When our plans change, it can be difficult and make us feel worried or upset. We can even feel out of control sometimes. Change can occur with people, settings, or schedules. People change, like when we have a substitute teacher instead of our regular teacher. Settings change, like when we have gym outside instead of inside. And schedules change, like when we have to leave early for school. We can think about our plans like a train following its tracks. When the plan stays the same, the train stays on a single track. If there’s a change we didn’t expect, the train – that’s us! – has to switch to a new track, or a new plan. This might make us feel panicked and upset. It might feel better when your plan stay the same. Those are the times our plans are traveling on a nice straight railroad track. This feels comfortable because it’s what we’re used to. But sometimes things change, and you need to switch tracks. When your schedule changes, it can make you feel upset. It can be hard to handle the change and switch to a new track. The first step to switching tracks is to calm down on the outside. It takes hard work to stay calm on the outside. Try to relax your face, body, and voice. Take deep breaths and make sure you aren’t squeezing your muscles tightly. Once we’re calm on the outside, we want to calm down on the inside. We might need more strategies to have calm thoughts and feelings. We can count to ten, tell ourselves it will be okay, or pick something that works for us. On

No-Prep Activity: The Train Track Game

This activity is designed to help students practice adapting to changes in a fun and engaging way. The educator will act as the “conductor” who calls out different train track scenarios that require the students to switch their tracks.

1. Have the students stand in a line, pretending to be a train on a track.
2. The educator calls out different scenarios where the train has to switch tracks (e.g. “The bridge is out! Switch to the left track!”).
3. Students must quickly adapt and move to the new track, while maintaining their train formation.
4. After several scenarios, have a brief discussion about how the students felt when they had to switch tracks and how they managed to stay calm and adapt.

Discussion Questions

1. How did it feel when you had to switch tracks during the Train Track Game? Were you worried or upset at first?
2. What strategies did you use to stay calm and adapt to the new track?
3. Can you think of a time when your plans changed and you had to switch tracks in real life? How did you handle it?
4. Why is it important to learn how to adapt to changes in our plans?
5. What can you do to help a friend who is struggling with a change in their plans?

Related Skills

Helping students adapt to changing plans also promotes the development of other essential skills:

• Resilience: the ability to bounce back from challenges and adapt to new situations.
• Problem-solving: finding solutions to challenges and obstacles that arise from changes in plans.
• Empathy: understanding and supporting others who are dealing with changes in their plans.
• Self-awareness: recognizing our own feelings and emotions when our plans change.

Next Steps

To explore more activities and resources for teaching kindergarten students how to adapt to changing plans and develop other essential social-emotional skills, sign up for free samples at Everyday Speech. You’ll find a wealth of materials designed to support educators in fostering a positive learning environment and promoting the overall well-being of students.