Daily Schedules and
Caregiving Routines
Shannon Lockhart
Senior Early Childhood Specialist
High/Scope Foundation
slockhart@highscope.org
 Relate the ingredients of active learning to what
children do throughout the day
 Identify supportive strategies to scaffold
children’s active learning throughout the day
 Identify key developmental indicators that occur
during each part of the day
 Establish group times that incorporate active
learning
2
 Turn
to page 33 in
your PG.
 With
your group,
following the
instructions.
 Be
prepared to give
some examples to
the whole group.
3
Daily Events
 Arrival and departure
 Choice Time
 Outside Time
 Group Time
Caregiving Routines
 Feeding and mealtime
 Bodily care routines
 Nap time
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Incorporate active learning, including adult
support into each event and caregiving routine.
Be patient with children’s intense interest in
things around them.
 Value children’s need for sensory-motor
exploration in each event and routine
 Share control of the day with children by giving
choices.
 Be alert to children’s communication and talk
throughout the day.
 Work as a team to provide ongoing support to each
child throughout the day.
 Look at children’s actions and communications
through the lens of the key experiences.

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 Turn
to pages 34-35.
 With
a partner, read
through the caregiving
scenarios and choose
the KDIs that are
occurring.
 Discuss
as a whole
group.
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
Patient adult support allows learning to occur during
caregiving routines.

Efficiency is not the driving force behind caregiving
routines. Building strong relationships and looking
for ways to support key learning experiences is!

Looking for the KDIs helps caregivers slow
themselves down and begin to see from the child’s
point of view and have appropriate expectations.

Caregiving routines provide intimate, one-on-one
opportunities to see how children are learning and
growing across the developmental spectrum.
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 Get
back into the groups that you worked in
yesterday when you gave the reports for the
different parts of the day.
 In your groups, look back over your reports, notes
from video, or any other documentation that you
took. Use Tender Care for pictures too.
 This time focus on what the children and
caregivers were doing. Give lots of examples of
active learners and adult scaffolding for your part
of the day. (see pages 15-16 and 36-40 in PG)
 Record on chart paper to present to the whole
group.
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9
 With a partner, answer the questions.
 Look at Guideline #1, last row.
 Remember to apply active learning to all parts of
the daily schedule.
 Whole group transitions don’t work with infants
and toddlers.
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
Reduce the number of transitions

Decrease waiting time

Provide a consistent yet flexible routine

Offer children choices

Provide short, predictable transitional activities

Predict for children what is coming next

Provide time for transitions

Let children predict beginning and ends of
activities
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
What are the hardest transition parts of the day?

With your group, brainstorm all the different ways
children like to move using one-word descriptions.

Come up with as many strategies or ways (e.g.,
music, movement, materials) children can get from
your assigned part of the day to the next.

Use the guidelines for successful transitions.

Share with the whole group.
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 Choose
a leader
 Meet
with Trainer to get instructions
 Take
a card
 DO
NOT SHOW YOUR CARD!
 Leader
carries out group time
 Discuss
your feelings
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 Stop
or change the activity if virtually no one is
participating.
 Attend
to children’s cues, leads, and
communications.
 Include
choices for children.
 Schedule
group times when children may be most
inclined to do something.
 Anticipate
that children will come and go from
the group so have alternate activities.
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 Focus
on what children and
adults are doing.
 What
materials are being
used?
 What
choices/options are
available?
Discuss results as whole
group.
15
 Turn
to page 51 in PG and follow the
instructions.
 Volunteers
to share.
16
 What
made the most
impact on you today?
 Turn
to page 51. Reflect
back on the topic of
today and jot down some
ideas that you want to
remember and strategies
you want to begin
implementing with your
infants and toddlers?
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