As an early childhood educator, I have worked with littles from 6 months old to 6 years old for almost 10 years. Six schools across two countries, from the East coast to Mountain Zone. I’ve been a multi age group floater, preschool age group substitute, 18-24 month old assistant teacher, young preschool lead teacher, kindergarten prep support educator, and more. By far I have had the most challenge, the most reward and the most joy working with toddlers. 

It’s a tough time, toddlerhood. Tough on the kids, tough on the teachers, and as I have now learned first hand as a mom, tough on the parents. Toddlers are experiencing a period of tremendous growth in their minds and bodies. It’s an exciting time that often brings so much joy but also often many challenges. Toddlers will often find themselves in a position where their brains have developed just a bit faster than thor bodies which can create a lot of frustration. And all this at a time when emotional regulation skills typically have not yet set in. Thus the tantrum. 

We try our best as caregivers but, even at our best, this time can still be challenging for both the adult and the child. When my son began to enter the toddler stage I was so excited for all the things I knew he would be learning soon. It wasn’t long before I found myself faced with a curious, strong willed, clever, and active little boy. 

I love all of those characteristics in my son but this profile meant he was always pushing boundaries and testing limits. It quickly became tiring and sometimes even frustrating. I found myself wondering how in the world did I handle a classroom of 12 children his age with very similar behaviours and with relatively little stress. 

The secret was in a strategy I had developed slowly over the course of my teaching experience. It is what I refer to as an up and down schedule or upsy downsy for fun. 

First let’s talk about schedules. In a classroom setting, daycare or preschool, caregivers and educators will typically follow a clear and consistent daily schedule. This is the foundation of classroom management especially with very young children. Clear and consistent schedules and routines offer children a sense of predictability in their days. They can reliably anticipate what the order of events will be, what to expect will happen next, and when they will likely be asked to transition between activities. 

Because a toddler is already experiencing such a demanding developmental period of growth, it can be hard for them to cope with unpredictability. Let’s be honest, it can be hard for most of us adults to cope with unpredictability. The predictability of a clear and consistent daily schedule gives toddlers a certain level of comfort as they experience changes and transitions throughout their day. There is a whole lot more that can be said about behavior management in the toddler age but the foundation starts here, with the daily schedule. 

Okay, a daily schedule may sound reasonable enough, but what is this upsy downsy business?

The upsy downsy method is a refinement that I have added to my typical daily schedule for toddlers. It is essentially an intentional and strategic ordering of activities. It works so beautifully in classrooms and has adapted really well to my home environment. The idea is to alternate between high energy activities (up activities) and low energy activities (down activities). I find that this helps most toddlers engage their wiggly bodies and curious minds very well in activities throughout the day. And a child who is actively engaged is much less likely to wander into something mischievous or dangerous. This creates less conflict and a more pleasant experience for adults and children throughout the day. 

Building An Upsy Downsy Schedule

Building an usy downsy schedule begins with identifying the up and down activities throughout your day. Up activities are high energy activities. Typically activities involving movement or freedom of choice. Down activities are lower energy activities. Typically requiring focus and self control. 

At school, up activities might include visiting an indoor school gym, practicing yoga, outdoor play, free play, choice centers, and more. Down activities might include circle time, read aloud, writing, practice, craft activities, meals, and more. 

Though there can be plenty of overlap. At home up activities and down activities may look a little different. Up activities at home can be outdoor play or yoga, but it can also be helping to sweep the floors or having a family dance party. Down activities could be a craft activity or a meal, but it can also be a family movie or a nap. 

The goal is to alternate between these two types of activities throughout the day. 

At school or daycare that could look something like this:

• Arrival 
• Morning Snack 
• Free play
• Circle time
• Outdoor play 
• Lunch 
• Nap 
• Snack
• Outdoor play 
• Read aloud 
• Free play 
• Home time

At home it could look like this:

• Morning Routine
• Breakfast 
• Morning walk
• Craft activity 
• Outdoor play 
• Lunch 
• Nap 
• Snack
• Free play 
• Chore time 
• Outdoor play 
• Dinner 
• Bedtime Routine 

Notice that lunch, nap and snack are three down activities in a row. The alternation doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be realistic, and realistically many toddlers will nap after lunch and want a snack shortly after they wake. As a mom I have found that it is nice to not fill my day with a lot of activity. Being at home with my  children allows me the flexibility to choose how to set my day but I still use this upsy downsy structure. My less filled day with my toddlers looks a lot more like this:

• Morning Routine 
• Breakfast
• Free play
• Homeschool (about 15 min) 
• Outdoor play
• Lunch 
• Nap 
• Snack
• Free play 
• Dinner 
• Bedtime Routine 

Whatever activities typically fill your day can often be arranged in this sort of structure. If you are sorting your typical daily activities and find that there is a significant imbalance, for example you have almost all of one type up activities or down activities, you may want to consider incorporating new activities or changing some existing activities. Toddlers need both the freedom and movement of up activities and the structure and demand of down activities. Too much structure often neglects their developmental need to move and have autonomy and too much freedom can make them feel chaotic and out of control. Neither of those situations is ideal and either can lead to more challenging behaviors. That is why I have found so much success in implementing this strategy with toddlers over my years of teaching and now in motherhood. 

The daily schedule is the foundation of behavior management and the Upsy Downy method helps to refine that just a bit more to meet the particular developmental needs of most toddlers. Give it a try with your toddlers and let me know how it goes for you.