behavior management
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Dealing with Hard Days in the Classroom
We all have tough days in the classroom – but what about when those hard days start happening regularly, or even every day? How can you turn things around and get more of the days that you really enjoy? Let’s talk about this, what can help when you’re dealing with never-ending classroom challenges? I’m big on reflection, taking time to dig deep and think through what’s really behind what’s happening in the classroom. This can be hard when you’re right in the middle of it. If you’re in a place where it feels like nothing is going right and there’s nothing you can do about it, then we need to…
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REALLY Changing Challenging Behaviors
A couple of weeks ago I shared a free sample of a behavior tracking system that can be used to identify patterns related to challenging behaviors. Now, I want to dig into what happens after you’ve identified those patterns. Let’s reflect so that you can really starting changing challenging behaviors in the classroom. Part of this system is a reflection sheet: This reflection starts by exploring what is working WELL for this child already – what parts of the day are they successfully able to manage their behavior? For some children, this will be easily evident, and for others you might have to continue observing to get an even better…
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Managing Challenging Behaviors
I promised you some real solutions to the tough stuff that you have to deal with everyday, and the number one thing on that list is challenging behaviors. These are the kinds of things that can derail the entire class and make you feel like nothing you do will make a difference – I’ve been there. I’ve put together a resource that will help you understand, manage, and change these difficult preschool behaviors step by step. I’m also giving you a FREEBIE so you can try it out right away! Behaviors are so tough because we aren’t always able to understand exactly where there coming from, and even if we…
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Tips for banishing pre-holiday behavior problems
If you’re spending this week with young children – your students, or your own children – then I’m sure you’ve taken a deep breath and prepared yourself for chaos and tantrums. While some off the behavior problems you might encounter come with the season, others are a product of messed up routines, missed nap times, and too many sweet treats. Those are the kind of problems that can be avoided with some careful preparation. Here are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way: Try to keep your routine as normal as possible. If you can’t schedule fun events into your normal routine, then prepare the children in…
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Dealing with difficult behaviors during read alouds
Preschoolers are smart! They know that when you are sitting in front of the group reading a story, you are less likely to stop what you’re doing to address their ridiculous behavior. Every group usually has at least one who will take advantage of this, and that can make any teacher dread read alouds. I’ve been there. You desperately want to ignore the behavior, you try, but it gets worse and then the other children are beginning to notice, and all of a sudden no one is paying attention to the story anymore. So I thought I’d share some behavior management ideas that have worked for me, hopefully these will…
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Creating a dynamic preschool classroom
Do you remember visiting your friends’ homes as a child? Their toys were so much more fun to play with that your own, and their bedrooms/backyards/playrooms were WAY better than yours. You never understood why they wanted to come to your house, but they felt the same way, your stuff was more interesting than what they had. This is because it wasn’t the same old stuff that you played with every single day, your play things were boring because you were used to them, and they were always available. This idea is true in the classroom too. My students don’t want to use the same materials every single day, nor…
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Freebie Friday
It’s Friday! This week I am especially excited because we are finally going to get away. We are going camping this weekend, with our usual camping buddies – my sister, her fiance, and our two closest friends. We are only going about an hour from home, but it is on the lake shore, and on tomorrow we get to go to Put-in-Bay. If you aren’t familiar with Put-in-Bay, it’s also been called the Key West of the Great Lakes, so the atmosphere makes it feel like we are far from home. I’m looking forward to exploring island wineries, hanging out around the campfire, and laughing a lot! Today’s freebie is…
