Early Years

Small actions, big learnings ✨

06/10/2025|3 min read

Hello again!

Today I want to discuss a part of our daily classroom routine that may seem simple but holds enormous educational potential: routines.

What are routines and why are they important?

Routines are These small actions we repeat—arriving, organizing, cleaning up, saying goodbye—are not just organizational gestures; they are valuable learning opportunities.

In these everyday moments, children find stability, security, and confidence. Unbeknownst to them, they also learn how to structure time, anticipate what comes next, establish relationships, count, sort, wait, and coexist.

Looking more closely, we discover that many of these routines are full of mathematics. How many of us are here today? What day will it be tomorrow? Who is missing? In what order do we put our backpacks? How many letters are in our name? Who has the next turn? Each of these questions activates logical thinking, encourages observation, and helps connect with mathematical concepts through what is familiar, meaningful, and shared.

Best of all, there’s no need to force anything. Just be attentive, observe, and guide with intention. Well-planned routines become magical moments that help our students grow both inside and out.

A mathematical activity in an early childhood routine.

Here’s a simple idea for welcoming students in the morning that will also help you keep track of who has arrived:

How Many?

Place several objects in a clear jar and have students estimate and write down how many objects they think are in the jar, without opening it, as they arrive in the classroom.
Once everyone has arrived, hold a morning meeting to review the different responses and see which number appears most often.
Then, open the jar, take out the objects, count exactly how many there are, and compare this with their estimates.

Each day, use a different quantity and type of object. This way, they will practice writing different numbers and understand that quantity is independent of the size or shape of the object.

With this simple activity, we estimate quantities, practice cardinal counting, and compare estimates with final results, while also working on numeral-quantity correspondence and practicing number writing in a meaningful way!

If you’d like to reflect further on this topic, I invite you to read this blog article, where we explore how routines allow us to naturally work on key developmental aspects, including mathematics.

👉 Early Childhood Education Routines: Keys to Emotional and Cognitive Development

Sometimes, the most powerful keys to learning are found in our everyday moments.

Which routine has been the most successful in your classroom?

I’m listening! 🤓

Best regards,

Judith