I’m amazed how a new routine can be established within a week and refined within three. Amazingly, our life has reached a new normal. And the majority of moments are quite lovely. I’ve even reached a point where my brain is going beyond the mom-mush and thinking about teaching writing.
What I’ve realized is the importance of daily routines. So often, I believe writing instruction is unsuccessful because we don’t establish the routine of writing. We don’t expect it. We don’t make time for it. And other stuff crowds the curriculum and pushes out writing time.
Recently I spoke with a primary teacher who is disappointed with writing workshop and the work her students are producing. As we talked, I learned her workshop occurrs twice a week for 35 minutes each time. No wonder she is disappointed with writing workshop!
I can’t imagine what life would be like around my home if I only expected my kids to be kind to each other a couple times a week for a few minutes each time. The same is true for writing. If we want kids to be successful when it comes to written communication, then we, the teachers, must provide a daily routine that will lead to this success.
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I love the routines that reading workshop and writing workshop provide. It is so clear to the students each and every day that their “work” is their reading and writing. In addition, they have learned the structures to help them be better writers and readers.
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So true! I think about the notion that you can’t get into a workout routine until yuo’ve done it at least 21 times (random unfounded statistic I’ve seen somewhere…), and I can’t imagine how a rogorous reading or writing workshop could get off the ground with such a small amount of time devoted to the habits of mind that inform the kind of rigor we aim for. I love also that you’re willing to switch gears midstream and carve out a new routine based upon the needs of your class.
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