From Meltdowns to Morning Wins: How Movement Calms Kids During School Transitions

Science-backed tips for parents and teachers to make change easier for children

Backpacks are packed, shoes are (mostly) on the right feet, and the school year has officially started. But as routines shift and environments change, it’s common for kids to experience big emotions: anxiety at drop-off, meltdowns during pick-up, or restlessness between structured activities.

The good news?

Movement can help!

One of the most powerful (and often overlooked) tools for helping children regulate during these transitions? Intentional movement.

Not just any movement, specific types of movement that activate and calm the nervous system.

Why School Transitions Trigger Big Emotions (and How Movement Helps)

Transitions, whether from home to school, play to cleanup, or one activity to another, activate a child’s sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” mode). This is especially true for younger children whose brains are still developing the capacity to regulate emotions independently.

Movement, particularly rhythmic and proprioceptive movement, helps bring the body back into balance by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” response), which supports calm, attention, and emotional control.

Proprioceptive Input: A Simple Way to Help Kids Feel Calm

Proprioception is the body’s sense of its own position in space. Activities that push, pull, or compress the joints, like jumping, climbing, or crawling, send signals to the brain that help children feel grounded and safe.

🧠 Research Insight: Studies show that proprioceptive input increases serotonin and dopamine, the brain chemicals responsible for feeling calm and regulated (Ayres, 2005; Schaaf & Davies, 2010). These inputs can improve attention, reduce anxiety, and help children handle change more smoothly.

How Movement Helps With Transitions:

• Regulates emotions: Movement helps reset the nervous system, especially during high-stress moments like drop-offs or transitions between activities.

• Improves focus: A quick movement break before a new task can improve attention span and working memory.

• Builds confidence: Starting the day with movement gives kids a sense of capability and ownership over their bodies.

  

  
  

Try these today:

These can be done at home or in the classroom!

1. Animal Walk Transitions – Let your child move like a frog, bear, or crab to the next task or location.

2. Dance It Out – A 2-minute dance break can reset the mood and bring in some fun after a tough goodbye.

3. Freeze and Go – Play music and pause it for “freeze” moments—great for transitioning from free play to clean-up.

4. Yoga Poses with a Story – Use poses like Tree, Cat, and Butterfly as part of a morning “hello” or bedtime wind-down.

5. Jump Into the Day – Jumping 10 times before breakfast or after putting on shoes gets the blood flowing and the brain ready.

   
   

   Five Tools to Make Daily Transitions Easier

   
   

   In addition to movement, here are five strategies that help preschoolers manage transitions with more ease and confidence:

   
   

   1. Visual Schedules

   Kids thrive on predictability. A visual schedule with simple images (e.g., breakfast, brush teeth, backpack, school) gives children a sense of control by showing them what’s happening now and what’s next.

   
   

   • Use laminated picture cards or printouts.

   • Review the day’s steps each morning and as each task changes.

     
     

   2. Consistent Routines + Clear Cues

   Build rituals into your transition times, like always putting on shoes after brushing teeth, or singing a short phrase while gathering supplies. Use verbal cues like “Five more minutes until we go,” and nonverbal ones like a bell or flicking the light off.

   
   

   3. Emotional Check-Ins + Transitional Objects

   Children often feel big emotions during change. A quick emotional check-in (“How are you feeling right now?”) or bringing a comforting item like a stuffed animal, photo, or small toy can help.

   • Try a “worry rock” in the pocket or a goodbye ritual like a hug + high five.

   • For separation anxiety, allow them to choose a “transition object” to take along.

   
   

   4. Make it into a game

   Kids love a game, so make transitions feel like play! Try…

   • Jumping on numbered floor tiles to get to the door

   • Pretending to tiptoe like a mouse

   • Giving a “movement mission”: “Can you walk like a robot all the way to the bathroom?”

   
   

   5. Transition Songs

   Songs are magical during transitions. Singing the same simple song helps signal that it’s time to shift activities and brings a touch of rhythm, regulation, and connection.

   Here are a few to try:

   
   

   Preschool, Preschool 

   Sung to: “Teddy Bear Teddy Bear”

   Preschool, Preschool touch your nose

   Preschool, Preschool touch your toes

   Preschool, Preschool pat your hair

   Preschool, Preschool take your chair!

   
   

   Heigh Ho 

   Sung to: “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It’s off to work we go”

   Heigh Ho Heigh, off to PE (Music, recess) we go!

   We’ll have some fun

   And we can run

   Heigh Ho Heigh Ho

   
   

   Quiet Down Again 

   Sung to: “London Bridge”

   Let us quiet down again,

   down again, down again.

   Let us quiet down again

   That’s much better.

   
   

Want calmer mornings, smoother goodbyes, and more focused kids? PlayMotion Kids brings movement, mindfulness, and music-based enrichment straight to Greater Houston daycares. Our programs help children build social-emotional skills, confidence, and a love of movement—through play.

Book your class today and see the difference a little intentional movement can make.