This morning I woke up, turned to the pre-loaded coffee maker, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, put on my workout clothes, arranged the furniture so I would have enough space to do all the dreadful (not actually) exercising, and then logged into the digital workout. This wasn’t necessarily the situation, learn more about health. When COVID-19 struck, I think that it’s safe to state that many of our previously learned daily routines went out the window. If you are like me (and many humans), this probably caused you to feel a tad anxious… till you were able to produce and settle into new patterns. Humans are pattern seekers, and patterns can bring order to scenarios that feel chaotic. They could relieve stress and, when learned, give our wisdom time and space to think thoughts that are more complicated than, say, “How do I render this Zoom assembly without anybody noticing?”Routines from the ClassroomI would assert that educators know the power of routines greater than every other group of specialists. In reality, the first couple weeks of school are typically devoted to helping students learn expectations, processes, and patterns that will help the classroom operate like a well-oiled machine. Whereas class expectations or”principles” are such worldwide, philosophical principles for students that talk to classroom culture and safety, patterns address the specific activities throughout the day that reinforce or support the expectations.For instance, one of those classroom expectations in an early childhood classroom might be, “We are safe with our bodies.” This is the worldwide classroom guideline that’s referred to over and over again. Arguably, a lot of the day for students is spent finishing patterns. Why is this important? Well, in addition to helping children stay safe, once students understand the routines, their brains can concentrate on what we REALLY need them to understand, whether it’s literacy, math, or how to be a fantastic friend. Students who need a great deal of repetition to learn new abilities, such as those with disabilities or developmental delays, benefit greatly from classrooms that have predictable, consistent patterns set up. And, patterns help educators! Once patterns are learned, teachers have to center on instruction!There are some great beginning of the year classroom patterns featured on Pinterest, such as this example:This fall, a lot people will be going back to brick and mortar instruction and our students will be joining us. This will be an adjustment, to say the very least, and putting solid patterns set up will help everyone feel less stressed and more protected. Some patterns from our pre-COVID world will stay the same, but a few new, “COVID” routines will be made to ensure that all students are following current safety guidelines to the best of their skills. Some examples might include lining up in a safe social distance, cleaning up after work or centers time by putting used substances in a”dirty” bin, or students sanitizing their hands before checking individualized fittings and transitioning to another place.When thinking about producing new”COVID” patterns, Begin by asking these questions:Which are the pre-COVID patterns that will stay the same?Are there any existing patterns that will need to be adjusted for safety?Are there any new patterns that I want to include?Who will be implementing the patterns? (Teacher, paraprofessionals, and related service providers?)How does the patterns be taught? (visual supports, prompting, modeling, songs?)Are there some students in my class that will require modifications to some regular due to their disabilities? (For instance, a pupil with Autism is working on tolerating the feeling of getting wet hands and becomes very nervous when asked to wash his hands)Are there any choices for those who could get them nearer to the safety guidelines?