by Chantelle Bauer, Deputy Head of Junior School - Teaching and Learning
Routines are an important part of our daily lives, providing structure and stability. This is especially true for children in their formative years, who benefit from having consistent and predictable routines in both their school and home environments. At Toowoomba Grammar School Junior School, we believe that routines are essential for helping students thrive both inside and outside the classroom.
One of the key ways in which routines help students is by providing a sense of security and comfort. Children feel more confident and secure when they know what to expect, and routines help to provide this predictability. This is especially important for students in their early years of school, who are still adjusting to the demands of the school environment. By establishing consistent routines at home, parents can help their children to feel more comfortable and confident at school.
In addition to the benefits for individual students, routines also help to create a positive and productive learning environment for the whole class. When students know what is expected of them, they are more likely to be on task and engaged in their learning. This in turn helps to create a more positive and supportive classroom atmosphere, which can benefit all students. By working together to establish consistent routines both at home and at school, parents and teachers can help to create an environment that is supportive and conducive to learning.
Whether we design them intentionally or weave them into our lives organically, we all enjoy the benefits of building purposeful routines.
We are in the prime phase of the year for building purposeful routines with our students, and for ourselves. I am consistently impressed in the ability of students, teachers and families to settle so quickly into routines at the beginning of the year. It's not always easy! So, don’t be concerned if you are still working on forming and establishing purposeful routines at home to support children getting ready for school each day, or evening routines to settle for bed at night. Routines take practice, patience and persistence, complemented by lavish amounts of encouragement and praise.
Some tips for building routines, feel free just to consider those most relevant for you and your family.
Develop a schedule
- Schedules help to map our time, and kids benefit from knowing what’s coming up (we all do probably).
Organise materials so they can be easily accessed.
- Routines flow more easily when you can access what’s required quickly and easily.
Use checklists or visuals
- These little reminders reduce the cognitive load of what we need to remember, which is particularly important for children so they can focus their energy (brain power).
Be consistent, but flexible
- At first glance this sounds contradictory, but consistency is keeping the routine going, whereas flexibility is the ability to improvise or adjust to keep moving towards the goal. Children can get derailed at times when something is missing in their routine, remind them we are ‘flexible thinkers’ and we’ll find an alternative to keep going.
Celebrate the routine
- Some routines are fun, others are not as much…either way, celebrate them all. Congratulate your child on accomplishing the routine, especially when it was hard to get there!
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