Establishing Routines
Posted by Hope Spencer on 17 Aug 2009 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Classroom Routines, Grade 1, Grades 2-3, Intermediate, Kindergarten, Planning and Curriculum, Preschool, The Mailbox
I know it sounds cliché, but I just can’t believe that it’s time to get ready for a new school year already! Preparing the classroom for my students’ arrival was one of my favorite things about teaching. I know that establishing a routine can make all the difference in the classroom, so I’ve scanned the August/September 2009 issues of The Mailbox® magazine to find tips you can incorporate into your planning.
Preschool: I use this simple system to quickly and easily track attendance. For each child, I place a card labeled with his photo and name in a pocket chart. When a child arrives, he moves his card from the chart to a nearby basket. After everyone has arrived for the day, I know at a glance who is present.
Kindergarten: Looking for a way to keep small classroom items at your fingertips? Use plastic cups! Pin plastic cups to bulletin boards and place items such as nametags, calendar pieces, or manipulatives inside. Or adhere a strip of magnetic tape to the back of a cup, attach it to a board, and put dry-erase markers inside.
Grade 1: To keep your class list at your fingertips, type your students’ names using a small point size. Then tape the list to the back of your school identification badge. You can count on it to be a timesaving reference during fire drills and any emergencies!
Grades 2-3: I use a simple rhyme activity to signal transition time. I ask a question, such as “Are you ready, Freddy?” and direct my students to answer with a rhyme, such as “Yes, Eddie.” It’s a quick way to get their attention, and my students like to be involved. To keep students’ interest, I change the names periodically throughout the year.
Intermediate: To keep my hall passes from being lost or germ-infested, I use badges that hang from my students’ necks. I write my name and room number on the back of each badge, laminate it, and punch a hole in the top corners. Then I thread each hole with yarn and tie a knot at the end to create a necklace. These handy badges are sturdier and easier to see than handheld ones.
Here’s to the best year ever!
Hope
Congratulations to Theresa F. from Glendale, Arizona. She is the winner of a copy of the K-1 Organize Now, May, book.
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33 Responses to “Establishing Routines”
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More Comments Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All Comments
Thanks for the great ideas–I am nervous this year since we no longer have any kindergarten aides. One thing I like to do is have a quiet book for each child. I got this idea from a friend and it works well. Every time or anytime they are done with their work and don’t know what to do they work in their quiet book (70 page spiral notebook). It is also a great tool to show their writing progress. It starts with scribbling and ends with writing letters and/or words.
I am teaching kindergarten for the first time and I know routines are very important. At my school we do not have a consistent special area time. Some days I have it in the morning and some days it is after lunch at various times. I am having a hard time myself getting used to a routine. I wish I had a special area at the same time everyday.
these are great ideas! I can’t wait to try these out on my first graders, especially the rhyming idea!
Preschool, 4+5 year olds. - When the children arrive to class I have a sign in sheet for them to write their name on. We call this our “attendance/snack” sign in. The children rush to sign in and it gives them practice writing their name. Of course we help those that need it. Then before clean up time we have our Star Student of the day count how many names are on the paper. We do this not really for attendance but for writing and math practice for the children. We then hang each daily sign in sheet on the bulletin board so parents can see how their children are progessing in writing their name.
I love these tips. Here’s the best tip I’ve ever received; give each student a number (I do this alphabetically by last name so if their last name was Adams they’d be #1, Branson they’d be #2, etc.). You can use that to count off during fire drills, to number their folders for homework/returned work folders/classroom folders, to number their notebooks for writing/journals, tags on their desks, tags in their cubbies, and even in your grade book! Plus, it makes filing a lot easier when they put their number on their paper, the kids can just file the papers for you according to their number!
I love the comments! I teach first grade but think they will love the 2-3 grade tip for transitions. I am going to give that one a try this year! Something new!! Thanks so much!
I could absolutely use more ideas like these! I will definately look into getting some of these Organize Now books and using some of your suggestions too!
Thanks!
Thanks for all the great posts. I believe I can incorporate some of these ideas in my daycare!
I also use name tags as the children come in, but i never thought about separating the two of them so that the children would have to locate their names to match their pictures, that is a really good idea, i also use name tags for my centers, that they have to use to go from one center to the next, they really like them because we always play a game before they get them to go to a center. Right after breakfast they are like Ms.Cassie can we play who’s wearing…. so we can get our name tags to go to centers, they really enjoy it.
What a great idea!! That is a great way to help children who need to understand word families and rhymes. We start school next week and I am going to try that,
Thanks so much,
Tina Parent
I love routine in my classroom. I find there are so many less problems when children know the routine and what to do and to expect each day. I start the year with a visual schedule so my 3 and 4 year olds know what to expect next. When there is a change in the daily routine I tell the children at beginnning of the day.
Routines are important. I start the day off by having the students unpack and put their things away. On the way to their seats they put their “take home” folder in a bin by the door. Their morning work is on the board and they are ready to go. This gives me time to go through their take home folders and see if there is anything I need to address first hand.