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CLASSROOM ROUTINE
I often get asked to share the daily schedule we use in my preschool but I find it is difficult to
share our daily schedule for several reasons
1. Our PreK students come 3 days a week and our Threes come only 2 days a week for 3
hours each day. The changes in numbers of children on each day affects our daily
schedule.
2. My outdoor classroom is closed during cold weather months or stormy days (we have no
closed windows in the outdoor classroom) which also affects our daily schedule.
3. And my daily schedule may not work for your situation due to varying factors such as
length of time in class; number of children in class; size of classroom space; age of
children and so on
Starting our day with morning circle...
Our daily routine
I think it is best to describe our daily schedule as a daily routine. We follow a daily routine that
is adapted to the childrens interests or needs. The length of time we spend during one part of our
day may change from one day to the next but the pattern or order of events throughout each day
are consistent and predictable
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Reading a story during morning circle time
A daily routine is very important in the preschool classroom. Whether you are at home or in the
classroom, predictability is something preschoolers need in their lives. Can you imagine if your
spouse walked in and said, Come on honey load up the kids and get in the car, we have
somewhere to go! And then expected you to drop everything, no questions asked, just to stop
by the gas station and come right back home?
Time to play in the indoor centers
Without a predictable routine, we are essentially expecting kids to drop everything and do
whatever might come next without having a clear understanding or expectation of what that is.
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This causes stress and anxiety for young children just as it does for adults and can lead to some
unhappy or chaotic transitions throughout the classroom day
Indoor Center Time
A predictable routine helps children understand what is coming next in their day
Snack Time
A predictable routine helps children understand what they will be expected to do during each
part of their day
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Headed outside for outdoor play and the outdoor classroom (weather permitting)...
A predictable routine helps children be more responsible, independent and confident
Outdoor play time
A predictable routine helps children be more relaxed and cooperative
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Outdoor Center Time
Our daily routine is essentially as follows
Morning Circletime
Indoor Classroom Centers (Children generally choose from math, language, writing,
reading center and additional planned activities in art and fine motor skills are at the
tables.)
Clean up and Wash Hands
Snack time
Outdoor Play
Outdoor Classroom Centers (Children generally choose from sand table, water table,
blocks, sensory window, play dough and additional planned activities in science and
nature are at the tables.)
Back to Indoor classroom
Afternoon Circletime
Large Group Activity (or small group activity splitting the threes and Pre-K into
two separate groups depending on the type of activity)
Free play in some of our easy to clean-up centers until time to go home.
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Afternoon Circle Time
Afternoon Large Group or Small Group Activity (Math Day)
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Afternoon freeplay till time to go home
That pretty much sums up the daily routine in our classroom. If you have specific questions or
would like more details, you can leave a comment below and I will do my best to provide
additional information for you
This article is being shared with you by Deborah Stewart of Teach Preschool - Promoting
excellence in early childhood education at home and in the preschool classroom!
PART 2 ROUTINE
Deborah J. Stewart, [Link]. January 6, 2012 at 9:22 pm
This is a great question Karen. Well our morning circle time is fairly routine
- A short morning routine of hello song, morning calendar/weather, and our Name Game
(a name recognition activity).
- Our Take Five and Exercise (five seconds of jumping jacks then arm twists and
whatever gets us moving)
- A book that generally sets up our planned daily activities during centers.
- A few fingerplays or a couple of songs
- And then it depends. Sometimes I follow up with a flannel board game or something
specific that usually extends the story we just read.
All this runs about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how engaged the children stay with
me.
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Afternoon circletime is generally music time and on some days, another book..
We also do
-A book or simple group game I have prepared on Tuesdays;
-Our Weekly Readers or Scholastic Readers on Wednesday (Prek Only Day);
-and our math bags on Thursdays