I have always used a visual schedule in my classrooms. When I was a paraeducator in the late 90's at the Hosmer Elementary School, all of the inclusion classrooms used visual schedules and it was one child's job each day at Morning Meeting to review the schedule. While I liked the idea then, and loved that it was reviewed at the first whole group meeting each day, I did not yet understand why it was such an important part of any classroom.
As adults, we use many tools to keep ourselves organized. We've got calendars, to do lists, watches, reminders on our smart phones, alarms, bookmarks on our online browsers, and even strategically placed Post-It® notes.
Now think of preschoolers...
How do they know what they are supposed to do each day or what is expected of them? They do not yet have the skills to use the tools we adults thread throughout our daily lives, so we have to help them out.
One way to do this for young children is to just keep to a regular routine. When I was a nanny, we had the same basic daily routine. We woke up slowly, had breakfast (either at home or at the Bagel place), then had a morning outing (sometimes this was fun and sometimes this was errands). Then, home for morning nap, lunch, read books, afternoon nap, then outside for a walk, and then back home to prepare dinner and wait for her parents to come home. I never put this routine into a visual schedule, but we rarely deviated from it. I do think kids thrive on the predictability of a regular routine.
Think about when you are driving down the highway, just cruising along at 65 happily. Eventually, you cruise up behind a huge tractor trailer that is going 60. You're stuck behind it for awhile. How does this make you feel? Do you feel anxious? Are you wanting to pass him at the first chance? Why?
You want to pass that truck, because it is blocking your clear view of the road ahead. You can't see the highway signs until it is too late for you to act on them. You are not always sure of exactly where you are, because the landmarks you are used to may be blocked.
That is what it is like in an early childhood setting for the kids when there is no visual schedule. They can't see what is going to happen. They don't know when the day will be over and when they will see their parents again, and they are not sure what's coming next until the teacher springs it on them with only auditory directions.
But, you can't just post the schedule and hope they know what it means. You have to make time to review the schedule with the whole group so they can learn how this visual support works for them. In my preschool classroom, one child's classroom job was to be the "Secretary" (the one who keeps us on schedule). They would use a pointer and narrate the schedule at our first group meeting of the day. They will also be responsible for moving a clothespin down the schedule as we move through the days' activities. Another option is to take off activities as they are completed. This can help students who might want to know how many things are left before they go home, or get to a favorite activity. This job is difficult in September, when kids do not yet know what happens in the room, but it gets easier in October and for the rest of the year.
After the Secretary "reads" the schedule, they have to answer the question, "Are we are about to have a "regular" day, or a "different" day?" This reading of the schedule each morning lets us preview anything that might be outside the regular routine. I even have a symbol for any "special activities" that I put on the schedule so there is an additional clue to the kids that something has changed. We may have a special guest coming in, or we may have picture day. Any of these "surprises" do not take the kids by surprise. We take the time to review changes and have a discussion about what that different activity will look like. If the change will be a big disruption, like a field trip that changes the whole day, I'll also have a social story ready to preview with the group to further support their understanding what that different day will look like.
The greatest thing about having that schedule posted and teaching the kids what the meaning is behind it, is that it can help ground and anchor children who are having a difficult time. If a boy is having difficulty moving from one part of the day to another, you can bring him over to the schedule to show him that even though play time is done now, after we clean up, we get to do music. Or, when a girl is missing her parent, you can bring her to the schedule and show her the parts of the day that a left and talk about when her parent is coming back to pick her up. Reviewing the schedule like this can help ease some anxiety, or remind children that there are fun activities coming that they may want to be a part of. It really does map out the road ahead and is a powerful tool for helping them know and feel secure about the routine.
I have seen other examples where teachers have used pocket charts or magnetic schedules that stuck to the white board . The trick is, it should be easy to see for all of the kids and there should not be so many activities that it is overwhelming. All day programs may consider having just the morning and then just the afternoon so that the schedule is not too long. You can use icons, cartoons, or real pictures. Those decisions are up to each educator's individual flair. Just know, that it makes a world of difference to get past that truck blocking the road.
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