transitions
new to the program
We strive to welcome children and their families into First Circle as seamlessly as possible. We typically schedule transition visits the week before a child’s official start date, so the program and people are fairly familiar to the child the following week.
- At the first visit, a parent or caregiver remains with the child in the classroom for about an hour. This gives both of you the opportunity to become familiar with the environment, chat with the educators, and ask any questions you may have.
- On the second visit, your child visits in the classroom for about two hours without a parent. For Infants, we schedule this visit around a feeding time to ensure that bottle feeding is successful, if appropriate.
For this visit, we must have every child’s most current immunizations as well as their most recent well child visit form. At a parent’s request, a third visit may be scheduled.
transition between classrooms
Transition from one classroom to the next is an exciting time, as your child’s development readies them for new challenges and opportunities. Once children are scheduled to transition to the next classroom, families will be notified a month prior to the start of the transition visits.
INFANT/TODDLER TRANSITIONS
Infants and toddlers transition from one classroom to another based on their individual readiness for transition. We strive to group children of similar ages and developmental readiness together so they can move with at least some of their friends. Because children develop at different rates, occasionally it’s in their best interest to transition on their own, at a time that best suits their individual needs.
PRESCHOOL TRANSITION
Every few months, we transition toddlers who are both age-eligible (2.9 years old) and developmentally ready into our preschool program. Children are grouped in our preschool and pre-kindergarten classrooms according to kindergarten cut-off dates used by our local school systems.
PREKINDERGARTEN TRANSITION
One of the biggest transitions in a young child’s life is entering Kindergarten. During the course of the year in our pre-kindergarten classroom, the curriculum prepares children for a successful transition. Our goal is for the children to be ready for Kindergarten cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically, with enthusiasm, interest and self-confidence for the experience ahead.