At Cassie Hall Elementary, the classes I observed had different routines that all had different purposes. One structured routine could be seen in the kindergarten class. The class had a morning routine that visibly created a calm and predictable classroom community. When the students came in at the start of the day, their teacher waited patiently while they took off their coats and outdoor shoes and they all knew to line up in front of her to wait for their classmates. When they all walked into the class, they knew to hang their coats on their hook, wash their hands, move their name on the attendance board, and then they each picked a spot at the tables that were set up prior to their arrival. The options at the tables were all geared towards fine motor skills so they had a purpose rather than just occupying the kids while they waited for the rest of the class to finish arriving and washing their hands. Referred to as bell work in the ThoughtCo.com blog post, the routine successfully encouraged independence at the start of the day while transitioning the students into a learning mindset, as stated in the blog. When their time at the tables was almost done, the teacher sang a five-minute warning song and then set a timer so they had a visual for how much time was remaining. There was another song for when the timer went off and all the students knew how to do their part in cleaning up the stations. There was no chaos regardless of there being a class full of kindergarteners with only two adults assisting them, the teacher and an early childhood educator assistant. After cleaning up, they knew to sit at the mat for their morning meeting. After seeing this structured routine and bell work in action, it is easy to imagine how it could benefit any age group. There wasn’t any waiting around, the students all knew the expectations of each stage, and the activities had a purpose.

Routines and procedures that were noticeable in other classes included line-up songs, other clean-up songs, and tasks for fast-finishers. A task for fast-finishers of an elementary class was Play-Doh. Each student had their own Play-Doh container in their desk and they knew that they could either quietly manipulate the Play-Doh, read, or write. It provided a quiet stimulus for students that needed the mental break or a creative outlet other than reading. One student sculpted a rose while another just played with it in their hands. The teacher mentioned that it was also a cost-effective option as Play-Doh can be purchased at the dollar store and they were given the Play-Doh at the beginning of the school year. This procedure also provided a calming and positive element to the classroom community.