Lesson 4: Three Consecutive 8-hour Days

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able

• Participate in a full day routine that includes opening procedures and arrival of children.
• Participate in a full day routine that includes closing procedures and departure of children.
• Implement an introductory activity and complete follow up activities over the next two days.

Teaching

For this assignment you will need to schedule three consecutive days at your site.  One or two days have to be an opening and one or two days have to be a closing. It takes a lot of extra time on the teacher’s part to assure that a program runs smoothly.  Taking time to set up and time to take down are important parts of the days that cannot be overlooked. 

Opening
           
Showing up before children is a given in for any setting.  Someone has to turn on the lights, put down the chairs, get out the first activity of the day or write the welcome message on the board (if it isn’t done on the closing shift). Being ready for the first child to arrive sets the tone for a successful day.  Think of it like this:

You come in to work five minutes late and the closer hasn’t done their part of the job.  You turn on the lights and take down the chairs.  You get the bottle warmer started and then there’s a knock on the door.  Not surprisingly, there is a family there five minutes early and you have ten minutes worth of setting up to do.  It’s pouring outside so you are obviously not going to make them wait.  You open the door and immediately have to apologize because you don’t have the sign in book ready.  You rush off to the office, get out the sign in book and bring it out.  You try your best to give them your full attention but you need to get the laundry out of the dryer so you have wash clothes and bibs for the day.  You can’t bring the baby into the utility room so you ask the parent to excuse you again.  You grab the laundry real quick and then the baby so the parent can leave.  As you are trying to tend to the baby your mind is thinking – Woah, I am off track here.  Things are just going to have to wait until the next person comes in. Now the next person is behind. 

Now I’m not saying that this is never going to happen because you have made an opening plan but life happens.  The person the night before probably couldn’t do their closing responsibilities because there was a late pick up or they had to rush off to an appointment.  You maybe were late because there was an accident. 

The important thing to get from this lesson is that opening procedures are a critical part of the routine.  Now picture this….

You wake up and rush out the door to get to work right on time.  You come in with a smile and turn on the lights and start to take down the chairs.   Then you turn on the bottle warmer and go to grab the book.  On your way back to the classroom you grab the laundry too.  You set up the book and as you put down the laundry notice that the closer did not write the welcome message or gather materials for the first activity of the day.  You get that done and start in on the laundry again.  Then there is somebody at the door.  It looks like a parent is five minutes early!  You aren’t going to make them wait because it’s pouring outside.  So you open up the door and let them in.  The parent signs them in and glances at the welcoming board.  She says, “Oh I am so glad that reminder is up there on the board! I totally forgot today was an early release day.  I’ll see you at 3:00 instead of 5:00”

Ta-da!  The only thing you are now behind on is folding the bibs and washcloths.  No big deal J

Closing
           
A lot of times sites will leave as soon as the children leave.  However, at the end of the day (for centers) there is more than one person that can “close up shop” to assure everyone gets out on time.  For some sites, like preschools and public schools, the teachers stay afterwards to close up.  Someone has to take the responsibility of cleaning up the mess that was left behind, putting away the strollers, preparing for the next day, locking up the attendance book, stacking the chairs or doing a few dishes.  Without the closer responsibilities, the opener will have a rough morning.

Arrival and Departure of children
           
Aside from the logistics of opening and closing procedures, it is important for you to be a part of the arrival and departure of the children.  These times are the opportune times to connect with families and/or build relationships.  As children arrive, making statements such as, “Hi Timmy, I am so happy to see you today” are important to setting the tone.  In the article, Rituals and Routines it talks about the importance of these arrival times for small children and how it can build relationships with the family as a whole.  The same can be true for departing. 
           
Of course when you are in Kindergarten, arrival and departure look a bit different.  It can sometimes be emotionally hard for children but by the time they get to school, arrival and departure is more about providing structure so that the child is focused and knows what to expect.  Effective routines and/or rituals equal less behaviors and increase comfort and control for everyone. For tips and tricks to creating effect arrival and departure routines for school aged children check here!

Arrival and Dismissal Routines and Procedures

These three days are also important so that you understand what it is like to spend three full days at work rather than a few hours here and there.  Not only will you see the technical details of opening and closing but you will be able to see how the days flow together to enhance the children’s learning experience.  On the first day you will plan to do an introductory activity and then for the next two days to provide follow up activities.  This will provide an opportunity to see how a child grasps information over time if presented with meaningful opportunities that build upon each other.

Assessment

Lesson 4 Assignment - Part I
           
**Week One – Write an initial three consecutive day summary on the following and submit into Drop Box A

• Discuss with your supervising teacher:
• What they do for opening and closing procedures.
• What do they do before the children arrive and after they leave?
• How does the opening routine set the tone for the day?
• How does the closing prepare for the next day?
• What arrival and departure looks like.      
• What ritual or routine is in place for when the children arrive?  Explain why that is important
• What ritual or routine is in place for when the children depart?  Explain why that is important
• What days and times will you be doing your three consecutive days?
• Provide month and day in addition to times (don’t forget to include a half hour lunch break!)
• What kind of activity can you create for day one
• What kinds follow up activities can you create for day two and three
• What are you hoping to gain from the three days you are there?
• What are your goals for better understanding of the process of:
• Opening and closing responsibilities
• Arrival and departure rituals and routines
• What is your goal for observing children during activities that build upon each other

Write three lesson plans that align with your conversation with the teacher.  Turn in the approved plans and clearly label them 1,2 and 3 so that it is known which one is the first lesson and which two are the follow up.  Submit the lesson plans into Drop Box B   

Lesson 4 Assignment - Part II                           

**Once the assignment is complete – Write a one page three consecutive day summary reflection on the following and submit into Drop Box A

• What was your experience with the opening and closing procedures
• Did they go as planned? Explain
• Did anything surprise you? Explain
• How did the experience help you to understand the importance of opening and closing procedures?
• What was your experience with arrival and departure rituals and routines?
• Did they go as planned? Explain
• Did anything surprise you? Explain
• How did the experience help you to understand the importance of arrival and departure rituals and routines?
• Explain why building activities upon each other are important for children’s understanding and growth in the topic.
• How will this process contribute to your professional development?

Provide the three lesson reflections and analysis Drop Box B