Monday, March 2, 2015

Session 4 - Morning and Nightime Routines

Burlington Public
Schools Early Childhood
Information Series:
Session 4
Morning and Night Time Routines
www.beccinformationseries.blogspot.com

Why is it important to create routines?
● Allow everyone to understand what is expected
● Routines create an increased number of practice opportunities
● Gives a clear starting and ending point

How to establish routines?
● Make a list of everything that needs to be done during a given amount of time
● Prioritize the order in which you want things to be done
● Figure out how long the routine will take
● Make sure that there are aspects of the routine that involve skills that they have
already mastered

Teaching and Implementing Routines
● Never assume that kids (or adults!) know what is expected of them unless it’s been taught.
● Children will need to be taught not only what is expected of them, but how to flow through routines in the order you want them to
● Make sure everyone knows how to get help
● Build in supports as needed

How to teach the routine?
● Skills Training Model
○ Instruction - Tell what to do
○ Model - Show what to do
○ Practice - Give practice opportunities
○ Feedback - Give information on how it went

What supports can be used?
● Visuals
○ Schedule
○ First/Then
○ Check list
○ Reminders
● Small Reinforcement Systems
○ Adding in small incentives for various aspects of the routines
■ Can be individualized to each person’s level of
functioning

Being Prepared for Challenges
● Give yourself ample time (especially in the teaching phases)
● Set up clear expectations for everyone before starting the routine.
● Have all supports in place before you begin the routine
● Predict difficult moments when possible

Questions and Workshop
What questions do you have about routines in your home?
What supports could be helpful for you?

Session 3 - Setting Up Structure At Home

Burlington Public Schools Early Childhood Information Series: Session 3
Setting Up Structure at Home www.beccinformationseries.blogspot.com

● Kids succeed and thrive on structure
● Predictability allows for independence and
self confidence
● Structure helps kids make sense of their
world

● Rules
● Routines
● Expectations

● Create rules using the language of what you
want rather than what you want to avoid ○ Instead of don’t, use do
● Pick rules that will benefit your family most
○ Think of times of day where having some consistency will help everyone
● Give choice when it’s appropriate

● Routines support house rules
● As you start, pick one routine to focus on at a time - it will need to most likely be taught!
When first introducing a new routine
● use visuals - real objects when available; images from the internet
● provide practice opportunities (not only when it’s the real time to do it)
● model
● let them know how they did!!

What to do once you’ve set the rules and routines...
● follow through - no matter how hard
○ if you say it, mean it
○ make sure the whole team is on board
● think about how to tie in fun family activities based on the kids doing what you want them to

Your kids do what you ask them to do/follow the routines
● Praise them
● Reward them (random)
● Let them know how they’re helping the
family

Your kids do not do what you have asked them to do
● Continue to follow through
● Stay Calm
● Limit their access to other things until the
expectation has been follow
○ This is not a negative, but rather a clear black and white contingency

Schedules and routines need to change unexpectedly
● Explain why things are changing
● Create a new plan
● Praise the kids when they follow the new
plan

If you child has a hard time when things change, think about doing some practice...
● set up changes in routines under low stakes situations
● model what to do when things change for them
● let them know how they did, and provide rewards
under these low stakes

● Chore Monster
● i Create
- social story
- schedule maker
● Classroom Dojo
● Social Story Creator and Library

What can we help with?

Session 2 - Life Skills and Social Thinking

Burlington Public Schools Early Childhood Development Series
www.beccinformationseries.blogspot.com

Behavior Supports in BPS - All Schools
Positive behavior classwide systems
a. Explicit instruction of routines and rules
b. Strategies to promote engagement
c. Explicit instruction of Life Skills/social skills
d. Motivational system
e. Behavior management

Preschool Life Skills Curriculum
● A curriculum with an approach to teaching critical social skills to early learners.
● Skills have been proven to prevent problem behavior and often replace problem behavior with a functional social skill.
● Skills are divided into 4 groups which make up a total of 13 skills all in a specific sequential order.

What does the Research Show?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pmc/articles/PMC1885412/pdf/jaba-40-02-277.pdf
● The selected skills are similar to the skills taught once kids demonstrate problem behavior
● Teachers are able to implement the program with fidelity
● Problem behavior was reduced by 70% and there was a 400% increase in observed critical skills

Unit 1 Skills: Instruction Following
● Responding appropriately to name
● Complying with simple instruction
● Complying with multi-step instruction ● Requesting assistance
● Requesting attention

Unit 2: Functional Communication
● Framed requesting to adults (when item is not available)
● Framed requesting to peers (when item is being used)

Unit 3: Tolerance for Delay
● Tolerating delay imposed by adults
● Tolerating delays imposed by peers
Unit 4: Friendship Skills
● Saying “Thank you”
● Acknowledging/complimenting others ● Offering/Sharing
● Comforting others in distress

How Skills are Taught
● Instruction ● Modeling ● Practice
● Feeback

How we modify
If a student isn’t successful with the classwide teaching model...
● Skills are taught with greater frequency (more practice opportunities)
● Skills may be taught at a different pace
● Skills may be taught in isolation first

Social Thinking Curriculum The Incredible Flexible You
● Thinking Thoughts and Feeling Feelings ● Thinking with Your Eyes
● The Group Plan
● Body in the Group
● Whole Body Listening


Session 1 - Opening the Worlds of Learning

Burlington Public Schools Early Childhood Information Series: Session 1
Opening the World of Learning (OWL)

What is OWL?
● Created by Judy Schickedanz, Ph.D. and David Dickinson, Ed.D.
● A comprehensive early literacy program
● Every classroom in the Burlington Early
Childhood Center uses this program
● Arranged into six thematic units

Six Thematic Units
● Family
● Friends
● Wind and Water
● The World of Color
● Shadows and Reflections ● Things that Grow

What is each unit comprised of?
● Story time books
● Information books
● Predictable books
● Key vocabulary words
● Let’s find out about it
● Songs, wordplay, and letters
● Small groups
● Choice time center activities

Story Times
Books are related to unit and read multiple times.
•First reading- To explain events in story
•Second reading- Discuss thoughts and feelings of characters •Third reading- feeling related to events
•Fourth reading- Relate story to personal experiences or act out by assigning characters (often in dramatic play)

Choice Time
Relating Play Experiences
to characters in stories.
Other OWL Facts
● 5 day cycle
● Supplemental materials including books,
music, and activities are often used
● Program provides tools for monitoring
progress
Songs, Word Play, and Language
● Includes large group to help children develop phonological awareness, alphabet letter knowledge, and vocabulary
● Through song, using props, utilizing Touch-It board, movement, and manipulating oral language.

Language Based Curriculum
● Gives opportunities for children to engage in conversations about curriculum
● Books lend themselves to rich discussions including the use of questioning
● Key vocabulary words are used across activities

Let’s Talk About It
How to care for babies
Comparing our birth length with a friend. Who was longer? Who was shorter?
Related to our book, we listened to videos of children playing harmonicas then examined a real harmonica.

Specific Activities
Even though the curriculum is language based, it is comprehensive in that it focuses on literacy, math, motor development and social development

Center Activities
● Sand and water (sensory)
● Book area
● Art area/table
● Art area/easel
● Blocks
● Puzzles and manipulatives
● Dramatic play
● Writing center

Small Groups
● Typically three small groups per day that children rotate through at their own pace. This varies by classroom.
● Small groups focus on academic, language based skills
● Cross-curricular

Supplemental OWL Units
● Created by the teachers of the Burlington Early Childhood Center
● Based on the format and content of the published OWL curriculum
● Comprised of seven thematic units
Seven Thematic Units
● Farm/harvest
● Family traditions ● Snow
● Community
● Transportation ● Five Senses
● Camping

Accommodations
● No one curriculum is a perfect fit for every child
● Teachers adapt and differentiate instruction based on the individual needs of each student
● Accommodations occur in all areas of a child’s development, not just academic tasks

Transition to School
● What’s going well?
● What questions do you have?