I just came back from the Georgia Association of Young Children's annual conference, where I presented a workshop on behaviors and discipline techniques. This workshop, entitled "Why do they DO that?", had over 200 participants, each one with questions about the children in their programs. I took all of the index cards on which they wrote their questions, threw the pack up in the air, and started with the one that landed closest to me.
Over the next several weeks, I'll pick up a card and help you answer a question. I hope this is helpful, and look forward to your feedback. You can email me at playforaliving@gmail.com.
Our first question: "I teach 4 year olds and there is a little boy who hits the other children during my circle time and when he is in line. He won't listen to me when I tell him to stop. He even looks at me sometimes when I tell him to stop hitting. Why? " - T.D.
OK, T.D., In order to determine the best plan of action, first ask yourself:
Is this behavior developmentally appropriate?
In this case, the answer is yes. Aggressive behavior can present when the child feels out of control, frustrated, tired, bored, etc. Since the answer is "yes", the next questions look at what could be causing the issues.
1. How is the environment set up? Are the materials interesting and age appropriate? Does the child have access to all the materials? Are the areas labeled for easy clean up? How organized is this space? If there are too many choices, some children get frustrated and can't make a decision.
More often than not, I find that the classrooms I work with have 3 times the materials needed. Shelves are overflowing, with stacks of games and boxes and tubs of toys. A good rule of thumb is to keep one layer of materials on every shelf. Avoid stacking puzzels and games on top of each other. Make selecting materials simple and attractive.
2. How is the day laid out in terms of schedule? Do the children have sufficient time to play in the environment described above? Or is the day so tightly scheduled that there is little time left for independent learning? Does the child playing with blocks have to clean them up before each new activity? (Just a thought for you. We'll talk more about it later.)
The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale, also known as ECERS, (Harmes, Clifford, Cryer, 1999), suggests that 1/3 of the time that the child is at school should be devoted to independent activities. In other words, if the children are in your class for 6 hours, there needs to be 2 hours of free time for independent learning. Think about that: 6 hours, minus the time for lunch, outside play, snack, circle time, any specials, and all the time it takes "getting ready" for these activities, including standing in line, hand washing, and putting on coats. Does that leave 2 hours?
3. How much of the child's day is spent in large group activities?
Large group activities can be fun, but only in small doses. Young children feel more in control when they are working in small groups or by themselves. If your program has a tight schedule filled withwhole group activities, you may need to consider where you can free up the time and the activities. My first suggestion is to look at your circle time. If it is longer than 8 minutes for your 4 year olds, you may have a potential problem. And really, when you think about it, many agressive behaviors present during this time. Coincidence? :)
After speaking with T.D. yesterday, I learned that her day is filled with specials, (music, computers, yoga, a visit from the pastor, etc.). Additionally, she admitted to having a 30 minute circle time every morning, which did not leave much free time in the morning. We also discussed her need for a keeping a very quiet line when the children were transitioning from one room to another. T.D. decided to shorten her circle, open a few more sensory activities, ask to only have one special each day in her room, and loosen up a bit when the children were walking in the building.
Any other ideas you could offer?
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