Ever wonder how teachers manage to wrangle multiple preschoolers from one activity to the next, when you can't even get your kids to stop playing long enough to put on underwear? Their secret: fun, engaging cues that use imaginative play to ease kids from point A to point B. Here are four to try, from Rae Pica, author of Teachable Transitions: 190 Activities to Move From Morning Circle Until the End of the Day.
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Mealtime: Challenge your brood to do their best impression of a wiggly strand of cooked spaghetti or a broccoli tree blowing in the wind as they make their way to the table.
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Getting Out the Door: Encourage them to stomp, march, or skip out the door, or to pretend they're moving in fast-forward or slow motion.
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Cleanup: Get the gang motivated by putting on an upbeat tune and issuing a challenge to get everything put away before the song ends.
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Bedtime: Have them pretend to be balloons, “inflating” by breathing in slowly through their noses and “deflating” by breathing out slowly through their mouths.
