Build a Solid (and Fun) Foundation with Instructional Routines for Preschool

It is possible to balance kindergarten academic readiness with purposeful play and active student engagement in your prekindergarten classroom! This article explores the benefits of using learning blocks with instructional routines for preschool to create this balance and offers practical ideas for planning and implementing them. Plus, download a Morning Meeting routine card to support essential developmentally-appropriate skill development in your early childhood classroom!

The Demands of School Readiness in Early Childhood

School readiness has become a major focus of early childhood education. Preparing children for the academic rigors of kindergarten while still providing opportunities for purposeful play and active student engagement can be daunting tasks for preschool educators. Utilizing learning blocks with instructional routines within the daily schedule will help preschool teachers integrate their instruction of various academic subjects, while still providing their diverse preschool students with intentional, engaging, and playful learning opportunities.

Meeting Readiness Demands with Instructional Routines for Preschool

Learning blocks and instructional routines can be used to create the structure needed to balance your pre-kindergarten schedule so that students get the just-right amount of academic instruction and playful learning experiences.

Learning Blocks

Learning blocks in the pre-kindergarten classroom refer to structured periods of time with activities to facilitate learning and development. Learning blocks can include a large variety of educational experiences that support cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.

Learning blocks in preschool are scheduled throughout the day, when early childhood educators have planned curricular experiences that integrate learning. Learning blocks should include subjects that are guided by logical and developmental sequences, local and state frameworks and standards, and the interests, languages, and learning needs of students. Examples of learning blocks include literacy, math, and science.

Each learning block should align with developmental milestones and learning objectives appropriate for four-year-old students. Together, learning blocks offer a balanced and comprehensive approach to early education, ensuring that prekindergarten children have the chance to explore, learn, and grow across key domains.

Instructional Routines

The routines that teachers and students use before, during, and after learning blocks can act as the glue that holds the pre-kindergarten schedule together. Routines include expectations and directions for activities such as transitions, large and small groups, independent and teacher-directed learning, and centers. Instructional routines for preschool are utilized regularly to streamline teaching and learning in the early childhood classroom and are beneficial because they provide consistency and help children anticipate and understand expectations.

Benefits of Instructional Routines for Preschool

Establishing and maintaining routines in the classroom over time can lead to productive and supportive learning environments where students embrace the social behaviors that result from these routines (Arhyropulo-Palmer, 2022). These positive social behaviors can also foster a sense of community and security for students. A learning environment that is organized and has developmentally-appropriate learning blocks and routines to support independent and group activities serves to reduce distractions and direct student focus to what the teacher has planned. Reducing classroom distractions can especially benefit preschool students who are learning to exercise self-control and other social-emotional and academic executive functions. Effective instructional blocks and routines support teachers as well as students. When behavior management and instruction are positively influenced, the teacher has more time to spend on addressing individual student needs and responding to student ideas and interests.

The Morning Meeting: An Essential Preschool Learning Block with Routines

One of the most widely used and revered learning blocks of many preschool daily schedules is the Morning Meeting. This time in the preschool day can positively influence and help to build strong classroom communities, nurture trust, and pave the way for social and academic successes for students.

During Morning Meeting students often sit in a circle. Some teachers call it “Circle Time.” This is a time when teachers can begin to engage their students in social, language, and academic instructional routines for preschool. These are activities that prepare them for learning. Within the Morning Meeting block, teachers can personalize the activities to best suit their students. These activities are often repeated daily for consistency, and can include movement, respectful and safe listening and speaking, written messages, daily calendar and planning for the day, and activities that highlight academic content and review. These may take the form of student of the week, greetings, sharing, Morning Message, engaging calendar, counting, and word wall activities, and brief and energetic group activities to practice social and academic skills such as choral readings, games, singing, and dancing.

Asking a group of preschool students to attend to Morning Meeting activities that require them to use executive function skills like memory, inhibition, and sustained attention can be a challenge. That is why teachers who run the Morning Meeting learning block successfully have spent time teaching, practicing, and reviewing routines for the activities from the first day of school.

Tips for Planning Effective Learning Blocks with Instructional Routines for Preschool

The routines you establish in your classroom should be clear, positive, and match student development. Preschool routines should support the social, academic, and executive function skills that students need to develop, but must be simple enough for them to do. Establish routines for sequences of student actions in your classroom, from hand washing to signing up for centers. Your classroom routines will be effective if they are taught explicitly, reinforced positively, and reviewed often (Arhyropulo-Palmer, 2022). Preschool students love to practice and be praised for successfully modeling activities and classroom routines.

Even the most experienced teachers can benefit from fresh takes on ways to improve classroom management, atmosphere, and instruction. Success during learning blocks such as Morning Meeting is directly affected by the instructional routines for preschool that the students are familiar with and can follow with a high percent of mastery. The following are important basics to keep in mind when planning and implementing successful pre-kindergarten learning blocks and instructional routines.

Scheduling

Keep your instructional and play blocks as regular as possible during the day and week. However, knowing how long your students can be successful in group and independent activities, and being flexible, when necessary, will benefit both you and your students.

Try to base the length of your activities during learning blocks on the development and needs of your students. Observe student behaviors during different times of the day. Note when the group is focused and successful. You may want to schedule more complicated or rambunctious group activities during those times!

Variety

Provide varied settings throughout the day in which students can utilize their language and social skills. Small group, independent, partner, and center time, along with a healthy dose of free-play and outdoor recreation, will ensure that you are meeting the developmental needs of your pre-kindergarten students. When you observe your students exhibiting difficult behaviors or focus fatigue, have several resources at hand for brain or calming breaks. Incorporate engaging activities during whole-group time that include movement and diverse ways for students to respond and share, such as think-pair-share, thumb gauge, turn and talk, whisper to a friend, and four-corners.

Four Corners Activity

Point out or four corners or areas of the room that students can move to in response to a statement or question. Once you make a statement or question and the students have moved to the corner or area to show their responses, you may choose to have the groups talk about why they chose their responses and have them report-out to the class. Modify this activity by using two corners or areas to show “Yes” or “No” answers.

There are many kinds of classroom routines. Some may involve students completing only one step, while others will include more. Design your multi-step routines with clear beginnings and endings. For example, a routine for packing up at the end of the day could include students 1) getting coats, backpacks, and so on at the closet area, 2) collecting lunchboxes, 3) taking papers out of cubbies and putting them in backpacks, and 4) sitting in a line. A multi-step routine like this one can be taught sequentially and scaffolded with visuals posted by step number in the area at which they will occur. Other visual aids, such as colored circles or feet on the floor leading to the exit, will help students complete this going home routine. You can use these visuals throughout the day for class line-up or other activities involving organizing the students in a line.

Norms

Establish clear norms for recurring activities. For example, students should know your expectations for noise levels during independent working time, carpet time, centers, and transitions. Try to minimize big transitions during the day. These times can be difficult for some students. Use transition strategies like giving students a “five-minute warning” before switching activities, not having the entire class transition at the same time, and combining activities when possible, such as snack and independent reading.

Connections

As you plan your instructional blocks, remember that the lessons will be more meaningful to students if you take the time to weave content connections and themes throughout all subjects during the day. This will help to ensure that your students are interested, focused, and ready to participate in the activities.

Practice

Choose different routines daily for students to role-play. Have fun with these practice times. Using non-examples is a good way to create memorable moments that students will remember when they are participating in the routines independently.

Transparency and Agency

Be transparent with your students about why you have routines. Preschool students understand that it is safer to wait until you are called to line up instead of everyone running to the line at the same time. Involve your class in creating some of your routines. Would students like to hear a xylophone tone to show that center time is over, or do they think it is more fun to do a clap and response with you when that time comes?

Environment

Support smooth routines by thoughtfully organizing the physical environment in your classroom. Where should the library tub go to make book return run smoothly? Should centers or play areas be next to each other or would students benefit from more space in which to complete the activities? Labeling places and items in the preschool classroom has traditionally been recognized as a best practice for scaffolding norms, procedures, and routines. Making sure that resources are visible and accessible to all students helps them to build self-control, independence, and personal responsibility.

Separate Rules

Finally, do not confuse classroom routines with classroom rules. Although they are both meant to positively reinforce the classroom community and promote student engagement and academic success, effective routines are planned scaffolds that focus on promoting student independence and interdependence. Like rules, too many routines in a preschool classroom may lead to student and teacher frustration. Remember to observe your students over time and be prepared to modify routines for individual students if needed.

Thoughtfully organizing your preschool classroom schedule and incorporating developmentally appropriate learning blocks with instructional routines for preschool will positively affect your students’ attention and focus. Continue to observe and work with your preschool students using the ideas in this post to make your classroom community a supportive one for you and your learners!

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References

Arhyropulo-Palmer, Ann-Marie. “Exploring the evidence base: The role of routines in creating an effective learning environment.” Impact May 9, 2022. (https://my.chartered.college/impact/)