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 3rd 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
