Buy Yourself Some Time

This Preschool counting trick will help your young ones stop doing one thing and start doing something else.

When I have a long to-do list, it’s easy for me to feel stuck. Even with clear priorities, getting started on any one thing can feel very, very new. That’s when I call on a tool from my early childhood musicians. Growing minds need time to make sense and meaning of commands.

Sneak in some quality processing time by counting down, like rocket blastoff, any time you or your children need a boost into the next task:
5–4–3–2–1 🚀

Counting down gives the listener an active role in the transition process. There is a definite end to the count, which even my own stressed-out, unmotivated bodymind system understands. Mindful seconds spent listening to the countdown shore up energy that gets released when the counting is through.

I use this countdown when transitioning out of a fun activity into something on my to-do list, when getting out of bed on a particularly cozy-and-cold day, and when pumping myself up to go into a room full of people who might be new to me.

When supporting young students to change gears, I might count down from 10 or even 20, to buy extra time. Using countdown, parents in my studio rehearse their little ones’ leaving-the-house routine; school pickup transitions; bedtime wind-down and more. During the pandemic, I sometimes count down to end video calls in a lighthearted way :)