Behavior Management
Managing behavior is a critical component of teaching children. Children learn best in structured environments in which they know their expectations, freedoms, and restrictions. Managing behavior in a classroom is different from managing behavior in a home, but there are some similarities.
Meeting Needs
Children need to have their physical and emotional needs met before they can focus on their learning. If they are concerned about whether or not they are in a safe place, or if they are going to have enough food to eat, they will not be able to focus on learning. It is important to make sure students are physically safe and comfortable, and that they are emotionally secure.
Schedule
Have a consistent schedule, either as a daily classroom schedule or as a general daily schedule at home. A classroom schedule will consist of times that different subjects will be studied or times when the class will leave the classroom. A home scheule might consist of having a devotional time after eating breakfast, cleaning up toys before dinner, or other similar daily activities. The schedule will give children stability and increase their sense of security.
Routines
Children do well when they have routines and consistent predictable patterns. Routines are not rules. They are simple the way things are done. Being able to anticipate how things are done gives children a sense of ownership, and also makes things lovely for everyone involved. Establish routines to make things repetitive and predictable. In the classroom, routines
can include what to do when you need a new pencil, how to turn in papers, how to line up quietly, and anything else you want to teach your students to do on their own. In the home, routines can include what to do with your dishes when you are finished with a meal, how to clean up toys, how to get dressed, or
anything else you want your children to do automatically on cue.
can include what to do when you need a new pencil, how to turn in papers, how to line up quietly, and anything else you want to teach your students to do on their own. In the home, routines can include what to do with your dishes when you are finished with a meal, how to clean up toys, how to get dressed, or
anything else you want your children to do automatically on cue.
Establishing Routines
Establishing routines requires practice and consistency. Either in a classroom or in a home, simply tell the children what the new routine is. Show them how to do it. Ask for one child to try it, and show others (if there are other children) how to do it. Then have everyone practice it until it is done correctly. After you teach a new routine, remind the children what you expect just before you tell them to do it. If they do it correctly the first time, praise them for it. If not, tell them it is sad that they forgot, but it is ok, they can practice it some more. Then practice it until it is done correctly. After doing this for several days or weeks, depending on how frequently the task is done, you will very rarely need to have the children practice it again. Logistically, this means that you need to allow more transition time when children are learning a new routine because they might need time to practice the task. For example, if you want your class to line up quietly every time you leave the classroom, you need to start lining up early. If students don't line up quietly, have them sit down and practice. Since you leave the classroom several times in one day, it won't take the class long to learn how to do it correctly. An example in the home is cleaning up. If your children are to start cleaning up when they hear a song or you tell them to, allow extra time for them to clean up. If they do not clean up correctly, get some toys back out and try again. So if you need to leave the house to be somewhere, start cleaning up early to allow for extra time to practice if needed.
It is important to be consistent when you teach a routine. If, even a couple weeks or months after you teach a routine, the children do not do the routine correctly, you still need to stop and have them to it again. Requiring students to do the routine correctly sometimes and letting them do it however they want to other times sends mixed messages. The children will know they can do the routine how they want sometimes and will try to it how they want all of the time. Be consistent.
It is important to be consistent when you teach a routine. If, even a couple weeks or months after you teach a routine, the children do not do the routine correctly, you still need to stop and have them to it again. Requiring students to do the routine correctly sometimes and letting them do it however they want to other times sends mixed messages. The children will know they can do the routine how they want sometimes and will try to it how they want all of the time. Be consistent.
Organization
It is important to keep your space organized. Children need room to learn and grow. Organized spaces also make things easier to work in. In the classroom or in the home, you can be more effective when things are easily accessible and when things have a "home" and can be put away. Having your materials organized will also help make sure that your resources aren't wasted. When it comes time to teach math facts, you need to be able to quickly get to your math games. If they are all crammed in a closet you might not be able to find the right activities, or even remember that you have them. Or if you want to do a craft with your children, you might not be able to find all the materials, if you even know if you have them or not. Here are some pictures of how I organized materials in my classroom. Similar ideas can be used in the home. The important thing is to find something that works for you and apply it.
Put sets of game cards or materials for games inside pencil boxes. Include everything you need for the activity. Label the boxes so you can know what is in each one without getting them all down and looking. Pencil boxes are often on sale at clearance prices after after school has already started, that is a great time to stock up on them. The boxes are small enough to fit into many different sizes of cabinets or shelves, but are still big enough to hold quite a bit.
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Organizational drawers can be great for organizing small items. These were many different sets that were snapped together to fit the shelves in my classroom, so there wasn't any wasted space. Each drawer was labeled with the contents. Here are some items I stored in the drawers: bingo card pieces, little finger puppets for game pieces, cards that went with file folder games, card games, dice, and other similar items. The drawers came completely out so students could take a drawer, use the materials, and put it right back, all on their own.
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