These world-inspired music tracks turn classroom transitions into cooperative and playful learning moments. Not your typical preschool music, this album is supported with downloadable pdf's of lyrics and tips for introducing each track into your school day.

T-Time MISSION:
Our mission at T-Time© is to help Early Childhood Educators use the power of diversity, rhythm and active repetition to transform routine Transitions into opportunities for social, emotional and language development.

Please note that many of the tracks include spacing for the teacher to call up students by name or by group. As such, the running time of each track includes a few rounds of ‘call up’ section.

HOW TO USE T-TIME PRESCHOOL TRANSITION TRACKS
Thank you for choosing T-TIME Preschool Classroom Transition Tracks. We know that you have many options when it comes to choosing tools for your preschool classroom, and we want you to have a great experience with our resources.

Unlike other preschool routine transition music, T-Time tracks are designed to create a relaxed atmosphere and musical ambiance that, over time, helps children feel less stressed and more open to the routine transition process.

Each track also integrates two unique components: “story-singing” and instrument cuing.

The complex lyrics we call “story-singing”are not meant to be actively memorized by teacher or students. Over time, they will support language development and help children gain a more meaningful understanding of each particular transition.

We believe that one of the reasons routine transitions often feel stressful is that everyone just wants to get them over with. This leads to a stressed, rushed process, ultimately taking longer than it might without trying to rush.

During the opening, story-singing segment of each track, we expect that kids will be busy in slightly noisy, but slow and steady, progression toward their transition goal.

The instrument cuing invites interaction with the music, fostering a sense of proactive empowerment. Each track introduces a different, rhythm instrument for cuing. If you have difficulty getting hold of a particular instrument, feel free to email us at ttimetracks@gmail.com, and we will do our best to help.

T-TIME Transition tracks are built on the idea that just as math and other academic subjects can be taught as song lyrics, so can behavioral routines. One challenge in creating our first volume of tracks was balancing the need for concrete lyrics with the need to create lyrics that could be adapted to the particular scheduling routines of any classroom.

We hope that this first selection of eight transition-routine tracks offers enough variety to be useful. We also hope that the tips we list below will make it possible to build a seamless bridge between the tools you are currently using and T-TIME tracks.

TIPS AND TRICKS:
1. Start with one track. Introducing more than one track at a time is likely to feel overwhelming to you and your students. Depending on your teaching style, it might be helpful to let your students know that you will be using a song for this particular transition. IF YOU WILL BE SWITCHING FROM ANOTHER SONG, START BY INTRODUCING OUR TRACK RIGHT BEFORE YOU PLAY YOUR OLD TRACK. DO NOT STOP USING YOUR OLD TRACK UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL THE STEPS BELOW.

2. Be ready with the instrument you will be using to reinforce the cuing on the track.

3. If your students are not already familiar with the instrument you will be using, introduce it to them some time before you will be introducing the track. If possible, pass it around or walk around the group, letting each child play a few beats. Then, you can choose to offer instrument time to the group or child who cooperates most each time the track is used.

4. THE FIRST WEEK you play the track, just play it at the time you would be using it. Treat it like background music. DO NOT TRY TO GET KIDS TO RESPOND TO IT. As kids hear the track playing in the background, it will become more familiar in a non-threatening way. This will make it easier to introduce any new expectations at a later stage.

5. DURING THE SECOND WEEK, play the track as you did the first week AND USE YOUR INSTRUMENT TO JOIN IN WITH THE CUING ON THE TRACK. AGAIN, do not instruct your students verbally. JUST PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT AS CUED BY THE TRACK. Encourage any students who want to join you in playing along with the track cuing.

6. DURING THE THIRD WEEK, encourage all students to mime, clap or play an instrument along with the track cuing. During this week, BRING ATTENTION TO THE ACTION CUED BY THE INSTRUMENT ON THE TRACK by speaking/singing the action instructions along with the track, and encouraging other teachers and students to join in.

7. THE FOURTH WEEK is the final adjustment week. Your teaching style and group size will determine how you guide your class in responding to the flow of the track. It is during this week that you use your old routine for the last time.

If you need further help, or have any comments or questions, please contact us at ttimetracks@gmail.com. Thank You again for choosing T-Time music for your preschool classroom!