Visual learners

Positive Behavior Management for Preschool, Kindergarten, First Grade and Special Needs Children

The power of positive praise 

One of the most effective and easiest tools you have is positive reinforcement.  Many of the young children that are misbehaving are doing it for attention.  Praise all the children doing the right thing, and praise them often.  Make a big deal of those doing the right thing, and whenever possible ignore the negative behavior.

Some ideas for individual praise for the children doing the right thing:

·      Go down the line and give a “High five” for everyone sitting quietly.

·      Give a “knuckle bump”

·      A simple stamp on the back of the hand is another quick reinforce a simple shape stamp ½” or so works well.  Choose something that the ones that are your usual offenders are interested in (such as a car or train). Add an element of fun by say “bam” each time they get a stamp.

·      Give everyone a sticker .  It may help to have a sheet with stickers taped on the wall.  When you catch someone doing the right thing, ask them to go pick a sticker and then come back to the group.  As the children learn to do this, they are able to do it independently so that is does not interrupt the flow of the lesson or activity.

·      Give compliments “I like the way Johnny has his hands in his lap”, “I like the way Susie is sitting quietly and watching me”.

·      Thumbs up and a smile or a wink

Some ideas for group praise when everyone is doing the right thing.

·      Hip Hip Hooray (“Wow! Everyone is doing the right thing, Let’s do a hip hip hooray”  Have the class say it together and punch the air)

·      Class treat: Have a clear jar where you put in marbles, pompoms (Little seasonal toys such as tiny pumpkins, Christmas  balls etc.).  When the jar gets full the class gets a treat.  This could be 10 minutes watching nursery rhymes on youtube, doing a favorite music/dance, a special food treat, playing with playdoh for 20 minutes.  Whatever the treat is, make sure you don’t do this same activity at other times, it must only be used as a reward to the class.  For preschool kids, I would have the amount that they need to get a treat attainable every day, or by every 3^rd day at the very most.

·      Class cheers-use a variety of cheers . See color and black and white Cheer Cards for some fun and motivating ideas

When using positive rewards, make an effort to do it quickly and often.   Using multiple methods throughout the day

One of my favorite books to do with my class in October is "The Little Old Lady that was Not Afraid of Anything" by Linda Williams.

This is a great book to do with Preschool/kindergarden students and special needs.  It has a familiar content (pants, shoes, shirt, pumpkin), repeating lines and easy to do motions to go with the story.   This is always a fun story for the kids as well who love to have me whisper in their ear, knock on the wall and say "Boo" from behind a mask as I am reading!

One fun way to engage the children when you are reading the story to to have clothes and a pumpkin mask in a box or duffel bag.  As you get to the page in the story bring out the pair of shoes for a child to stomp on the ground, a pair of pants for someone to wiggle etc.  I like to put a tic tac container with a few beads in the pocket of the shirt (safety pinned closed), and a heavy piece of crinkly paper pined into the pants, so that they make noise as the child shakes or wiggles it.  The kids can just sit and do the motions each time the line is read, OR use these to act out the story.

To act out, have one student be the Little Old Lady (with a hat and basket), the other children can follow her as the story is read.  This is fun to do even with a large class, have 1/2 the class as the audience and then have the groups switch.   If needed you could give one child one glove and one shoe each (it is fun to watch them work as a team to "clap clap" and "clomp clomp"together).

This is a great story to have sequence cards for, as the children learn the story and understand the order of the events in the story.  Flannel board pieces are also a great tool to use instead of the props, and the children can help make a scarecrow as the story is read.  These are both fun additions to your literacy center.

CLICK HERE to get more information on downloading this Activity Pack

If you are looking for a game, LA, Math or and other fun activities 

to do to supplement reading the book:

CLICK HERE to get more information on downloading this Activity Pack

CLICK HERE to download free dice game

Scarecrow Craft that is easy for kids to make

This is a fun craft to do in the fall.  It is a lot of preparation, but most of the assembly can be done by a young child.  I like to do it in October when we read "The Little Old Lady that is not Afraid of Anything"

Instructions to Make Scarecrow

Materials to make 1 scarecrow:  Lunch bag, newspaper, paint, 4 pipe cleaners (cut 2 in half), one 5 gallon size paint stir stick (free from most hardware stores). 2 large pieces of paper 17” x 20”, masking tape, fabric for clothes.

Most of the following steps can be done by preschool or older children.  You may need to help one at a time to hold the scarecrow together as he/she tapes or twists on the pipe cleaners on.

 

1.  Precut the shirt, pants and hat for the children.  Also precut 2 pipe cleaners in half (for the 2 wrists and 2 ankles)

2.  First have the children ball up pieces of newspaper and put them in an open brown lunch bag.  Fill until the shape of a circle.  Twist a large pipe cleaner around the bottom.  Hold onto the bottom and paint the bag orange.  Set aside to dry.  After it is dry use paint or sharpie to make the face.  A small triangle cut from a foam sticker stuck to the end of an unsharpened pencil makes a great paint stamp.

3.  Cut fringe on the short side of the 17” x 20” paper.  Seen in picture is a large grocery bag opened up and cut into 2 pieces.  You could also use bulletin board paper or news paper.  If the children are snipping their own paper, have them fold the paper in half (or 4th for bulletin board paper) first so that it is not so much to cut.

4.  Loosely roll each piece of paper and twist the roll to help is stay formed.  Cross both pieces on the paint stick and tape with masking tape.  It is fine to have the kids help with the taping, it will be covered anyways.  The arms should be slightly shorter than the legs.

5.  See the attached pattern to precut the shirt.  Any color, style or print fabric looks fine.  I always use scrapes I have.  If you are going to go out and but fabric, a small checkered print looks nice. Pull the shirt over the stick.  Show the child how to twist the pipe cleaner at the wrist.  Twist a small pipe cleaner on both arms.

6.  Pants can be cut from an old pair of pants.  You can get several small pair of pants from one pair, depending on if a child’s or adults pants.  Children’s or skinny adult pants work best.  The pants should be about 9” tall.  Cut a split in the center about 6” up.  You could also cut the pants from fabric (see pattern attached.  Slide the pants up from the bottom.  Use a large pipe cleaner to twist securely at waist 

      to hold up pants and secure bottom of shirt.

7.  Secure each leg at the ankle with a small pipe cleaner.

8.  Open up the pipe cleaner on the head and slide the stick up into the paper bag in the back of the newspaper.  Tightly twist the pipe cleaner to secure the head.

9.  Heavy fabric works best for the hat.  A stiff felt, heavy backing, or burlap 

      work well.  Pinch the hat together on either side and staple from behind.  Use hot glue gun (adults only) or glue dots to secure the hat.  A stapler also works, although tricky to pinch the paper bag.

CLICK HERE to download the instruction sheet and pattern

Crafts with young children: Is it really about the process or the product ?

       In recent years there has been a lot of discussion on whether for not we should do crafts with Toddlers-kindergarten children.  Some federally/state funded preschool classes (and some very good preschools) are being directed NOT to do crafts with children. The theory is that it is good to learn the process (for example:  let them paint freeform, without trying  to produce a specific product).  As an inclusion specialist for preschool children, I have had the opportunity to see both theories in action.  I have visited many daycare and preschool settings where the teachers have very different views on the subject.  But for the most part, I will say that crafts are still a big part of most preschool curriculum. 

When a young child is expected to work on a craft at school or home, he is learning:

•         To sit and work
•         To follow directions
•          To follow multi step directions
•          To sequence steps
•          Basic skills such as holding scissors, a crayon or using glue
•       Stay on task for the duration of an activity
•       Strengthening muscles in their hands that will help them learn to write in the future

      A craft will give the parents something to ask their child about (how did you make this?, what colors did you use? etc)  This helps since most children this age are not going to remember what they did that day when the parent asks them.  It also gives the parents something that they can admire and praise their child for his efforts, helping to instill pride in doing a good job at school.

            The key is to have the CHILD DO THE WORK.  Make a model to show what the finished product should look like.  Show it to the children as they work, pointing out where things should go.  But resist the temptation to  put the items on or move the items after the children place them (except  for holiday gifts).  I have been in some very good 4 year old preschool classes where the teachers are still cutting and adding the glue in the exact spot for the child to place.  Working on crafts really should be about the process.  The children will not learn if they are not able to do it themselves.  They need to practice cutting and using glue in order to get better at it.  It's OK if the eyes are below the nose, or the ears are on the chin.....take a deep breath and let it go.  Parents would much rather get a misshapen craft that their child made than one that it is obvious the teacher did most of the work!  Those are the crafts the parents will cherish.

           Another important element is make it fun!  Make crafts that use a variety of materials.  An occasional construction paper craft is fine, but try to use recyclables, things with textures such as cotton balls, pom pons, yarn, toilet paper tools, paper plates, foam and wiggle eyes.  The more variety of types of materials and crafts you have will keep the children's interest.  If each one is new and different, they will be more eager to make the craft.  Parents are a great resource for sending in recyclables.  End of season clearance at craft stores and the dollar stores are also great places to stock up on supplies.

How to get young or very busy children to sit during story time

       Many young toddlers, preschool  and kindergarten children have a hard time sitting for story time.  This may be for a variety of reasons, perhaps they have not been read to much, or their little bodies just can’t sit still long enough to get interested.  This is especially true for children with developmental delays, speech/language delays, or kids that are on the autism spectrum.  When they come to school, they are just unable to sit through a story.

       Having some type of manipulatives to engage the child during the story can be very   One method is to have stuffed animals or little people to represent the characters in the story (or actual toddler size clothes and shoes and pumpkin mask for The Little Old Lady that was not afraid of Anything).  The children have to wait their turn to have the opportunity to select the character that represents the pages as you read through.  Some very young children may need to hold the animal.  Most are able to put the animal in the correct spot to “act out” the story.
motivating to help the child stay with the group.

                                                                                       For example they may (one at a time) put the animals under a chair to represent the cave in Bear Snores On.  Or put the animals on a toy bus in The Little School Bus. You could use an old white T-shirt and sew the two sides together in the shape of a big Mitten for the children to put the animals into for The Mitten.  The small stuffed animals can be found easily at dollar, discount or thrift stores (I raided the closet of my teenage daughter).
      

       Another type of manipulative that is very helpful are flannel board pieces to represent the characters of the story or sequence cards.  Have the pieces on a selection board, and have the children take turns selecting the correct piece to place on your classroom story board.  You can find clip art to represent the characters on line, draw your own characters or find premade sets of popular children’s books online.  There are different ways to make them.  You could print them out on a T-Shirt iron-on transfer and iron on a piece of felt for traditional felt pieces.  I like to print out on card stock, laminate with heavy film and use hook Velcro dots on the back (and place on a felt board).  You could also use magnet dots on the back if you use a metal story board. Click here for story sets with flannel pieces/sequence cards.   See Free Stuff for flannel board std for some favorite books.

       A third type of manipulative is to have simple sentences or actions with pictures that you glue directly into your book and have the children use Velcro pieces as you go through the story.  You may need to take apart your book, glue on the pieces, laminate and then reassemble your book adding the Velcro dots last.  A comb, spiral binding or rings work well because they allow for the extra thickness of each page.

       The key is to get the children interested in sitting for a story.  As an early childhood special education teacher, I would often read the same story every day for 2 weeks.  I would use the stuffed animals the first couple days, then move to the flannel board pieces.  The last week I was able to read the story without the props.  I always try to choose books with repeating lines (such as “But the bear snores on” ), so the kids are able to repeat (as a group) the line for each page, or do actions (such as for The Little Old Lady that was Not Afraid of Anything or We’re going on a Bear Hunt) as we read through the story.  It's nice to send home a simple take home version of the story at the end of the unit so the child can "read" it to his/her family.  Click here for story sets of favorite children's stories with simplified books to send home.