When I first started teaching (13...14 years ago...hard to keep track) the most I had to deal with was the dreaded BLURTER!! Oh my! I look back on those years now and see how easy I had it! It seems every year the kids become more challenging....it's not just me is it?? What I would give to go back to the days where I had to give "the look" to the blurter and that would be the end of that (well, for a few minutes anyways).
Now, in any given day we will deal with:
*the assertive "no" (the kids who'll look you right in the eye and tell you "no"....am I the only one who's blood boils when this happens?)
*the passive "no" (the kids who will just keep on doing what they're doing even when you tell them 3 times to stop....do they not notice the whole class is in line to go to music except for them??)
*the hitter, kicker, pincher, biter (yep, biter!)
*the volcano (much worse than blurters!! Wow have blurters gotten LOUD! Is it all the TV they watch??)
*the couch potato (when did it become "uncool" for kindergarteners to do the Tooty-ta?? Seriously...I am 35 years old...if I can get my groove on so can you...get up off the floor!)
*the wise old owl (kids should be kids...why do these 5 and 6 year olds know what they know???)
*the runner (Yes, I can catch you!)
Don't get me wrong...I love my kinder kids! If I didn't I would let them continue to act like this and just think "let first grade deal with it!" But I want them to be successful in school and life and there are some behaviors that have to stop NOW!
So, what do we do??? I admit I do NOT have the answer. If I did I would be a
Here's my classroom management philosophy: TEACH IT, MODEL IT, EXPECT IT.
TEACH IT is easy. We all do it. Read a book, use a "teachable moment", watch a video, use visuals, etc.
Just this week my fellow teachers and I stumbled across a great author who beautifully covers a LOT of the things kids need to learn in kindergarten now. Our goal is to purchase all of her books and use them as part of our behavior management strategies. If you haven't seen any book by Julia Cook yet please click on the picture above and check her out. They are AWESOME! Kid friendly, easy to understand, and chock full of great "behavior vocabulary." The TEACH IT part becomes easy & fun when you find great books like these!
Thanks for hanging in through all my ramblings....tomorrow I'll post about MODEL IT.
Michelle, GREAT post. Than you so much for linking up, I was wondering where everyone was??!! I know and LOVE Tattletongue (lots of references to that daily), but I had no idea she had more books. This is why I love the blog world, so much sharing about wonderful things! thanks again!
ReplyDeleteKrissy
Mrs.Miner’s Monkey Business
I am glad it's OK to be a work in progress. We only have one K in my building (I'm also they newbie) and I always worry everyone's looking at my class like geesh they're terrible, even though they're not, they're five! And very loud. Thankfully we're at the very end of the hall with a thick wall between K and 3rd. Even though I have high expectations for them, I expect them to act like Kindergartners going on First Graders. That's right, right? Hahaha, I hope so!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, it is absolutely ok to be a work in progress! Teaching changes not only year to year and month to month...it changes day to day! What worked yesterday on your hard to reach kids will probably not work tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAnd aren't thick walls great?? I'm lucky enough to be right between another kindergarten classroom and a Jr. K classroom...our classes are so noisy we can't hear each other! Perfect!