Five Minute Friday - ROUTINE

Is ROUTINE a positive or a negative?

I love my MORNING ROUTINE

• 5:30 alarm goes off--
• I “rest” a bit more, then shuffle down to make my coffee.
• That Keurig I was sure I didn’t need is probably the item I use most in my kitchen. (Thanks, Doug!)
• Cup of coffee under the covers while I “think/pray” then off to wake up the kids, take a shower, and rush off to work. 

That’s what I do. Monday through Friday.

Day after day after day.

Then there is WORK ROUTINE

Classroom routines are a must.  You know, the "ways" that you do things so students know that you are organized and what to expect. 

• I have a "greeting"
• I have the "sonrisa de hoy"  (a daily meme)
• I have the "daily conversation questions" (most days)
• I have a way I stamp homework, and a system of points for completion and partial credit.  
• Homework always "counts."
• I have an agenda I keep on the Canvas Calendar.

The list goes on...

But in the classroom, I don't want to get so "routine" that my students dread coming to class.

So I work hard to be creative, trying to keep it fresh--doing different things, in different ways, appealing to different learning styles. I incorporate technology and student choice.  I connect content with culture. I give comprehensible input.... You get the picture...

So enough about teaching!

Can a ROUTINE be negative? 

I think it can. If my life is in such a pattern or box that I never glance around to see what others are going through, then that is a problem or at the very least a red flag.  I never want my routine to keep me from seeing people the way Jesus sees them. And I especially do not want to miss opportunities to be light and life to those who are hurting and in need of someone who cares.

The bottom line--

I want to say yes to routine to prevent chaos, 

but I want to be willing to

drop my routine when God places a person or task along my path for a reason.

What about you?