Five Transition Day Ideas for Early Years Practitioners

Five Transition Day Ideas for Early Years Practitioners

5th July 2018

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This is a blog post written by Mrs Mactivity – creator of boutique printable learning resources for the Early Years sector.

It’s that time of year again – TRANSITION TIME! Whether it’s your mindees going off to school, your nursery class going up to Reception or your Reception class entering year 1, not forgetting your new intake, it’s an emotional time of year as well as being extremely busy! To help you manage the load, we’ve come up with 5 fun and easy transition day ideas to help things go as smoothly as possible both for your new starters and for those who are moving on.

Certificates! Everyone loves a Well Done certificate, and more recently, there’s been a growing trend for graduation ceremonies for when children move on from Nursery to “big school”. At Mrs Mactivity, we’ve made some really cute Graduation Certificates in various designs so there’s definitely something for everyone! Hold your own ceremony with caps and gowns, and invite parents along for a tea party. End the year in style!
When you’re getting to know your class, it’s useful to be able to put a face to the name. When they’re settled, invite them to do a self portrait using paint, playdough, or just coloured in. Great first week back display as well! When they’re done, see if you can guess who is who!
Create a name peg tag! Name peg tags are a must for little ones, so why not invite them to make their own. If they can write their name, all the better, but if not, just take a picture and ask them to decorate it as if it’s a picture frame, sticking dried pasta to the outside, or sequins. Cute and fun! (just ensure you’ve got permission for photos and that any activity is done safely.
Something I found useful was to do a trial run of lunch time! Set up a school dinner role play area in your classroom or setting then go into the hall to have a trial run in person. Great prep and kids love it! If you’re a childminder then maybe make some food together – after all, food is a brilliant social occasion.
Create some “all about me” bunting flags for your setting! Draw triangles and then ask the children to draw themselves in the middle and also draw on any likes and dislikes. Have catalogues and pictures for them to cut out and stick on – really fun and also gets children thinking about who they are as a person, and good self introduction too!

Don’t forget as well to let the children get to know you! Talk about who you are, your hobbies, likes and dislikes and it will help them to identify with you, no matter what your role. For more transition activities, take a look here.