This morning I woke up, turned on the pre-loaded coffee maker, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, put on my workout clothes, organized the furniture so that I would have enough space to do all the dreadful (not actually) exercising, and then logged into the digital work out. This was not necessarily the case, learn more about health. When COVID-19 struck, I think it’s safe to say that lots of our formerly discovered daily routines went out the window. If you are like me (and most humans), this probably made you feel a tad anxious… till you could create and settle into new routines. Humans are pattern seekers, and routines can contribute to scenarios which feel chaotic. They could relieve stress and, when learned, give our wisdom time and space to think thoughts which are more complex than, say, “How do I leave this Zoom meeting without anyone noticing?”Routines from the ClassroomI’d argue that educators understand the power of routines greater than every other group of specialists. In fact, the very first couple weeks of college are generally devoted to helping students learn expectations, processes, and routines which will help the classroom run like a well-oiled machine. Whereas class expectations or”principles” are such global, philosophical principles for students that speak to classroom culture and safety, patterns address the particular activities across the day which reinforce or support the expectations.As an instance, among the classroom expectations in an early childhood classroom might be, “We’re safe with our own bodies.” This is the global classroom principle that’s known over and over again. Arguably, much of the day for students is spent completing routines. Why is this significant? Well, in addition to helping kids stay safe, once students understand the routines, their brains are able to focus on what we REALLY want them to understand, while it’s literacy, mathematics, or how to be a good friend. Students who need a lot of repetition to learn new skills, like those with intellectualdisabilities or developmental delays, gain greatly from classrooms which have predictable, consistent routines set up. And, routines help educators! Once routines are learned, teachers have to focus on teaching!There are some Fantastic beginning of the year classroom routines featured on Pinterest, like this example:This fall, a lot people will be moving straight back to brick and mortar teaching and our students will be joining us. This will be an adjustment, to say the very least, and putting solid routines set up will help everyone feel less anxious and more protected. Some routines from our pre-COVID world will remain the same, but a few new, “COVID” routines will be created to ensure that all students are following current safety guidelines to the best of their abilities. Some examples might include lining up in a safe social distance, cleaning up following centers or work time by putting used substances in a”filthy” bin, or even students sanitizing their hands before checking individualized fittings and transitioning to a new place.Planning for New RoutinesWhen thinking about producing new”COVID” routines, start by asking these questions:What are the pre-COVID routines that will remain the same?Are there any existing routines which need to be corrected for safety?Are there any new routines that I need to include?Who will be implementing the routines? How will the routines be taught? Are there some students in my class that will require modifications to a regular because of their disabilities? (by way of instance, a student with Autism is functioning on tolerating the feeling of getting wet hands and becomes very anxious when asked to scrub his hands.)Are there any choices for those who could get them closer to the safety guidelines?
