Go to After School
The school day is over, but the day is not. Moving from the classroom to after school care the same afternoon means new rooms, new adults and a completely different mood. The steps below make that second change gentler.
♂Walking to after school
A happy child walks toward a building with an arrow and a sun, on the way to after school care.
About this visual support
Two transitions in one afternoon are more than many people realise. The child already shifted from home to school in the morning, and now another change waits: away from the class, into after school care, with different friends, different rules and fewer adults around. The tiredness after the school day leaves little margin.
Visual support holds the second shift together. When the child sees that the lesson ends, the backpack is packed and the path leads on to after school care, the change becomes a known sequence rather than a leap into the unknown. The picture of the care room says there is a definite place to go to, not just a vague after school.
One tip is to let a picture show who receives the child there, a staff member or a favourite corner, so the child has an anchor to aim for. The arrival then feels calmer. In the Routined app you can place the transition right after the school timetable, so the whole afternoon hangs together in one unbroken chain.