Rhythm and Routine: We Can't Have One without the Other

Rhythm and Routine

~ a series of articles to support rhythm in the home

#3

A few thoughts on rhythm and routine, and how one needs the other.

Rhythm is simply routine with recurring movement based on conscious awareness of the energy of the activity, the day, the household. 

That may sound odd. 

Try this ~ think of  rhythm in music, rhythm is the placement of sounds in time, in a regular and repeated pattern. The activities of our day have each have a quality ~ a sound, some may be rousing, some may be soothing or settling. The key to creating healthy family rhythms is to be aware of what type of energy is needed at what time of day, and in what order. 

For example at the end of the day, there's dinner, bath and bed. That's the routine - to have dinner, bath and bed, in that order. The rhythm is creating the mood around each of those activities, setting the pace and holding the course, keeping the routine flowing as if we were banks of the river providing the boundary for the flow of water. After dinner we may turn the lights down, and create a feeling of quiet in the home as the child transitions from dinner to bath, with clearing the table, washing the dishes, some quiet play, and preparations for the next day, such as setting out of clothes for the next day and organizing lunches if the child is going to be away from home at lunchtime. 

Routines are associated with time. Whenever time is connected to a word, think routine, as in breakfast time, playtime, story time, lunchtime, rest time, teatime, dinnertime, bath time and bedtime. To create a healthy rhythm, we can think about what we do leading up to these times and how we transition into the next one. We also observe the child, consider the family's needs and tweak as needed, always aiming for consistency as much as possible. 

Routine is doing something over and over again in the same way, in the same order - there's repetition.  Routine helps us remember and put things in order. Good routines involve a series of steps that help us create good habits. For example, a routine upon entering the house might be to take off our boots, put the boots or shoes on the mat, remove our jacket and hang it on a hook. Then we go into the bath room to wash hands, and use the toilet if needed or change the diaper of a little one. That's a routine. It's also a way of teaching a child through our example of how to take care of themselves, their clothing and the environment. It also gives the child a feeling of security to do the familiar as well as a sense of competence. 

First step _ remove boots

Second step ~ place boots on mat

Third step ~ remove jacker

Fourth step ~ hand jacket on hook

Fifth step ~ wash hands and use toilet/change diaper if needed

To create a healthy family rhythm, we need to look at the child's needs, and organize our child's day so that those needs are met, the practical needs of setting out clothing and preparing for the next day as well as the energetic needs of  quieting down the environment before bed, to help the child relax towards bedtime. 

What quality of activity does the child need at a particular time of day? That depends on the child's age. Young children all needs plenty of time for movement and free play both indoors and out. They also need a time to draw inward and unwind or digest their more rambunctious or stimulating experiences. Does the child need to go outside and run and jump and roll around? Does the child need to settle in close for a story and some snuggle time? What does the child's age and developmental need call for? Does an activity bring us inward to a quiet place or does it have an expansive quality?

To create a good rhythm means to bring conscious awareness to the energetic qualities of the child's activities of daily, weekly and seasonal life, and set them up to meet the child's needs - as well as to create repetitive experiences that unfold in the same familiar way every day. Rhythm and Routine work together.

Conscious Intention and Conscious Attention
Now we return to where we started, that rhythm is all about the conscious intention and conscious attention given to balancing the energetic quality of activities (rousing-calming, inner-outer, challenging-soothing, quiet-loud) and transition moments that infuses routines with rhythm. We implement a new step with intention and bring our conscious attention to the moment to help make it happen. We are the change makers. 

This may sound so simple, and it is, one step at a time. Implement one small change and repeat until it comes easily. Then try another. One step at a time. It takes time to build up strong healthy rhythms. 

Read Article #1 Routine in the Waldorf Home:: What is it?  here
Read Article #2 Why Routines?  here
Read Article #4
Read Article #5 When Rhythm + Routine Work Together  here
Read Article #6 The Secret Sauce with Rhythm  here


Earlier Articles on Rhythm
Rhythm here
Rhythm ~ Waldorf Style here

Peace on Earth begins at Home.