This morning I woke up, turned on the pre-loaded coffee maker, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, put on my workout clothes, organized the furniture so I would have space to do each the dreadful (not actually) exercising, and logged into the digital workout. This was not necessarily the case, learn more about owl symbolism in native american culture. When COVID-19 struck, I think it’s safe to say that lots of our previously discovered daily routines went out the window. If you are like me (and many humans), this probably made you feel somewhat anxious… until you were able to create and settle into new routines. People are pattern seekers, and routines can bring order to scenarios that feel helpless. They can relieve stress and, once heard, give our wisdom time and space to think thoughts that are more complicated than, say, “How do I render this Zoom assembly without anyone noticing?”Routines from the ClassroomI would argue that educators understand that the ability of routines better than any other group of professionals. In fact, the very first few weeks of school are generally devoted to helping pupils learn expectations, procedures, and routines that will help the classroom run like a well-oiled machine. Whereas course expectations or”rules” are such global, philosophical principles for pupils that talk to school culture and security, routines address the specific activities throughout the day that reinforce or support the expectations.For instance, one of those classroom expectations within an early childhood classroom may be, “We’re safe with our bodies.” This is the global classroom principle that is referred to over and over again. Arguably, a lot of the day for pupils is spent completing routines. Why is this significant? Well, in addition to helping children stay safe, once pupils learn the routines, their brains can concentrate on exactly what we REALLY want them to learn, while it’s literacy, mathematics, or how to become a good friend. Pupils who require a lot of repetition to learn new skills, like those with disabilities or developmental delays, gain greatly from classrooms that have predictable, consistent routines set up. And, routines help educators! Once routines are learned, teachers get to center on instruction!There are some great beginning of the year classroom routines featured on Pinterest, like this example:This fall, many people will be going straight back to brick and mortar instruction and our students will be joining us. This is going to be an adjustment, to say the least, and putting solid routines set up will help everyone feel less stressed and more protected. Some routines from our pre-COVID planet will stay the same, but some new, “COVID” routines will be created to ensure that all pupils are following current security instructions to the best of their abilities. Some examples may include lining up in a safe social space, cleaning up after centers or work time by putting used substances in a”filthy” bin, or pupils sanitizing their hands prior to assessing individualized fittings and transitioning to a new place.Planning for New RoutinesWhen thinking about producing new”COVID” routines, start by asking these questions:What are the pre-COVID routines that will stay the same?Are there existing routines that need to be adjusted for security?Are there new routines that I need to add?Who will be implementing the routines? (Teacher, paraprofessionals, and related service providers?)How will the routines be taught? (visual supports, prompting, modeling, music?)Are there some students in my course that will need modifications to some regular because of their disabilities? (by way of instance, a pupil with Autism is functioning on tolerating the feeling of getting wet hands and becomes very anxious when asked to scrub his hands.)Are there choices for those students that can get them nearer to the security instructions?