Laverne Warner - Preschool Classroom Management: 150 Teacher-Tested Techniques

Contents

Preschool Classroom Management

By Laverne Warner and Sharon Anne Lynch

Other books by Laverne Warner:

Fun With Familiar Tunes

Language in Centers: Kids Communicating

Themes Escapades: Learning Units for All Occasions

Tunes for Tots

What If Themes: Making the Most of Teachable Moments

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2004 Laverne Warner and Sharon Lynch

Printed in the United States of America.

Published by Gryphon House, Inc.

PO Box 10, Lewisville, NC 27023

800.638.0928 (toll free); 877.638.7576 (fax)

Visit us on the web at www.gryphonhouse.com

All rights reserved. Unless noted otherwise, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover photgraph: Veer Inc.

Illustrations: Nancy Alexander and Janet Brown McCracken

Reprinted December 2011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Warner, Laverne, 1941

Preschool classroom management : 150 teacher-tested techniques / by Laverne Warner and Sharon Lynch.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-87659-291-5

1. Classroom management. 2. Preschool education. I. Lynch, Sharon,

1949- II. Title.

LB3013.L96 2004

372.11024--dc22

2004002096

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Disclaimer

Gryphon House, Inc. and the authors cannot be held responsible for damage, mishap, or injury incurred during the use of or because of activities in this book. Appropriate and reasonable caution and adult supervision of children involved in activities and corresponding to the age and capability of each child involved, is recommended at all times. Do not leave children unattended at any time. Observe safety and caution at all times. Every effort has been made to locate copyright and permission information.

Introduction

Mrs. Black overheard four-year-old T. J. say to Jeremy, What would happen if I pulled that handle? She heard Jeremys reply, too, I dont think youre supposed to do that, and she turned around in time to see T. J. pull the fire alarm in the foyer of their building that led to the playground. Within minutes the center was evacuated, and within hours Mrs. Blacks director had ordered a protective cover installed over the alarm to prevent a similar event from happening again in their school.

Preschool Classroom Management: 150 Teacher-Tested Techniques is designed to assist teachers who are new to the field of early education or who have years of experience. It provides both a classroom management framework and solutions and suggestions of what to do when specific situations arise. Just like the protective cover placed over the fire alarm in the above anecdote, classroom management techniques described in this book aim to prevent problems before they happen or to provide solutions when they do.

Classroom management is a key component in helping children develop into independent individuals who can control their emotions, make positive decisions about their activities, and learn effectively. Classroom management provides a foundation for children as they learn socially appropriate behaviors. It is a process that requires interactions among teachers, parents, and children to help children understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. Positive interactions and relationships between children and adults are critical to childrens successful learning.

The techniques described in this book are based on three beliefs:

1. Adults must model self-regulated behavior in their relationships with children.

2. Teachers need to be sensitive to childrens needs.

3.Children want to know how to behave and to do what is expected of them.

Understanding these beliefs is important to the goals for childrens development and learning. Teaching socially appropriate behavior is the most important component in classroom management.

How does this happen? Initially, you need to have realistic expectations about the children you are assigned to teach. Young children are generally impulsive, and emotional outbursts are typical during their waking hours. They cry, push, shove, yell, want toys others have, and they live in the moment. As Joanne Hendrick (2003) writes, childrens wants are immediate, intense, and personal (p. 249). Daily interactions with young children require you to be responsive to childrens needs and approach classroom management with calmness and consistency.

Children need adults who are concerned about them and who understand that the problems they are encountering are real. You must be willing to help children find solutions to their problems. Defining the problem and suggesting solutions that are workable will help children learn that lifes problems, no matter how insurmountable they seem, can be discussed and eventually resolved.

Secondly, you need to help children clarify the rules and limits they want to set within their classroom. Five-year-olds are capable of helping to develop class rules, but younger children will most likely need the rules outlined for them. Three or four simple rules that cover a number of management areas are better than numerous, quite explicit statements. Children can learn to:

1)be a friend in the classroom

2) remember to take turns

3) think about safety

Taking time at the beginning of the school year to define the rules, and reminding children of the rules on a regular basis fall under the classroom management umbrella. For example, Wilsons attempt to knock down Vergies block structure could prompt the teacher to step in, remind Wilson that he needs to be a friend to Vergie, and talk with him about other activities he could do while waiting for Vergie to finish playing in the block center. Teachers use this strategy, known as redirecting behavior to maintain happy, productive classroom environments. The ability to utilize redirection effectively requires that teachers talk to children about their actions and help them understand the consequences of their behaviors.

Look at Vergie, you might say. She is upset that you knocked down her block structure. Wilson, lets help her pick up the blocks. Then Ill help you find something else to do for a while. Vergie will be through playing with the blocks later on, and then you can build your own block structure.

Sometimes you can help children by allowing them to work out their own problems. Attune your ears to what is happening, listening to hear whether children may be demonstrating that they are learning to assert their own needs without having to step in. For example, a loud yell from a child in the housekeeping center does not necessarily mean that immediate intervention is necessary. What you might hear, if you pause and listen, is this:

Hey, Junie, you took my doll! yells Marcy. I wasnt through playing with it yet.

I wanted to play with her today, asserts Junie.

You can play with her in a minute. I wanted to feed her, but you can have her after that.

Okay, Junie replies. Ill be back to play with her when you finish feeding her.

The chapters in this book address a range of classroom management issues. Chapter 1 summarizes the behaviors effective teachers demonstrate when guiding young children, including how teachers can care for themselves and balance their own lives to work efficiently with children. Chapter 2 defines general classroom management principles that work in any classroom. The impact of environmental design and how it affects childrens learning are addressed in Chapter 3 of this book. Planning effective daily routines and schedules is the topic of Chapter 4, developing a caring community of learners is the main theme of Chapter 5, and creating supportive parent partnerships is discussed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 outlines analyzing problem behaviors, and Chapters 8 and 9 cover teaching alternative behaviors and communication skills. Classroom management, which is an ongoing process, is not always easy. Children need consistency. Lots of patience and numerous interactions with children and their parents are essential ingredients of effective classroom management.