One year during our word days before the First Day of School, our administration had us take a quiz type thing that told us what “color” we were. I usually just kinda roll my eyes 🙄 at these things and move on, but this one was really interesting. Most of the characteristics they claimed I had– I actually DID have!
A routine is a series of actions that are regularly followed. I am generally a big picture person and sometimes the details just escape my notice.
Routines are important for our students. They help students feel safe and secure. In my classroom, we have multiple routines that take place, depending on the part of our schedule we are in. For example, in the morning we have a routine for unpacking a bookbag, a routine for getting breakfast and a routine for switching out books. At lunch, we have routines for lining up, going through the lunch line and leaving the lunchroom.
Clearly, the importance of having routines is not lost on me. I know they are important and can make my life easier– so I decided to do to myself what I do with my students. I created visual reminders of the small tasks I need to do that will make my life easier. My morning routine is the first one I did!
1. Sign In- Duh, I NEED to get paid!
Those are all really small tasks, but they make my day go by SO much easier. Once I got my morning routine settled, I started working on my afternoon routine. I’m still working on it but then I’ll move to a routine during my planning period.
In order to build my morning routine, I had to really think about what tasks kept ‘surprising‘ me on a regular basis. Seriously, these things should not have been surprising, I just never remembered to get it ready!
What are some things that would make YOUR day go smoother? Can you build them into a new or already established routine?
