Good Essay About Speaker Notes

Speaker Notes

Routines are a significant aspect of a healthy family. Routines help improve psychological health and family functioning. This study was conducted among 132 families with children who just about to enter kindergarten. Most families reported that their children had regular routines. However, it was anticipated that the routines would eventually change when the children joined the kindergarten. The results of this investigative study have been discussed as it relates to the significance of regular daily routines and recommendations for practice for both parents and educational professionals made.
For a healthy family life and functioning, regular routines should be encouraged. Such routines include but not limited to waking up activities, bedtime, dinnertime, breakfast time, and lunchtime. These routines are significant in improving psychological health and regulation of a child’s behavior. Previous research suggests that children with regular daily routines are more successful and have an easy time transitioning from and adapting to different environments.

Slide Three: Routines and Kindergarten Transition

Kindergarten transition is one of the greatest milestones in a child’s life. It involves shifts from a simple play-oriented school environment to a structured, complex and academic-oriented school environment. Routines will assist children to prepare adequately to deal with any form of potential stress and challenges that might be associated with the transition. Specifically, the routines will help in alleviating the stress involved in potentially disruptive transitions.

Slide Four: Purpose of the Study

Though kindergarten transition is a significant stage in a child’s life, there has been little or no study and research on this area. This study, therefore, aims at exploring if children transitioning to kindergarten had regular daily routines. Further, the study seeks to investigate the extent to which the routines would change upon kindergarten entry, signifying a distraction in family routines.

Slide Five: Methods-Participants

The sample unit for this study included 132 families. The participants and respondents included parents and caregivers who had experience or had worked previously at early childhood education program centers in the Northeast. A majority of the respondents consisted of mothers who were considered as the primary caregivers of children. An estimated 62% of the overall sample unit were White/Caucasian. Single parents headed a third of the families. Notably, the sample unit consisted of both employed and unemployed parents to improve the correlation of variables.

Slide Six: Methods-Procedures

On behalf of the researchers, the school district department of early childhood education mailed surveys to parents including cover letters. The parents were required to fill the survey forms and sent them back. The surveys asked about children’s daily routines, family demographics and experiences in kindergarten preparation. The parents had provided feedback two weeks before their children began their school year. Remarkably, the study concentrated more on the reports on children’s daily routine. Most of the questions reflected dinner time, breakfast time, lunchtime, waking time, waking activities, bedtime, etc.

Slide Seven: Results- Regular Routines

Slide Eight: Results-Current Routines vs. Future Kindergarten Routines
Parents noted that their children’s daily routines changed significantly upon entry into the kindergarten level. Specifically, most of the daily routines such as waking up, taking breakfast, taking lunch, taking dinner and sleeping time were completed earlier. For instance, waking up time changed from 7.10am to 6.30am. However, a larger percentage of the respondents noted that they were uncertain about the timing of their children’s future kindergarten routines.

Slide Nine: Discussion

Slide Ten: Research Limitations
One limitation of this study is the presence of potential biases that includes drawing the sample unit from only one school district and using parent reports that may be overrated and exaggerated. Furthermore, the results of the study were simply a snapshot of the daily routines of children, and there was lack of consistency in the routines of different households. The study also failed to include a measure of the child’s outcomes during kindergarten transition. Lastly, the degree of uncertainty of anticipated future changes may be warranted because parents were merely asked to speculate.

Slide Eleven: Implications for Practice

This study recommended a number of implications for the study. These implications include the fact that predictable family routines can be used as a family-based intervention plan to help ease the transition to kindergarten. Secondly, educational professionals should emphasize the significance of regular family routines while handling children-related problems. Moreover, educational professionals should help families to anticipate their children’s future routine in kindergarten. Lastly, educational professionals should also create partnerships with families that would aid the sharing of information about family routines to help promote children’s success in school.

Slide Twelve: References

Fiese, B., (2006). Family routines and rituals. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McIntyre, L. L., et al. (2007). The transition to kindergarten: Family experiences and involvement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 83–88.
Wildenger, K. L., McIntyre, L. L., Fiese, H. B. & Eckert, L. T., (2008). Children’s Daily Routines during Kindergarten Transition. Early Childhood Education Journal (2008) 36:69–74