I almost threw up in my local red bullseye store last week. I wasn’t sick, but the sight of employees in red polos and khaki pants erecting school supply displays full of notebooks, pencils, lunch boxes and backpacks with all manner of designs made my stomach hurt.
There’s the classic Christmas Creep, where stores begin playing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” and selling the hottest toys of the season before Halloween. What I experienced was the lesser known BTS (back to school) Creep, when stores all but snatch away your post-pool day popsicles and sunscreen and trade them in for pencil pouches and early bedtimes. Even thinking about such a transition in July is enough to give me hives.
Transitions can be difficult, especially transitions that involve new routines, new classrooms, new expectations and new people. We can support our families with disabilities in our churches with the back-to-school transition with a bit of intentional planning.
Be sure to communicate with families whenever their family member may be eligible to matriculate to the next grade level or program in your ministry. These transitions often involve a change of location (ie moving from one classroom to another), a change of expectations (ie having less time to free play in an elementary Sunday school class vs. a preschool Sunday school class), or changes in the program volunteer and staff personnel. Communicate clearly and frequently with the family and the person with a disability so they know what to expect and when to expect it. Communicate with volunteers and staff what specific supports are needed to best include the person with a disability, how those supports will be provided, and who is responsible for support implementation. Determine what additional supports may be needed during the transition and communicate those to all involved.
Not everyone is ready for change at the same time. All 2 years may not be ready to move to the 3-year-old Sunday school class at the end of summer, nor is every high school freshman prepared to join in the main service every Sunday as their junior high Sunday school career comes to a close. While (generally) placement in our school system relies on metrics such as birthdate, our churches do not have to be bound by these metrics in the same way. Is that kindergartener with intense social anxiety not yet ready to leave their old Sunday school classroom and move up to the elementary class? Consider gifting that child a few extra weeks or months stay in a familiar environment. Invite the child’s parent or sibling to join them in the new classroom for a bit if that is helpful for the transition. Is the 6th grader with autism reluctant to transition to a larger, louder student ministries space? Consider allowing the child to begin Sundays in a familiar space for a few minutes before joining their peers in the new classroom. Flexibility will go a long way in ensuring successful transitions and in building trust and rapport with individuals and families.
Transition temporarily shakes the foundations of what is known and what is comfortable. When we feel our foundations shake, our world can feel unpredictable, unpleasant, and unsafe. Transition can be stressful! If you have been on Earth for more than 2 minutes, you know that people can respond to stress in all kinds of different ways. Maybe the 1st grader who just moved up from the kindergarten class starts showing regressive, aggressive behavior. Maybe the 7th grader moving to student ministries will not join his small group for Bible study and elects to sit away from the group. Maybe a parent starts blowing up the children’s director’s inbox with support requests. Maybe a volunteer expresses exasperation on how to handle new children in their class who are “distracting” and “off task”. In seasons of transition, gift grace generously. Extending grace will allow more communication clearly and allow for more flexibility and creativity in supporting individuals and families.
As your church begins to turn the corner from the (mostly) slower pace of summer to full force, pedal to the metal pace of fall, be sure to intentionally create space for clear communication, flexibility, and grace in the transitions. Head into this next season with open minds, open eyes, and open hearts as you support individuals and families through some unpredictable and stressful times.
