How Rituals And Routines Foster A Supportive Environment

Source: WINGS for Kids

By Guest Blogger Wings for Kids. To view this original publication, click here.

Many of us follow an established morning routine: wake up, shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for the day. It’s routines like these that serve our mental, physical, and psychological well-being. In the same way, adults benefit from a daily routine, children feel more secure and confident when their day-to-day activities are familiar and predictable.

In fact, they are essential to their development and health. Research suggests that parents with preschool-aged children who regularly practice family routines like singing, reading, playing, and eating together have greater social-emotional health. Children depend on rituals and routines to provide structure throughout their day. These repeated events provide a foundation for daily life and can help establish an understanding of rules, expectations, and accountability. 

What’s The Difference Between a Routine and a Ritual?
Although sometimes used interchangeably, rituals and routines have their own specific attributes.

Routine
A routine, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is defined as:

• Predictable;
• Repeated and;
• Provides a foundation for daily tasks

As an example, at WINGS the Program Director establishes a routine for each day, week, and program year. This predictable schedule of events remains consistent, providing a basic framework around all program activities. Specifically, kids start each day with group time called Community Unity. There is a weekly routine of giving each other Positive Feedback or Heys & Praise on Mondays, and every year our programs routinely host a WINGS Graduation for students. This familiarity helps kids know what to expect and when to expect it.

Ritual
A ritual, on the other hand, is defined by the NAEYC as “a special action that helps…enhance aspects of our daily routines to deepen our connections and relationships.” As adults, we typically think of rituals similar to traditions like making certain snacks or food for the SuperBowl party. In this case, having the SuperBowl party is the routine and making the “family recipe” chili is the ritual. They provide ways to acknowledge the importance of such events and are usually comforting.

To illustrate, one daily WINGS routine is to say Words To Live By—seven kid-friendly verses that teach SEL skills—as a group. During this time, WINGS leaders can implement a ritual like a group chant, making up distinct hand motions to use during the Words, or ending the Words a certain way like making a unique face or hand gesture.

Why Are Rituals and Routines Important at School?
Like home, children thrive in a school environment that creates consistent rituals and routines throughout the day. A day with interspersed rituals and routines help children:

• Know what is happening now and what comes next
• Engage in learning
• Feel in control of their environment
• Reduce confusion or anxiety

Imagine this: you walk into your office at work in the morning and no one looks up to greet you. No “Hello!” or even a “Hey.” How does that make you feel? Uncomfortable? Maybe bitter or confused? Now imagine someone looked up, made eye contact, greeted you with a genuine smile, said your name, and maybe even gave you a fist bump. How much more welcomed would you feel?

A morning ritual like being greeted each day in this way helps to communicate simple messages:

• You are valued and included.
• We’re glad you’re in our community.
• Greeting others by name and using good manners helps everyone feel more comfortable.

Even the simplest rituals and routines can have a remarkable impact. They help children feel supported, secure, and ready to learn.

“The impact of creating rituals and traditions is long-lasting. They build connections and provide an opportunity for everyone—children, families, and staff—to learn about themselves and others. They create a safe, warm, and secure environment where children are able to learn and grow. They offer learning experiences for children, staff, and families alike. They positively enhance both program and classroom environments.” - Jacky Howell & Kimberly Reinhard, Rituals and Traditions: Fostering a Sense of Community in Preschool, 2015

Make It Fun and Engaging

When teachers and staff develop creative routines and procedures, it’s a win-win. Adults provide kids with the necessary support structure to be successful and kids enjoy a fun and unique ritual or routine that helps them reduce stress or anxiety. These engaging environments provide excellent opportunities for positive interactions between children and adults, which are necessary for social emotional learning to be effective.

In addition, simple, repetitive activities can relieve stress on teachers and staff by taking the guesswork out of transitions between classrooms or gaps between lessons. Instead of making transitions feel like a chore, shake things up.

Make it fun! Here are a few ideas to make everyday tasks feel more like a game:

• To get students’ attention, say “One, two, three. Eyes on me!” and the group replies “One, two. Eyes on you!”
• Use a unique handshake for your group or even for each student to greet them each day
• At the start of academic time, use a breathing technique or calming ritual to regain focus

Source: Ever Forward Club

Things To Consider
By approaching rituals and routines intentionally, you can find new ways to not only help support your kids, but also help them know what to expect, stay engaged, and feel a sense of community with you and their peers. Consider these tips as you dive in:

Include kids in decision-making: As you develop a thoughtful plan of routine activities in all learning areas, be sure to include children in discussions and planning. Don’t be afraid to have your kids help you put rituals in place and switch them up throughout the year. You’ll be surprised how quickly the kids will catch on and appreciate the consistency. Children are more motivated to work hard and learn more during daily academic time if they feel that they’ve made a contribution to plans and are emotionally engaged.

Understand expectations: When approaching established or new routines, it’s important that students understand the expectations, which will save time managing any behavior challenges later. It’s important for adults to address both inappropriate AND appropriate behavior with kids. Both actions serve as models for what’s acceptable behavior, so focus on developing a plan that reinforces positive behavior for optimal success. 

Build a sense of community: Rituals and routines can also be helpful in building a sense of community. Kids and adults alike crave a sense of belonging in and outside the classroom, and forming these bonds is the product of positive interactions over the course of time. Have a vision for what you want your community to stand for, what values it should have, and then authentically engage with your kids to build the foundation for your vision.

Be flexible: As with all activities, we know sometimes things don’t go according to plans. Life’s full of surprises, and when these surprises occur it’s important to be flexible. As significant as rituals and routines are, don’t exclude the opportunity to have a spontaneous experience once in a while or create a new ritual to keep things fresh and fun.

Ensure equity: Make sure your routines and rituals are equitable for all. An intentional design of routines and rituals—that value a range of student voices—will help to promote equitable and inclusive participation of students.

Flexibility and ingenuity are key when it comes to finding ways to support our kids and their social emotional health. Experiment with what you imagine might work for your students, observe the results, and make adjustments as needed. Continue to embrace the things that work, and gently let go of the things that don’t. 

Next Steps
Take a moment to reflect on the different routines and rituals you may already be using. Ask yourself a few questions to assess how you could improve or add other routines and rituals to your day:

• Do you already use any rituals in your classroom? If so, what are they and when/why do you use them? How might you adjust them for various age groups and different purposes?
• How could you take a routine and insert fun and engaging rituals into it? What, if any, benefit might there be to ritualizing certain practices in your classroom or program?
• What preferred routines do you use in your classroom or program already? Why do you use them? (Be more specific than simply justifying your practices by saying you do them “to operate efficiently”).

To read previous LIAS Blogs on routines and rituals, click here.

Using Art As A Medium To Teach SEL

Source: WINGS for Kids

By Guest Blogger, Cheryl Hollis, Chief Program Officer, WINGS for Kids
This was originally published by WINGS for Kids.

Art has long been recognized as a powerful tool for teaching and learning, not only in terms of creativity and self-expression but also for developing essential social emotional skills. Educators, youth workers, and parents can harness the power of art to help students improve their understanding of emotions, empathy, communication, and problem-solving.

We’ve developed and tested simple yet effective practices in our own programs that you can try with your students when using art as a medium for teaching character skills.

Collaborative Art Projects
A great way to incorporate SEL into class or program time is by organizing collaborative art projects where students work together to create a piece of art. This promotes teamwork, cooperation, and communication skills as students learn to listen to each other’s ideas, compromise, and contribute to a shared vision. 

Involving Local Artists
Know an artist in your community? Invite them to help lead your students in an activity. For instance, a visual artist could lead sessions on mindfulness and self-expression through painting or drawing, teaching children techniques to manage stress and enhance self-awareness. A theater artist could conduct drama workshops focused on empathy and communication, using role-playing exercises to help students understand different perspectives and improve their interpersonal skills. A musician or dancer could facilitate a class on emotional regulation and self-control through rhythm and movement activities, helping children channel their emotions constructively and develop resilience.

Source: WINGS for Kids
Students in WINGS afterschool program create a series of collaborative
artworks lead by local artist Amanda Lamontagne of Charleston, SC.

Exploring Emotions Through Art
Encourage students to express their emotions through various art forms such as painting, drawing, sculpture, or even digital art. Provide them opportunities to express themselves creatively using themes related to emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, or gratitude. This allows students to identify and label their feelings in an imaginative and uniquely non-verbal way.

Source: WINGS for Kids

Emotional Alphabet and Coloring Pages
Need help getting started? Download the Emotional Alphabet Skill Builder to help students expand their emotional vocabulary. Next, try the Share Your Emotions Activity Bundle to help reinforce the Skill Builder. Students will practice identifying, labeling, and sharing their emotions to improve their self-awareness skills.

Art Appreciation
Explore diverse artworks from different cultures, styles, and time periods with students. Encourage discussions about the emotions, themes, and messages conveyed in the art pieces. This fosters empathy, perspective-taking, and appreciation for diverse experiences and perspectives.

Source: WINGS for Kids
WINGS students visit the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA.

Field Trip to the Museum
Maybe you can’t make it to the MOMA, but a field trip to an art or historical museum is a great opportunity to boost social and emotional skills. Museum tours can be structured to include interactive activities such as group discussions about artwork, creative writing exercises inspired by the pieces, and hands-on art projects that encourage self-expression and emotional awareness. Additionally, museum visits provide a stimulating and enriching environment that encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and appreciation for the arts, contributing to the holistic development of students’ social and emotional competencies.

Build Social Awareness and Relationship Skills with Art-Based Role-Playing
Explore role-playing activities where students use art props or drawings to act out scenarios related to social interactions, conflict resolution, or empathy-building. This hands-on approach helps students practice communication skills, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution strategies in a safe and creative environment.

Source: WINGS for Kids

Bring Stories to Life with Puppets
Through puppetry performances and workshops, students can explore complex emotions, develop empathy, and learn effective communication and conflict resolution strategies. Creating puppets provides a hands-on, creative experience that allows students to express themselves and dive into their feelings and perspectives. By incorporating themes such as friendship, empathy, diversity, and resilience into puppetry activities, educators can create engaging and impactful learning experiences that promote social and emotional growth.

Creative Problem-Solving Challenges
Present students with creative problem-solving challenges using art as a tool. For example, ask them to use recycled materials to create a sculpture representing a solution to a social issue or challenge they care about. This activity promotes critical thinking, innovation, and empathy-driven problem-solving skills.

Try These Art-Themed Activities and Games  

• Puppet Creations
• All About Me Poster (parts 1-4)
• Let’s Create Together
• Roll and Doodle
• Story Creator
• Sidewalk Mural

There are so many benefits to incorporating art and creativity into new or existing SEL practices. By doing so, educators, youth workers, and parents can create enriching experiences that support students’ holistic development and equip them with essential life skills for navigating relationships, emotions, and challenges effectively.

SEL and Afterschool Are the Perfect Match: 5 Reasons Why

By Guest Blogger, Bridget Laird

Bridget Laird

Recently, I wrote a piece for Education Week regarding why SEL and after-school are a perfect match. Below I offer an excerpt from that article. 

Social and emotional skills are a critical part of every child's development. Likewise, after-school and out-of-school programming have a significant impact on young people and provide them with the opportunity to explore new ideas and develop important skills through real-world experiences and engaging activities.

After-school programs that incorporate social and emotional learning set kids up to succeed in the classroom, be prepared for the workplace, and thrive in life. Here are five reasons why social and emotional learning and after-school are the perfect match.

Photo Credit: Youth Institute, LBYMCA

1. Non-traditional learning environments help kids develop and practice social and emotional skills. Building kids' social and emotional skills can happen anywhere, from math class to the basketball court. But the energetic, flexible, and supportive nature of after-school programs creates a unique opportunity for kids to learn and practice these skills in ways that feel less like the classroom and more like real life.

2. Kids can prepare for successful careers before they leave elementary school. After-school programs provide kids with the opportunity to explore interests and develop skills that will lead to success in college and career. When students select the activities they're interested in, take on leadership roles in group projects, and participate in service learning, they build key skills like problem-solving, communicating clearly, and embracing differences that translate into competencies employers look for. 

Photo Credit: WINGS for Kids

3. After-school program leaders become role models and mentors. After-school program leaders are caring, trusted adults who can have a profound and positive influence on the kids they work with. When social and emotional learning is emphasized in both programming for kids and training for after-school leaders, adults are able to model their own skills and intentionally infuse them into every interaction with kids. 

4. Research shows the positive impact of high-quality after-school social and emotional programming. A growing body of evidence tells us that quality after-school social and emotional learning has far-reaching, positive effects on students. We see that kids with strong social and emotional skills are more likely to earn a high school diploma, attain a college degree, and have a full-time job. Studies also show that regular participation in these programs results in increased empathy and self-confidence, improved grades and test scores, positive behaviors, and an increased attachment to school. WINGS' recent randomized control trial (RCT) study provides firsthand examples: students who participated in WINGS for two years exhibited improved executive function and self-regulation, reduced hyperactivity and negative behavior, and improved quality of relationships with teachers.

Photo Credit: NHP Foundation

5. Social and emotional learning in after-school changes lives. Research reports can tell us a lot about the effects that we can see, but only those who participate in and lead these programs every day can truly share the impact they feel. For example, Jessica, a former program leader, used lessons that we teach in our program and our Words to Live By to help a student get through a difficult time after moving away from her home. 

Bridget Laird is Chief Executive Officer of WINGS for Kids, a nationwide after-school program focused solely on bringing SEL to at-risk kids. Follow WINGS on Twitter at @wingsforkids.

To view a guest blog post by Julia Rugg, Chief Strategy Officer at WINGS for Kids, click here. 

WINGS For Kids: Promoting SEL in Afterschool, Part 2

By Sam Piha

In a previous post, we invited Julia Rugg, WINGS For Kids’ Chief Strategy Officer, to serve as a guest blogger. We featured WINGS because of their afterschool focus on SEL skills and their recent expansion to Pomona Unified School District. Below, we offer part two of her two-part post, which focuses on the program strategies they employ to promote SEL. 

What WINGS Looks Like
By Julia Rugg

Julia Rugg

Kids attend WINGS for three hours a day, five days a week during the school year to maximize our model’s positive impact. Each week, kids focus on one of ten sequenced social and emotional learning objectives. 

Our staff first explicitly teach, then model and reinforce, social-emotional skills. Kids learn, then practice and discuss, the new skills through program activities. Let’s use one of our objectives in the self-management competency—helping kids focus their attention inward in order to limit outward distraction—as an example.  

The WINGS day begins with Community Unity, the coming together of all staff and kids in grades K-5, for announcements, a nutritious snack, recital of the WINGS Creed, and a social-emotional skill-building lesson. This part of the day offers an opportunity to talk in a focused and active way about the week’s objective and engage in a brief, fun activity that relates to it. This week, WINGS Leaders lead an exercise on active breathing, and the program director starts a focused large-group discussion and asks staff and kids to share examples of when they have gotten distracted. 

Next is Choice Time, an enrichment activity that students select each semester and where social-emotional lessons are woven in. Our flexible afterschool schedule provides ample time for both structured academic support and kid-driven enrichment and activity time. 

During a kickball game, for example, a WINGS Leader might talk about how to concentrate on breathing while kicking the ball and ignore the shouts from the sidelines to better focus on the game. This also gives kids the chance to continue practicing other skills they’ve previously learned, such as sharing supportive comments after a bad kick and keeping a positive attitude even if their team is losing. In this way, Choice Time encourages kids to engage in active and explicit learning to applying both new and recently developed skills to settings other than the classroom.

Choice Time is followed by Academic Center, where students work on homework with help from program staff. In addition to providing assistance and encouragement in a positive atmosphere, WINGS Leaders capitalize on teachable moments to keep bringing kids back to the week’s learning objective. In this case, they might work with students to practice positioning their bodies in their desks so they are less likely to be distracted, explicitly defining the skills being learned.

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Julia Rugg is the Chief Strategy Officer at WINGS for Kids. Since July 2011 she has launched WINGS’ expansion efforts across the southeast with the CEO, and worked alongside the senior team to ensure the WINGS model has been replicated with fidelity and quality. She evaluates current and future growth opportunities for WINGS, develops partner relationships, and builds the necessary internal infrastructure and resources necessary to support growth.

WINGS For Kids: Promoting SEL in Afterschool, Part 1

By Sam Piha

​Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) announced that they are expanding their partnership with WINGS for Kids in order to promote SEL related skills among their youth.

Richard Martinez, superintendent of PUSD, stated, “By continuing our collaboration, we are able to utilize WINGS’ expertise and build upon the strengths of our staff and our high-quality afterschool programming to help our students develop critical skills they need to succeed in school and in life.”

In addition to its partnership with PUSD, WINGS serves more than 1,100 students from vulnerable communities in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina through a direct-service afterschool program model of their research-based curriculum led by college students, known as WINGS Leaders.

To learn more about the WINGS approach, we invited Julia Rugg, WINGS’ Chief Strategy Officer, to serve as a guest blogger. Below, we offer part one of her two-part post.
​

WINGS Works! How Our Afterschool SEL Model Leads to Success
By Julia Rugg

Julia Rugg

Report after report tells us that too many kids in low-resource neighborhoods fare worse in overall education and life outcomes than their peers in higher-resourced areas. And while we know that social-emotional skills help narrow this tragic gap, we also know that classroom teachers often do not have the time, resources, or training to focus directly on helping students develop social-emotional skills during the regular school day.

WINGS for Kids believes that afterschool programs are well-positioned to address this educational gap by directly teaching social-emotional skills like self-awareness and responsible decision-making. We see both value and opportunity in using the hours after school to help teach these critical skills to our most vulnerable kids—the students who need them most.
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The forthcoming results of our own randomized control trial, or RCT—the first such in-depth study on SEL in the afterschool space—corroborate what other research has shown: quality afterschool programs that focus on social and emotional learning have a significant positive impact on students in and out of the classroom. This is especially true for children living in low-resource neighborhoods, who typically are academically behind their peers, and for whom the bulk of the school day is spent working hard to close that achievement gap, with little time in the day to teach and practice skills beyond math, reading, and writing.

In WINGS schools, we take advantage of the flexibility that afterschool offers to not only teach social-emotional skills, but use the additional time it affords for kids to practice them and apply them in social and academic settings.

Our program model is influenced by research from Joseph A. Durlak and Roger P. Weissberg that tells us afterschool programs aligned with four evidence-based best practices—sequenced, active, focused, and explicit, or SAFE—have greater effects on student outcomes. To that end, we’ve aligned WINGS to the SAFE framework to ensure we are infusing intentionality throughout our activities and our curriculum.

We leverage the power of relationships in the afterschool space to help kids learn, practice, and internalize social-emotional skills. WINGS Leaders—college-aged mentors—work with small groups, called nests, of 10-12 kids. This personalized instruction, led by young people with backgrounds similar to those of our kids, have a relevance and impact that teacher-led activities sometimes don’t.

Our Evidence and Growth
Our data supports what we see each day: what kids learn in the hours after school influences their actions and behavior inside the classroom. Our aforementioned RCT study shows that WINGS reduces kids’ negative classroom behaviors and increases their positive classroom behaviors. Our programming also helps kids name positive behaviors, develop the vocabulary to talk about their emotions, and better regulate their behavior, both inside and outside the classroom.

Photo Credit: WINGS for Kids!

​Internal data from our programs in Charleston, S.C., also shows that WINGS kids are less likely to be chronically absent from school and less likely to receive a disciplinary referral compared to their peers—key predictors of academic success and graduating from high school.
With this research in hand, we know that WINGS works—and we want to bring SEL to more of the kids who need it most. Through our direct-service programs in Charleston, S.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., WINGS gives more than 1,000 students in grades K-5 the life lessons they need to succeed and be happy, and help them thrive despite the challenges they face every day.
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This year, we’re also expanding our partnership model to all schools in Pomona (Calif.) Unified School District by training and coaching providers and staff to integrate SEL into the district’s long-standing and award-winning afterschool program, The Learning Connection. As a result, more than 1,700 kids in Pomona will be able to develop social-emotional skills to prepare them for success in school and in life.

At WINGS, we envision a world where there is equity in academics, opportunity, and emotional well-being for all children regardless of socioeconomic status. That’s why we work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to access high-quality afterschool programming, caring adults and mentors, and social and emotional learning. By bringing these pieces together, along with research and through an evidence-based model, a program like WINGS has the power and potential to close the gaps that can prevent America’s most vulnerable kids from soaring to success.

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Julia Rugg is the Chief Strategy Officer at WINGS for Kids. Since July 2011 she has launched WINGS’ expansion efforts across the southeast with the CEO, and worked alongside the senior team to ensure the WINGS model has been replicated with fidelity and quality. She evaluates current and future growth opportunities for WINGS, develops partner relationships, and builds the necessary internal infrastructure and resources necessary to support growth.