Transcript

Have you ever heard the phrase, “kids thrive on routine?” Well it’s true! Kids don’t have a lot of control in their lives, but routines can give them a sense of organization, stability, and comfort. Just like having a routine for bedtime or mealtime, having a routine for teaching preschool will help you in the long run.

Routines are helpful because…

• Gives organization to the day

• Helps the child feel secure and know what is going on

• Makes the day run more efficiently

• Leads to better behaviors

Since you homeschool, it will be important to start the day the same way so they know that school time has started and it’s different from other parts of the day.  

This can be with something simple:

• Sing a song to signal the preschool time has started

• Sit close together and read a book

• Complete calendar time together

• Do a dance or movement activity In schools, a lot of early childhood classrooms start with circle time. 

The definition of circle time is a period in the school day when young children gather in a circle to participate in a guided discussion or group activity. This could be doing a calendar and weather chart together, singing some songs and playing instruments, or reading a book and discussing it. Many classrooms do this as a time to build a community and learn from others. Since you are homeschooling and may just have one child to teach, you may not want to do this. I think this would be great if you were teaching siblings and starting the day off this way and also even going through the schedule of the day with them. It’s up to you if you want to start your day this way. Some parents love this and it really helps their routine. It’s not necessary to do, but if you think it will help you start the day, then definitely try it!

At the start of the school year, you will really have to teach this routine to your child. Don’t be discouraged if it takes some time. Preschoolers are young and they may need a few days or a few weeks to really start understanding the routine. I always recommend starting small. For example, at the beginning of the year when your child isn’t used to school time, just to it for 10 minutes. Work your way up to longer periods of time. But start small so you can have success with it and also so it doesn’t overwhelm your child!

How can you make sure you stick to your routine? Here are some suggestions that I’ve found worked well for me:

• Get up early and start your day first – get some self care in before having to take care of your children

• Make a visual routine chart

• Prepare more elaborate activities the night before

• Make weekends (or days off of preschool) different so they know that it’s not a school day.

I know that not every day will go perfectly, and that’s ok. We’re going to talk more about what to do when things get off track in Module 5. But just know that you’re not alone in this and we all have times where we’re just not on a good routine.

The big takeaway is this…your job is to create a routine for your child so that they feel good about school. This may take time to set up and learn for your child, but in the long run, it will be so helpful. In the next lesson, I’ll be sharing some sample schedules with you to get your mind thinking of how you want to set up YOUR day!