Have you ever been surprised by how much a child depends on the little things you barely even realized were part of a routine?
I was reminded of that recently while spending the evening with my two young grandchildren. When they visit, we fall into certain patterns without really planning them. Shoes come off in the entryway. Snacks happen in the usual place. We live on a farm, so they are learning that dinner waits for chores to get done. After dinner, their dishes go to the counter. Toys get put away before new ones come out.
And lately, we’ve added one more tradition: after dinner, we watch a silly animal video together. It seems like a little thing, right?
The last time they were here, my granddaughter kicked off her sneakers and immediately asked, “Which video are we gonna watch after the farm and dinner?”
I couldn’t help but smile at that question because it revealed so much.
She wasn’t just asking about a video. She was showing how clearly she had come to understand the flow of our time together. She knew what came before and after dinner. She knew there was a pattern. And she was already looking forward to her place in it.
That’s the power of ritual and routine for kids. They notice routines, depend on them, and most importantly… they thrive in them. That’s worth thinking about in classrooms, too.
We talk a lot about rules, and of course, rules matter. But procedures matter just as much. Rules tell students the expectation. Procedures show them what that expectation looks like in action. And when procedures are taught, practiced, and repeated, they eventually become routines.
That matters because students do better when they do not have to spend their energy guessing. They benefit from knowing how to enter the room, where materials go, what transitions sound like, and what to do when they need help. Those things may seem small, but they create the kind of predictability that helps students feel settled, capable, and ready to learn.
Sometimes what looks small to us feels big to a child.
If this idea resonates with you, you might be interested in JoltEDU’s micro-course, Turning Challenges to Learning: Reframing Classroom Management. The course highlights practical, proactive ways to establish strong rules, procedures, and routines so that students can thrive in the everyday minutes that matter most.
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