Infant & Toddler Group Care Caregiving Routines as Curriculum

Learning Objectives Participants will be able to: Explain how caregiving routines such as feeding, diapering and napping are important opportunities to form close, caring relationships with each infant. Demonstrate how routines are learning opportunities for the child, and as such, should be carried out at the child’s pace, allowing the child to participate fully and make choices. Employ caregiving strategies that are consistent with the caregiving techniques that the family uses at home. These are the learning objectives for this session. The California Department of Education’s Infant/Toddler Curriculum Frameworks identifies caregiving routines as curriculum. As curriculum it includes ways to involve the infant in caregiving routines and to make routines an important context for learning. Routines provide opportunities for interactions between the care teacher and infant.

Caregiving Routines Are the Heart of Quality Care Care teachers need to use feeding, napping, diapering, and toilet routines as opportunities to build close, caring relationships with each child. If routines are done with sensitivity, the care teacher can satisfy the baby’s need for attention, tactile stimulation, interactions, and attachment. When done by a primary caregiver, routines provide opportunities to be build a trusting relationship between the care teacher and child. It is also important that the routines be done with sensitivity and a positive attitude.

Activity: Jigsaw Reading Look at the handout: Introduction to A Guide to Routines (Second Edition). Read your assigned section and identify key concepts in your section. Share with the group the key concepts/highlights of your section. The Introduction to A Guide to Routines, Second Edition, is included in the reader under this topic. The article has 6 pages with the first and last page being about ½ page. Assign the pages so that each dyad has an equal portion of the article to read and identify the key concepts. Move to the next slide to see the questions for the dyad discussion.

Dyad discussion: Why are routines important? How do they impact the children? Once the jigsaw activity is complete, have the dyads/small groups discuss and reflect upon these questions.

The Impact of Routines Routines provide an opportunity to build a relationship with each child. If carried out in a manner consistent with how routines are done at home, these routines build a bridge between home care and center/family child care. How routines are approached helps set the emotional tone of the program. As you review the “Impacts of Routines” ask the participants to share their prior discussion/reflection of how they carry out the suggested strategies for routines –such as how they ensure that home care and program care communication is frequent and how conflicts are negotiated.

The Impact of Routines (cont’d) If routines are done in a consistent manner, they establish predictability and give the children a sense of control by letting them know what comes next. All routines need to be done with consideration to health and safety issues for children and adults. Routines provide opportunities for the adults to enhance the infants’ development in all domains. Ask the participants for examples of how routines give opportunities to enhance the infants’ development in all domains—physical, emotional/social, cognitive and language.

It’s Not Just Routine: Feeding Introduction 00:01-2:20 Feeding Chapter 3 00:01 –9:00 Diapering Chapter 9:09-15:10 Napping 15:15- 20:59 It’s Not Just Routine: Feeding, Diapering, and Napping Infants and Toddlers (Second Edition), 2000

Reflect: Use mealtime to deepen connections with children Think about your last meal with the children: How much time did you sit with the children? How much did you talk? How much did you listen? How many times did you get up to get something? How much time did you model social interaction and eating? Give the participants a few minutes to reflect and respond to each question. After a few minutes ask participants to share their reflections with a table partner.

What raised questions for you in the “Feeding” clip? Health and Safety: Relationships and Learning: Ask the participants to share any questions that have in viewing the “Feeding” clip.

It’s Not Just Routine: Diapering Show the Diapering Chapter 9:09-15:10. It’s Not Just Routine: Feeding, Diapering, and Napping Infants and Toddlers (Second Edition), 2000

How closely does your diapering procedure follow what was shown in the diapering clip? Discuss in a small group. Report to the large group.

It’s Not Just Routine: Napping Napping 15:15- 20:59 –ask the participants to think about challenges they have related to napping and to make notes for the discussion which follows. It’s Not Just Routine: Feeding, Diapering, and Napping Infants and Toddlers (Second Edition), 2000

What are Your Biggest Challenges with Napping? Solutions: Ask the participants to first name the challenges and then ask for possible solutions to the challenges listed.

Cultural Continuity of Routines What steps does your program take to ensure that routines are carried out in a manner similar to each child’s home care? Ask participants to silently make a list of at least three strategies they use in their program to ensure consistency between home and your programs in carry out routines. Move around the room and ask each participant to share. Also ask that participants take note about strategies used by other participants that might work for their classroom/program.

Review the Learning Objectives Participants will be able to: Explain how caregiving routines such as feeding, diapering and napping are important opportunities to form close, caring relationships with each infant. Demonstrate how routines are learning opportunities for the child, and as such, should be carried out at the child’s pace, allowing the child to participate fully and make choices. Employ caregiving strategies that are consistent with the caregiving techniques that the family uses at home. Review the learning objects and ask if anyone has any remaining questions or comments. If so, respond to each one. Let participants know that this session is the last Module II topic and that the next Module is Learning and Development.