such as preschool and kindergarten.

Supporting Successful Transitions

There are numerous strategies that can be used to ensure well-organized transitions between activities. These include strategies you use before the transition, during the transition, and following the transition.

Before the Transition:

Plan for what adults will do during transition times

Which adult is responsible for greeting the children? Who will begin looking at books on the carpet with the children?

Teach children the expectations for the transition routine

Teaching children how to clean up and how to line up will reduce the length of transition times. By reducing transition times, more time is available for children to spend on other learning activities. As children become familiar with the expectations, problem behaviors are less likely to occur.

Provide verbal and nonverbal cues before transitions

• Verbal Cues: “Five minutes ‘til snack." "It’s almost time for clean-up."
• Visual Cues: Show pictures of the next activity.
• Auditory Cues: Use sound to indicate a transition is about to occur, for example, beat a drum.

Use consistent transition cues

Once a transition cue has been established, it should be used consistently to signal the transition.

During the Transition

Engage Children in Transition Activities

• Activities: Sing songs, play word or guessing games, recite rhymes, and organize finger plays. Transition activities provide children with an activity to complete while other children are still transitioning. These activities also encourage children to finish their previous tasks so that they can play the game or sing the song. During these activities, skills related to the transition can also be taught (e.g., setting the table for snack or lunch, sorting toys during clean-up time).

Allow Children Adequate Time to Finish Projects or Activities

• Time Management: Ensure children do not become frustrated by activities ending too soon. Give them a warning that it is about time to change activities.

Plan Something to Engage Children Who Finish Quickly

• Engagement: Plan activities for children who finish cleaning up and get to the large group quickly, such as looking at books while waiting for other children to finish cleaning up.

Individualize Support to Accommodate Individual Children’s Needs

• Visual Aids: Photos to help anticipate what activity is next.
• Language Support: Directions given in a child’s home language or sign language.
• Personalized Warnings: An individual warning to a child that it will soon be time to clean up and begin a new activity.
• Tailored Support: Some children may need an adult to provide a five-minute, three-minute, and one-minute warning before clean-up, while the rest of the class might need only a three-minute warning.

After Transitions

Provide Positive Attention and Feedback

• Encouragement: When children pick up toys without much prompting, share with them how this shows how well they take care of the classroom materials.
• Teamwork Appreciation: When children are working together to accomplish the task more quickly, let them know how much you appreciate their teamwork (e.g., “Nicholas and Jorge did a great job cleaning together and moving to the carpet”).

Promote Independence During Transitions

• Individual Movement: Allow children to move individually from one area to another when they complete an activity (e.g., as children finish snack, they are encouraged to go to the carpet and choose a book; as children finish putting away their coats and backpacks, they are encouraged to get a puzzle).
• Helping Others: Teach children to help others (e.g., have children move as partners from one activity to another, or ask one child to help another child gather his/her backpack).
• Self-Monitoring: Help children self-monitor during transitions (e.g., children can be asked to think about how quietly or quickly they moved from one activity to another).

This vignette offers an opportunity to observe the social learning unfolding during a transition routine and to reflect on the intentional planning that supported it.

Preschool Dismissal Routine: "Friendship" Vignette 

Earlier that week, Ms. Jamie had introduced a unit on friendship, reading books, leading discussions, and modeling kind behaviors throughout the day. She chose “How to Be a Friend” as the closing story before recess to reinforce these ideas in a meaningful way.

As the story ended, Ms. Jamie said warmly, “Now let’s practice being good friends as we line up for recess.” She had prepared for this transition by thinking about ways to connect the book’s message to real-life experiences. Instead of calling children one at a time, she invited them to choose a partner to walk with: “If you’d like to hold a friend’s hand, find a buddy and line up together.”

Some children quickly paired up, while others looked around uncertainly. Ms. Jamie noticed and gently stepped in to support, saying, “You can ask someone, ‘Would you like to be my partner?’ That’s a friendly way to make someone feel included.” Soon, even the quieter children found partners. As the line formed, Ms. Jamie commented, “I see so many kind friends helping each other. Just like in our book!”

Through this carefully planned transition, Ms. Jamie created a space for children to apply social-emotional learning in a natural context. By watching, listening, and guiding in the moment, she supported not only a smooth routine but also meaningful learning about friendship and inclusion. ¹³

Thoughtfully and intentionally planned transition activities—like the friendship-themed transition in the vignette above—support children’s learning by turning routines into meaningful learning moments. In this example, Ms. Jamie connects a read-aloud about friendship to the transition to recess, reinforcing social-emotional concepts like kindness, cooperation, and inclusion. By inviting children to choose a buddy and modeling friendly language, she promotes communication and decision-making. These intentional choices not only support skill development but also create a predictable, engaging routine that helps children apply classroom learning in real-life social contexts. The chart below illustrates how planning and observation during such transitions deepen learning while making everyday moments count. First, you will see an example of what happened, followed by what the children learned, and finally, the planning the teacher did to make the learning possible.

Reflection

Reflect on the Friendship-Themed Transition¹⁴

What Happened in the Vignette	Reflective Thinking: What Learning Is Happening?	Planning That Made This Possible
Ms. Jamie read “How to Be a Friend” before transitioning to recess.	Children are exposed to positive social behaviors and vocabulary related to friendship.	Select a story that connects directly to social-emotional goals.
Ms. Jamie says, “Let’s practice being good friends as we line up for recess.”	She connects the book to real life, helping children see the value of kind actions.	Planning a transition that reinforces the story’s theme in a meaningful way.
Children are invited to choose a friend to walk with.	Promotes decision-making, social connection, and peer interaction. Encourages inclusion and communication.	Anticipating opportunities for children to practice friendship skills in a real context.
Some children pair up quickly; others hesitate.	Highlights different social comfort levels and needs for support.	Being prepared to scaffold interactions for children who need help initiating contact.
Ms. Jamie models language: “You can ask someone, ‘Would you like to be my partner?’”	Children are learning how to use friendly language to invite others and show empathy.	Teaching and reinforcing friendship scripts during previous discussions and modeling.
Ms. Jamie comments, “I see so many kind friends helping each other.”	Acknowledging and reinforcing positive behavior strengthens learning.	Intentional use of praise and observation t,o support social development.

Conclusion

Schedules, routines, and transitions are the backbone of a well-run early childhood environment.

By structuring the day into predictable yet flexible segments and consistently practicing care routines, educators help children feel more secure, engaged, and ready to learn. Strategic transitions—whether moving from outdoor play to snack time or from circle to small groups—can become learning opportunities in themselves, fostering children’s independence and social skills. When these elements are thoughtfully planned and balanced, children experience deeper exploration, smoother participation in group activities, and a greater sense of community in the classroom.

References

1. Guide to Managing the Classrooms: Schedules and Routines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain.
2. Content by Jennifer Paris is licensed under CC BY 4.0
3. Guide to Managing the Classrooms: Schedules and Routines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain
4. Image Source by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain
5. Image Source by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain
6. Guide to Managing the Classrooms: Schedules and Routines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain
7. California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 3, by the California Department of Education, is used with permission
8. Guide to Managing the Classrooms: Schedules and Routines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain.
9. The Integrated Nature of Learning by the California Department of Education is used with permission (pg. 29-32)
10. ChatGPT. (2025, March 25). Community helpers during transitions vignette [Large language model]. OpenAI.
11. Tips for Teachers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is in the public domain
12. The Integrated Nature of Learning by the California Department of Education is used with permission
13. ChatGPT. (2025, March 25). Friendship-themed transition vignette from story time to recess [Large language model]. OpenAI.
14. ChatGPT. (2025, March 25). Side-by-side reflection guide: Friendship-themed transition [Large language model]. OpenAI.