Hello. Im joanne hendrick, author of the whole child and your guide to this video series. In this program, wergoing to look at some of the daily routines which make up most of a young childs day. Well see why these middle moments can be so meaningful in the lives of our preschool children, and well learn what we can do to help foster both emotional and physical growth during these middle moment opportunities. Well visit with children and teachers from a number of different Early Childhood programs family daycare homes, head start, universitybased lab schools, and private Childcare Centers and well see how they make the most out of the days middle moments. This is simba and nala when they were growing. And this is when. When they growed up apart, ok . Lets pretend, o hendrick a childs life isnt always full of new and Exciting Events and activities. There are times in a childs day when nothing very thrilling happens. The children come and they go. They eat. They rest. They go to the bathroom. And the next day, they come and they do it all over again. Boy hey. But sometimes children, like adults, can lose control. Right in the middle of what should have been a normal, typical moment, things go to pieces. Girl hey, i need it i need it. I need to talk teacher erica, how about i talk to michael, and you talk to daniel. Hi, Daniel Hendrick what can we do to keep this from happening . How can we ensure that our childrens daily routines their middle moments are meeting their needs in a way that is nurturing, flexible, and positive . Girl ok. Ok, bye. The rest of your friends are in the lunchroom. Woman can i go and put up the stuff . Sure, go right ahead. How are you doing today . Fine. Camille and brians medicine, the same one, and thanks for finding it for me. Daily routines make up the backbone of a childs early experiences. How we handle these tasks not only sets the tone for the rest of the childs day, but it also lets the child know shes being nourished and well cared for. Shes a little shy right now. Here you go, precious. Good morning to you good morning, good morning good morning to you our day is beginning theres so much to do good morning, good morning good morning to you there are several principles we can put into practice when we set our schedules, provide meal and snack times, help children separate from their parents, begin naptime, and take care of our Young Childrens toileting needs. Boy i dont like this. Woman right. If you dont like something, say, no, thank you. Boy no, thank you. Learning takes place during daily routines. Daily routines provide wonderful opportunities for a child to learn more about herself, the world, and other people. Thanks, jill. Theres another one. Daily routines offer children a sense of stability, a feeling of warmth and caring from the teachers. Could you bring the green and the yellow paint to the table here . Our challenge is to develop appropriate daily routines for children which offer them a sense of consistency and a healthy sense of security. Man up on a mountain, two by two up on a mountain, two by two hendrick at the same time, these routines should be flexible and responsive to the individual needs of each child. Man we make a motion, two by two sometimes marcels going to come out and join you even though you didnt pick him to go on the mountain, and thats ok, becauseremember . Why . What are we helping marcel to learn . Child to sit down. Yeah, and join us for circle time, ok . Hes never had to do that before. So you guys are going to be what for him . Child teachers. Good job. Ready, guys . Here we go. Up on a mountain, two by two up on a mountain, two by two up on a mountain i bet some of my friends ride their bikes in the springtime. Child i do do you . Yeah. Hendrick and lets keep in mind how important consistent but flexible daily routines are to our children with special needs. Children with learning delays, children in wheelchairs, and children unable to speak especially need to know that their needs will be tended to in a responsive, consistent way and that if they need a little extra time or assistance, their teacher will help. No, not look at it. Take it to your mouth. Good girl. Lay it down. Good girl. [girl crying] hendrick we begin our examination of daily routines with one of the first events of te day. Does this look familiar . There comes a point in almost every babys life when she feels very strongly about being left by her parent. Often referred to as separation anxiety, the child might sob frantically and seem absolutely inconsolable when separating from her Family Member. Our handling of separation anxiety is really important for our childrens emotional wellbeing. So what helps . What could you do to help a child separate easily . First of all, we can reassure the child with calm words and affection that the Family Member will return. It may be tempting, but during separation anxiety, avoid bribing the child. Ive seen so many caregivers try to use food as a way of pacifying the child. What do you think is wrong with that . What kind of message does it communicate to the child . Im concerned that these children are being taught to use food as a way to calm emotional upsets rather than learning to understand and work through their feelings. Separation anxiety provides an excellent opportunity to support Family Members as well as the child. Our goal is to Work Together with the family to establish appropriate routines and responses to separation anxiety that help the child to overcome his fears, and of course, to develop a warm, nurturing relationship with each child so that all the children in our care feel safe and secure while away from home. Some practical things to do that make separating easier include arranging for the child to visit before spending the whole day, encouraging the parent to remain until the child feels comfortable, making sure the Family Member tells the child when leaving and then sticks to the decision to leave, letting the child keep security objects such as blankets or stuffed animals, and if the parent is very concerned, suggest they phone later for a report on how the child is doing. Most preschool classrooms follow a basic daily schedule. Why do you think these schedules and plans are so important . Of what value are they to your children and to you . Can you imagine what life would be like in your classroom without a schedule . Woman thank you. They go in here, patrick. Its cleanup time. This car was turning around. It was making a uturn . Help us pick up all the cars, please. Boy oh, i was brushing my teeth hendrick among other things, a schedule can help ensure the consistency that Young Children need, and it can also help us make sure that all areas of development are encouraged through planning a wide range of activities. Woman yay ok, one more song, and then well go outside. Hendrick it can be very helpful if we think of our daily schedule as a guide. But what do you think might happen if we set our schedules in stone and left no room for changes . Woman yeah, were going to make lemonade. Boy ourour hands are going to be cold. Hendrick flexible schedules let us capitalize on those wonderful teachable moments that arise when children discover something unplanned that interests them. They allow us to extend or shorten a play period so the children gain maximum satisfaction from what theyre doing. Another variation to a routine might be if its 9 30, and they havent finished an art project or something, then it would be important to let them finish it up. And play it by ear. If its 9 30, oh, thats ok. We can start snack in 10 more minutes. Just because its 9 30, snack doesnt have to begin right then and there. The children need time to get finished with what theyve been doing, and a little bit of warning needs to be given to them, and then move on. So a routine is real important, but the time schedule should be flexible so that they have that time in the middle for flexibility. If youre happy and you know it, stamp your feet hendrick in creating our schedules, its so important to provide a healthy balance for our children. For example, is there a balance between times when children must conform to Group Procedures and a time when individual needs are emphasized . Woman do you want to do it again . No . Youre finished. Boy i want to make pancakes look at your hands. Is there any paint on your hands . Look on this side. What do you need to do now . Go wash. Hendrick is there a balance between quiet and noisy activities . A balance between indoor and Outdoor Activities . Thats his job. Hes the pinsetter, and hes the ball return. You could ask him if you could help him. Can i help you . Woman, voiceover i think it gives them a sense of security to know whats going to happen next. It gives them a sense that theyre in control, and once they have that sense of security, theyre able to deal with flexibility better. And i alsoagain, when theres change in routine, i really try hard to prepare them for that change because they do become creatures of habit. So if weve run overtime and were not going to have time for small group and were going to transition right into snack at the end of large group time, i usually say to them, somethings different. Something different is going to happen today, and then prepare them for the change, and thats always helpful. [baby talk] different woman, voiceover i think its so different to work with infants and toddlers than working with preschoolers. Its like a whole different ball game. You really have to slow down the rhythm. You have to be so much more flexible. You cant plan out everything thats going to happen during the day. And you have to be very sensitive to whats going on. You have to Pay Attention to each baby, what theyre doing. Do they need a diaper change . You cant plan out some elaborate activity because theyre exploring the world, so you need to really follow them in their explorations, which means you have to be paying a lot more attention, i think. And also, theres this whole intimate physical relationship that you have. If you work with babies, you have to feel pretty comfortable sitting down on the floor, letting babies crawl up onto your lap and cuddle with you and be physically affectionate. So its a whole different kind of experience working with infants. Is that a different taste . Is that a different taste . Hendrick the way we handle daily routines is especially important for babies. Through such tasks as feeding and diapering, we communicate to the child that she can trust us and that we can be relied on to nourish and provide for her. This special bond of trust is called attachment. Child psychologists assert that the trust and attachments that develop within the first two years of life can determine not only the emotional future of the child, but of the adult, as well. But maintaining this bond of attachment and trust doesnt happen automatically or easily. Group care for infants can be especially difficult and hard to manage. What steps would you take to ensure that your handling of daily routines helps to nurture and enhance the babys development . What would you say . What kinds of things would you do to make a difference . Here are some tips that help our Children Trust and emotionally attach to us. 1practice listening and paying attention to what the baby is telling you be sensitive to his cues. 2Pay Attention to your own verbal cues and body language. Talk to the baby, even though he may not be speaking yet. 4dont rush through daily tasks. Take your time. 5establish routines that are based on each individual babys needs. And 6hold the babies during bottle feeding. Feeding is such a wonderful opportunity to form warm, nurturing relationships. Its that consistency in their life. They know that when i come to school, this is what i have to do. And the parents tell me, the child told me this is what they had to do, and this is what they have to do. And i show the parents, this is our daily routine. We do this at this time, this at this time. And theyre like, oh, ok. So thats why when he finishes his dinner, he wants to scrape out his plate and go to his room and color. Well, if it works for you for whatever reason. Yes, we have consistency, and children need that. Hendrick take a look at this classroom. Whats the teacher doing . What is she saying . And how do you think this might help in her childrens performance of routine tasks . Mrs. Dodson says we have to look at the clock. We have 5 more minutes. Thats not a long time. So you need to put some cookies in this pan because well be cleaning up in 5 minutes. The time we spend moving from one activity to the next makes up a large part of the preschool day. These Transition Times are important because they can make the day seem smooth and wellorganized or rushed and unpleasant. In addition to allowing a realistic amount of time for transitions to take place, it always helps to warn once in advance before making a change in activities. This gives the children a chance to finish what theyre doing, and their cooperation is more likely. Why do you think it might also help to move the process along if we comment favorably about the next activity . [boys singing] singing also helps children move along during transition and cleanup times, in addition to avoiding situations where all the children are expected to do the same thing at the same time. You didnt like the egg . Thats a hardboiled egg, and they just cut it up. I didnt like that, that, or that. Did you try the noodle . Yeah. You tried the noodle . You didnt find it good . Different child i dont like it. Im done. Hendrick a few words about food and nourishment all of us understand how important adequate nutrition is. Everyone doesnt have the same diet, so lets be especially sensitive to our children who are vegetarian, lactose intolerant, or who have other special religious and dietary needs. Lets talk to the families and find out firsthand which foods are appropriate and which are not. Woman youre so happy. You have a full tummy now . Hendrick lets discuss feeding time and infants. Why do you think its important that we feed a child when hes hungry, rather than according to a schedule . The challenge is, of course, recognizing how each baby lets you know hes hungry. What signs should you look for to determine whether a baby is hungry and wants to be fed . Its very important that we establish open communication with parents about their infants feeding and nutrition. Would you like some more . Look at nancy. Children prefer plain, familiar food they can eat with their fingers. Its important that snacks vary from day to day and that snacks, drinks, and desserts are nutritious rather than junk. Ok, let me tell you what were having. We are having rice. We are having beans. And we are having greens and rolls. Ok . So i want you to try a little bit of everything. Ive found that food is an excellent area for supporting multicultural experiences. When there are children at school from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, its particularly crucial to include foods they like and that are familiar to them. Eating should be a positive experience. Lets look at some basic principles about mealtimes that will help keep it that way. 1children eat at their own pace. Some children eat faster or slower than others. Some youngsters eat more than others do. 2eating should be a pleasure, but tying foods together with behavior, either as a reward or a punishment, can sometimes cause eating disorders later on. 3eating should be a shared and cooperative experience, with foods served familystyle. Mealtimes should be a time to chat, enjoy, and help each other. 4mealtimes can encourage independence. Mealtimes are opportunities for children to be independent by making choices about food. 5we should encourage children to taste everything, but lets be careful not to force them to eat. Its got bears on it. It has bears on it . Let me see those bears. What are those bears doing . Why do you think toileting is an especially important learning experience for youngsters . What kinds of things do you think we can teach our children when they go to the bathroom . Oh, thank you. What a great help. What a great help. Down. Down. Up, down. Through our handling of diaper changes, toilet training, and selftoileting, the children in our care learn about their bodies, social customs or attitudes, gender differences, and personal hygiene. Put some soap on. Plane. I hear a plane. Is that a plane up there . Yeah. I got some. Scrub them together. You need to shut off the water. Shut off the water . Shut it off. Ok. Show me how to do it. Show me how to shut it off. Hendrick most preschool children can be expected to go to the toilet when they feel the need, but once in a while, a child may have to be reminded to go. In encouraging selftoileting, its important that we convey a positive attitude to the child, being careful not to shame or humiliate them. Not all children are ready to be toilet trained at the same age. Boys seem to take longer. Also, youngsters who are developmentally delayed may require extra time, patience, and reminding. To make accidents less traumatic, it always helps to have an extra set of clothing on hand, as well as a private place to change. Lets be sure we emphasize hand washing as a consistent part of the toilet routine and before handling food. Consistent hand washing is the most effective way to control illness. We can serve as role models for children by washing our own hands often, before and after routine tasks. Not so fast. Slow down. Youre being a good little helper, but you are just too fast. Thats ok. Hendrick theres nothing like taking a break to recharge our mental and physical batteries. Its worth noting that naptime can present some of our more challenging moments. Naptime is one routine that can either convey warmth and security or stress and turmoil to our children. Its up to the child as to whetr or not they sleep, but its also our job to smooth the way for a more relaxed and quiet rest time. First of all, lets look at some of the reasons why a child may find it difficult to settle down. What kinds of issues do you think could interfere . Children often have trouble settling down at naptime because restful sleep is an act of trust. And sometimes its hard for children to relax. All preschool children need to lie down and relax for a while, but older children need not sleep. Under these circumstances, its ok for some children to get up and play outside or in another room following a reasonable rest period. No matter what your techniques, we can help our children have a positive nap experience by setting a daily pattern for naptime that is quiet, calm, and consistent. We can create a restful mood for children by reading quietly, playing soothing music, and rubbing backs. Children should be spre