A setting with a developmental perspective on routines will…
- Have better flow throughout the day with less waiting points for the children.
- Therefore have less bored children waiting for the next thing, and boredom often leads to poor choices, so there will be less of that.
- Have more time for their children to play, which is where they do all their learning.
When we think of a routine we often think about the key moments in the day, for example: 9am morning registration, 9.30am free play, 10.00am nappy change, 10.30am outside time, 11.30am carpet time, 12.00pm lunch time etc.
Is this how a child thinks though? First of all, they can’t tell the time. If I challenged you to consider what parts of the day are actually fixed by time I think we might be left with meal times and nap times, for those children who nap.
So how can we unpick the rest of the routine more? Let’s start with a couple of examples…
Example of ineffective routine – waiting by the wall for nappy changes
Example of effective routine – ???
Now, watch the presentation below to consider some principles and strategies for refining the routines in your place of work.
Try the GIST – good ideas for starting things…
- Reflect on your routine now and wonder what the children could be doing when not doing the thing that the routine is making them do, now.
- Watch one child for a period of time in the day, perhaps when transitioning into lunch then to nap time. How much time do they spend waiting and playing? Are you comfortable with this experience for your children?
Want to learn more?
- If you are worried about raising any of these issues with colleagues then consider this free course from Edventurous Leadership on Having Difficult Conversations.
- Read this article on how routines can improve behaviour.
- Check out this article focused on care routines.