It’s easy to forget that all of the experiences and interactions we’ve had on our way to adulthood have contributed to our view and understanding of the world around us. As adults, I think we often have expectations for children that they should know things because to us, as adults, they’re basic. Take time concepts. How often have we told a little one that they could have a favorite snack “in a while” or “pretty soon.” When we’re on a long car ride, we say “we’re ALMOST there…” Then we can’t understand why we end up with a full out meltdown in the kitchen, in the car, anywhere we’ve used these abstract words that don’t really indicate when that time will actually come.

This is why, as educators, we made it a point to start using picture schedules and token boards. It took the guesswork out of abstract time concepts. If you’re still not following me on this, imagine going to work every day without access to a watch or a clock. When you started to feel hungry and asked about lunchtime, your boss said, “in a while” or “pretty soon” and when you started to fatigue near the end of the day, your boss assured you “you’re ALMOST done!” Even WITH experience and adult knowledge of ambiguous terms, you too would likely have a meltdown. Ironically enough, child meltdowns and adult meltdowns can be pretty similar.

You all know what I’m talking about!

Now imagine, you go to work. You have a watch, a to-do schedule for the day. You know exactly when your break will be, when you’ll have lunch, the tasks that need to be accomplished, small perks to look forward to, and when your workday will end. You feel a sense of comfort in the predictability of your day, you have things to look forward to and it’s likely you feel a sense of accomplishment as you check tasks off your to-do list. The chances of a successful and productive day have just increased significantly just by addressing abstract time in a concrete manner. Why don’t we do this for our children more often?

Picture/Visual Schedules

When you’re planning your day using a picture schedule, “pretty soon” or “in a while” looks like… “Let’s look at what we’re going to do today. First we’ll have breakfast, then we’ll brush our teeth…” and so on.

As the day progresses, you revisit the picture schedule and have the child take down the tasks that have been completed. If you have to make a change, you not only tell the child about it… you also show the child by adding or taking pictures off the schedule.

The picture schedule becomes a means for communicating important information and makes ambiguous or abstract ideas, concrete.

Token Boards

Example: When you’re working on assigned tasks at home or school, “you’re almost done” looks like…

✔  “What are we working for? Screen-time? Okay – let’s put screen-time on your token board. First work, then screen-time.”

✔  “Nice Work, you earned a token for sitting nicely at the table! 4 more tokens to go – then screen-time.”

✔  “Nice work, you earned a token for starting your homework! 3 more tokens to go – then screen-time.”

✔  “Great job, you earned a token for finishing one homework paper! 2 more tokens to go.”

✔  “Nice reading! 1 more token to go.”

✔ “Great job cleaning your work area. You earned your last token and screen-time!” Hello celebration!!!

 Celebrations

Celebrations can come in big or small ways. It’s about knowing your child and what they need at the time. A high five can mean the world to a child – so can a happy dance in the kitchen! Just remember to celebrate accomplishments. It feels good and it will increase the child’s inclination to repeat the actions again and again. If you find yourself correcting your child more than celebrating… consider whether you’re setting them up for success and make a purposeful plan for celebrating more than correcting.