I work in a nursery in the three- to five-year-olds room. There are around 30 children. As part of our daily routine, we spend about a quarter of an hour mid-morning with the children talking about our topic, doing some counting and looking at the weather board. It's meant to be a time when we all come together, but a few children spoil it by fidgeting or not listening. How can we help them to sit still?
Let me start by warning you that I may be the purveyor of bad news. Or at least not the news that you were perhaps hoping to hear. Rather than focusing on strategies to keep children still, I think you may need to turn your attention to the actual construct of your routine.
Let's start by thinking about the nature of routines. A routine is regular and predictable event or sequence of events. For children they act as security blankets, as they help them to know what is about to happen. With young children predictability is important, especially when it is time for them to separate from their parents or carers. Other routines, such as meals and bedtimes, are also important for young children as they should follow and support the body's own biological rhythms. Ignoring these usually results in tears and tantrums and so it makes good sense to build these into the day.
But what about other routines adopted by settings, those that are meant to enable young children to learn? The question here is whether they really work. Do they really enhance children's learning? In some cases, the answer is clearly yes. Self-registration, for example, whereby children have a go at 'making their mark' when they first come into the setting, seems to work nicely as a routine. Its success is probably down to its individual and flexible nature. Children sign in when they are ready to do so.
In other cases, some children learn less than we would like to think. And this seems to be the case in your setting. While it is tempting to blame the children for disrupting this part of your routine, I would like to ask you if you had similar difficulties last year. If the answer is 'yes' - that is, same problem, different children - I think we can conclude that the problem lies with the routine, not the children.
REVISED EYFS
You do not say if you are working in England, but if you are, the timing of this question is brilliant. The revised EYFS has some hefty legal requirements, and taking the time now to explore your daily routines will stand you in good stead. One of these is that your setting should ensure that learning and development experiences are 'challenging and enjoyable' as well as being tailored to meet children's individual needs. (If you are not working in England, I would expect that this is something that you would still like to achieve.) The type of 'learning routine' that you describe does have laudable aims, but in its current format would not actually comply with this legal requirement. (See paragraph 1.7 of the revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.)
POINTS TO CONSIDER
So, what's going wrong? I suspect there are several things to consider.
Group size
While the aim of the routine was to bring the children together, the large size of the group is a huge drawback. It is difficult to meet the individual needs and interests in a group this large and also where there is such a developmental 'stretch'. In my experience, it would literally take a magician to entertain them and pull this off.
Daily activity
It sounds as if you do similar activities every day. This is amber light territory. If some of your older children have been with you for a year, think about how many times they have now 'done' the weather. And think also about whether this is still 'challenging'. (It also seems strange that you would 'do the weather' indoors; the one place where there is none.)
Daily counting also loses its lustre after the hundredth time. Going back to 'meeting children's individual needs', it may be that some children can already do this, but others may need to touch objects in order to count meaningfully.
Timing and duration
You say that this routine is mid-morning. I suspect that this is not ideal timing as you will be 'cutting' into the flow of children's play and activities. You also say that it lasts 15 minutes. On the face of it, this does not seem unreasonable, but you might like to grab hold of a stopwatch. The trouble with this type of 'learning routine' when done in large groups, especially if the activities are not sufficiently challenging and enjoyable, is that children get wise and are slow to settle.
GOING FORWARD
As I mentioned earlier, now is a great time to look at your overall routines. In many settings, routines are passed down over the years and while they may have been right for their time, they might not be effective now. So, I would suggest the following:
- Check that the concepts that you wish to deliver are best suited to this style of working
- Keep group size to a minimum. Children find it easier to process information, concentrate and so learn when they are in small groups. It is also easier to have proper conversations with them
- Make sure that activities within the routine are participative and fun
- Look at the timing of this 'learning routine'. Make sure that it does not spoil the flow of play and activity
- Consider having small groups of children in adult-led activities alongside free-flow play instead of bringing the room to a halt.
Finally, use this time to look at other routines in your setting too. It is not difficult to spot whether a routine is working. Children through their behaviours will probably tell you!
