All great tips. I can't agree more with you regarding the use of rewards to control the noise level instead of giving them tools to moderate their own bodies.
I would add that reducing hard surfaces and therefore echoes in the classroom goes a long way. I went from a relatively large room that was 2/3 carpeted and 1/3 hard vinyl floor with 30 children. Then I moved to a new town and my new room has only 20 children but it's a smaller room with concrete walls and no carpet, the only soft things in the room are a couple of rugs 20 kids can produce twice as much sound as 30 in this environment. I'm currently pushing for something on the walls like cork boards or even curtains to absorb some of the sound. When every sound bounces back at you voices end up escalating quickly as each child raises their voice so their neighbour can hear them over the din.
I have a nightmare scenario. The CEO/Principal/Boss of a new preschool in Japan has no preschool experience and wanted to create a school with very limited rules, mostly play, and encouraged loud voices thinking that's what's best for children. I was hired to be a home room English teacher (along one assistant) to 16 three year olds in 2022 then 22/23 three year olds in 2023 (I've never been a preschool teacher before and I wanted to breakdown daily) for 8 hours every weekday and I was not adequately trained or supported the whole time. I just felt that I would just have to suffer through it thinking this is the way preschool is supposed to be. But after watching your channel, I am gaining so many skills to help the class run more efficiently and to be a better teacher and caregiver. Luckily my class this year only has 14 kids. The principal was recently ousted and they hired an equally inexperienced new guy to replace him, but now I feel I can steer the school in a new direction by asserting myself as I practice what I learn on this channel. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge in your videos. Newbies like me are so grateful for your ideas and insights!
What do suggest I do when a previous teacher, grandparents or parents use rewards as a way to get their child to do what they need them to do. It like trying to break a habit such as sucking their thumb. To the point that it's the only way they respond...but only for the moment. Its hard when I'm the only one trying not to use that maethod.
As teachers, we can't control what parents do at home, and it's not our place to do so. You can work smarter by explaining your philosophies up front, before school starts at your open house/meet the teacher event if you have one. You can also explain to your students the difference between things we do at school and things we do at home. Some kids are accustomed to using very loud voices or bad language at home, but they need to learn how to modulate their voice in the classroom, and not use that bad language. It's the same thing when it comes to rewards. I've had many kids over the years who were given rewards for good behavior at home. If those same children asked for a prize or reward I just said, "We come to school to learn. My job is to help you learn, I don't give prizes."
Agreed! I think I dislike TikTok even more because people are actually showing their faces and using their words to perpetuate these horrible things - I know they're just repeating what they see but it still irks me. On Pinterest I just scroll on by and don't even give them a second thought.
What do you have advice on teaching kindness? Right now, I introduced my students to the kindness jar (3K) I read a book about being kind to others and to your body, and I have a poster of five examples of kindness. We went over a couple of examples together. When students are kind to each other, I fill the jar with gems and once it is filled, the students can choose a short activity: a round of Simon says or heads shoulders knees and toes. I don’t want to fall into the trap of controlling student behaviors, since they are struggling with keeping hands to themselves. As you said, I want them to learn how to self regulate and keep kind behavior for the long term. Thank you for the tips on voice levels, we are working on this as well, I will try the social story and t chart method.
Social stories are something you read aloud to your class about the scenarios in question. For example, in this case, the social story would be all about the different voice levels and when it's appropriate to use them. I've only seen them in printable format, not physical books. I'm working on a set of social stories now, be sure you're signed up to receive our emails so you'll know when they're ready - you'll also get my free ebook about Circle Time. www.pre-kpages.com/circle-time-mistakes/
