As a part of any transition for children plans are made, time is allocated, and the child’s interest is taken into consideration. Parents also need to observe the class into which the child is transitioning to help them understand the differences in the functioning of the two environments. If parents are not on board, the whole process can be delayed - not because of the child but because of the adults involved.

The first aspect of any transition is a visit of approximately 15 minutes. During that time the Infant Community (IC) teacher can point out children the child may already know; she can also point out some materials that the child may be somewhat familiar with and perhaps point out some differences.

The child is then scheduled to visit daily for a short period of time 15–30 minutes. The adults then determine how the child handles that amount of time.  If all is going well, the time simply continues to increase. One helpful thing is for the Casa teacher to choose an older child who can go to the IC and invite the toddler to go to the Casa with them and perhaps, after discussion with the Casa teacher, even be able to give the IC child a lesson on something in the 3–6 environment.

It is not unusual for a toddler, once they have made the transition, to declare that they are returning to the IC. In this case the IC teacher must endeavor to make the child’s time in the IC boring - so that the child can see this environment no longer satisfies their needs. Some children transition very quickly whereas others take a bit of time, even up to a month.  During the process all adults involved must be communicating about the child’s progress.