Evaluate the importance of routine in a child's devlopment Essay

Evaluate the importance of routine in a child's devlopment - Essay Example Too much waiting begets wiggle, giggle, squirm and poke.† (p. 187). These routines are set periods that come one after the other that children learn to expect as they go about their day. â€Å"Routines are the backbone of classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learning† (Shalaway, 1997, p. 25). It structures the activities and help students know what to expect and how to behave during transitions. Scheduling routines is not just listing the activities one after the other just to fill the school day. It requires careful planning and consideration of the children’s developmental needs, attention span, the variety and balance of activities and even the time of day. Planning should include transition activities from one routine to another, as it is in transition times when children may slip into rowdy behavior if they are not managed well enough. The following routines observed in a class of 4-5 year olds shall be carefully analyzed and critiqued: At first glance, the routines seem to serve only the teacher’s understanding of what happens in her day, with knowledge of what goes on in each routine. The time blocks for â€Å"taught lesson† give the impression that it is much too long for the attention span of four and five year old children, because the lesson periods are assumed to be passive, â€Å"sit-down† time for children while they listened to the teacher deliver the lessons. The time allotted for playtime, which is only for fifteen minutes reflect that this class does not value play as much as lesson time. The routine at hand does not give enough information on what the children do the whole time. It is important for a schedule of routines to be more specific in its information, and cutting down the time to budget all planned activities that goes in each routine. For example, in the first part of the day, the first forty-five minutes may include more information on what goes on during the Assembly time. Are the