While I haven’t had much chance to utilize it proactively yet, the model I keep in my head and *would* use when the chance presents itself is: Respect the Classroom, Respect the Teacher, Respect Each Other, Respect Yourselves. The first one covers things like cleaning up after yourself and putting toys away where they belong, not breaking…

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With the age groups I work with (Pre-K and School Age), biting is rare and usually secondary to other challenging behaviors. When it occurs, we’re usually dealing with a larger pattern of aggressive behavior, and the child is testing that type of aggression amongst several ‘options’ (pinching, hitting, pushing, hair pulling, scratching, etc.).…

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I don’t work with infants or toddlers, I work with older pre-school age kids and school-age kids. These kids are generally old enough to have more complex conversations about emotion, but may occasionally still have emotional outbursts. I try to remain calm and comforting when a child throws a tantrum, expressing understanding and sympathy…

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To be honest, I’m having a difficult time remembering a specific instance. The times it has worked don’t linger in my memory. I am mostly recalling the times that redirection did not work, because the thing I attempted to redirect to failed to appeal to the child. Kids can get easily stuck on wanting a *specific* toy or *specific* game…

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Some of the strategies I’ve been working on developing as I work with kids prone to tantrums is to keep in mind what things are important to stick to my guns about (rules put in place for safety reasons, interacting kindly with others, etc.), and what things are okay to abandon at the first sign they aren’t working (finishing an art…

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This is still an area I am learning about, and finding effective techniques has been somewhat difficult so far. Especially in the heat of the moment. What I know of so far is to help remove them from the stressful situation, either by allowing them to be by themselves (within view) for a bit, or giving them a brief ‘time out’ not as a…

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The written guidance policies would be helpful for deciding how to handle situations where children consistently do not listen to verbal instruction or redirection, or repeatedly/persistently engage in behaviors they know are not allowed to the point of becoming disruptive to others. It would also be helpful when one observes other teachers…

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An approved crib, infant bed, bassinet, or play pen with a firm mattress that fits snuggly against the sides with no gaps, and no objects in the bed/crib such as a blanket, pillow, bumpers, or toys.

I would highlight our staff to child ratio and how it allows us to keep eyes on kids to ensure they are staying safe; our age-appropriate toys that don’t have pieces that younger kids could swallow; our nap mat procedures to keep kids’ mats clean; our hand washing procedures; and our snack table cleaning procedures.

Keying into the kinds of interests kids have can help provide clues as to what sorts of learning they may benefit from. For example, my school-age after school program is fairly small (at most about 7 kids, usually about 4 or 5) and mostly boys. They are at an age and temperament where if they aren’t interested in an activity, they simply…

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By figuring out where each child is developmentally, teachers can adjust their curriculum to cater to the students’ current level, exercising the skills they have recently learned and challenging them to grow to the next level.

Although we don’t currently serve children under 2 1/2, we are a play-based program and we typically keep a wide variety of possible toys and activities available for kids to choose from, allow lots of free play time, and try to spend plenty of time getting onto kids’ level and engaging with them as they play. This can provide a lot of serve…

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