We want to make our routines meaningful to the children, co-constructed and developmentally appropriate. We want our daily routines to align with our philosophies about teaching and learning, and our image of the child.
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#1 - Calendar Time
'Calendar time' looks almost completely different now to how it once did in my classroom. I used to use it as a morning routine. It was commercially-produced. We sang days of the week and months of the year songs. We counted the days, identifying numbers and recognizing what comes before and after given numbers or days of the week. Most important (and flawed) of all, we only filled the number cards up to the given date.
These concepts related to our learning outcomes but did not use the calendar in an authentic way. On top of that, I then discovered there is actually very little evidence that shows these types of calendar activities (which mark extended periods of time, like month and week) are meaningful for children below first grade (Beneke, Ostrosky & Katz, 2008, p. 13). |
So, the routine needed to be re-thought. There is still a calendar in my classroom. Months, days and dates are still marked. This time though, it's all of them. Now our calendar is a co-constructed piece which evolves every day. The main purpose is not counting and temporal time, but rather reflection and the recording of community events. We look at our calendar in our Afternoon Meeting and discuss what happened during our school day. The Special Helper chooses one or more significant events and draws a picture on the date card.
The biggest difference? Now children are engaged in self-motivated and personally-meaningful dialogue around this shared tool - not just memorized songs and scripted conversations.
The biggest difference? Now children are engaged in self-motivated and personally-meaningful dialogue around this shared tool - not just memorized songs and scripted conversations.
Check out these great reads on classroom calendar routines for more inspiration:
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#2 - Seating Arrangements
If we intend to teach independence and practical life skills, we must do so all the time. Not only during specific planned lessons. When I first started teaching, I set required seating plans which didn't give students enough opportunity to self-regulate.
Open seating allows children a developmentally-appropriate problem-solving opportunity. When two people want to sit in the same spot, what happens? How do they solve the problem? This is something I try not to intervene with and control anymore. |  |
Try it and see how the self-regulation and interpersonal skills that are discovered and demonstrated through the process are also extended to other areas or learning and interaction.
Source: learningresources.co.uk
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#3 - Classroom Jobs
Another routine I had when I first started teaching was a class jobs chart. In the beginning, I determined the jobs myself. Then we decided on the jobs as a class, which I thought was a great move to increase student ownership and responsibility. The thing was that the students were still being told what to do and when to do it - whether or not they had decided on the jobs.
Now I have no class jobs. Inspired by the sense of shared ownership and fluid responsibility I observed in the Municipal Preschools in Reggio Emilia in 2011 and a Waldorf elementary school in 2010, I favour a more organic approach. |
We still have one 'Special Helper' everyday who leads our class line and organizes the Morning Meeting. This person also lends an extra helping hand to any other incidental tasks, but, in general, the culture in our classroom is that everyone is responsible for everything all the time. We are all responsible for recognizing when the recycling needs to be emptied. We are all responsible for keeping track of when the plants need to be watered.
In the past, I found that designated classroom jobs didn't really work to support the class community and environment I wanted. While they did give everyone a sense of responsibility eventually, they narrowed it to one area and encouraged those without classroom jobs to 'check out'.
In the past, I found that designated classroom jobs didn't really work to support the class community and environment I wanted. While they did give everyone a sense of responsibility eventually, they narrowed it to one area and encouraged those without classroom jobs to 'check out'.
#4 - Behaviour Charts
Does this traffic light look familiar? Surely at some point most teachers have used at least a version of this in their classrooms. When I first started teaching I had 25 children in my classroom and I was the one adult. A behaviour chart would be a great way to manage them, right? Wrong.
Well, not completely wrong. It did manage them, but in the most superficial way. And, upon reflection, in a way that completely undermined my educational philosophy of developing relationship with children. | 
Source: http://beyondthestoplight.com/2014/03/19/my-stoplight-moment/
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A few key issues I noticed about the chart:
Now, there is no behaviour chart in my classroom. No traffic light, no stickers, no happy and sad faces. Instead, we emphasize supportive group dialogue, private conversations, and trusting relationships.
Now, there is no behaviour chart in my classroom. No traffic light, no stickers, no happy and sad faces. Instead, we emphasize supportive group dialogue, private conversations, and trusting relationships.
There was lots of discussion about how these things have worked in the past, however, understanding the following perspectives has challenged us to try these and other routines in new ways. We agree that we wish to:
1. Emphasize supportive group dialogue, private conversations, and trusting relationships.
2. Develop and support the culture in our classroom so that everyone is responsible for everything all the time.
3. Use tools that support self-motived and personally-meaningful dialogue, as well as self-regulation and interpersonal skills.
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We need to come back to this.
Reflections on book making activities in our classrooms.
Post pictures of book making and stories - reflections on learning
Wordless Wonders Article (2016)

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