Day: August 4, 2021

Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors: Try Creating Consistency between Home & School

Any intervention that is put in place to support children through challenging situations is going to be even more effective if it is implemented consistently across all environments. This is just one of the reasons that family engagement and strong relationships are encouraged in early learning environments.

Be sure to share some of the strategies that you have found to be effective with families.  This can be done in a general newsletter announcement, daily reports, or in a one-on-one conversation with families. Be sure to use positive and growth mindset language when communicating about the supports you are putting in place.  For example, you could say:

• Did you know that children often express themselves through their behaviors? We are dedicated to helping children learn different ways to communicate their needs to reduce the number of behavior incidents each day.
• Children of this age are working hard to establish autonomy. It is an important developmental stage that is sometimes characterized by undesirable behaviors. Here’s what you can do to promote autonomy at home…
• To help Sammy move through transitions, we are approaching him a few times before each transition to let him know that it is time to wrap up his play because it’s time to move on to the next activity.
• Abigail is still working on being able to share toys with others. We are adding lots of chances for her to practice sharing into our upcoming unit on community helpers.

Family education nights are a great opportunity to share strategies with families, as are family-teacher conferences. Online parenting resources, such as ParentEducate.com, are another tool that can be shared with families.  ParentEducate.com offers a free 1-week trial for families to explore early childhood topics written by education experts.

Introduce families to different ways of viewing behaviors. Talk with families about being proactive in order to prevent some of the more predictable behaviors from occurring. Prompt families to think about the transitions that children move through at home and remind them about children’s limited mental flexibility skills.

Encourage families to try some of the strategies that seem to work in the learning environment. Also, ask families how they handle certain situations at home. Brainstorm possible shifts that could be made, and together, assemble a full bag of tricks that you can use to support children across all environments.

For the main article Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Viewing Behavior in a New Light, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Taking a Proactive Approach, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Rethinking Transitions, CLICK HERE

Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors: Try Rethinking Transitions

Transitions can be challenging in early learning environments. As mentioned in the section on looking at behavior in a new light, children are still developing mental flexibility. Shifting gears, especially at a fast pace, can be more challenging for some children than for others. With this in mind, take time to reflect on the following periods of the daily routine from previous years and determine whether any adjustments could be beneficial.

Arrival:  Consider the overall mood of the morning arrival:

• Does arrival time set a calm and welcoming tone for the day?
• Do children have the chance to slowly join the group at their own pace?
• Do the activities offered align with children’s morning dispositions?
• How does the transition from arrival to the next activity feel?  Is it rushed?  Do most children seem to move on with the day?
• What adjustments could be made to this part of the routine?

Lunch/rest transition: Reflect on this busy time of day:

• Do children have enough time to eat without being rushed? Are staff members rushing through transitions due to break schedules?
• What signals are used to help children shift from active time to quiet time? Could soft music be played during the meal? Is there a way to dim the lights or turn off overhead lights if there is enough natural light in the room? Do adults lower the volume of their voices and initiate calming conversations during lunch?
• How many steps of the transition exist between finishing the meal and laying down? Is there a way to decrease this number? Or is there a way to stretch the time between finishing the meal and laying down, so that children have time to move through the busy transition?
• Does the tone of the transition set children up for success, meaning they are calm and ready for rest?
• Would adding 5-10 minutes to either end of this transition make a difference? Work with colleagues to adjust the schedule accordingly, including when meals are served.

Continue to reflect on your experience with routines and transitions. Ask questions like the ones shared above, talk to coworkers, and discuss options with members of leadership. Consider how the children react during transitions.

Unfortunately, children are not going to magically move through transitions smoothly overnight, and rushing them rarely helps. Remember – they are still working on the skills that help them shift their focus and attention from one activity to another. They need support to strengthen these skills and sometimes they just need extra time to be successful.

For the main article Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Viewing Behavior in a New Light, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Taking a Proactive Approach, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Creating Consistency between Home & School, CLICK HERE

Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors: Try Taking a Proactive Approach

Being proactive is an excellent way to decrease behaviors in the learning environment. Using a proactive approach means that you are essentially preventing behaviors from occurring by eliminating the triggers of those behaviors.  Of course, you will not be able to proactively prevent all behaviors, but every little bit helps, right?

Begin by considering the physical environment.

• Are there spaces or learning centers that become overcrowded? If so, enlarge the space by adjusting the shelves.
• Are there popular materials that draw children’s interest? If so, make sure you have enough of those materials to go around.
• Are materials that children need to access easy to get to? If not, rearrange some of the furniture to make the space more accessible.

Next, think about the daily routine.

• Are there times of day when you have noticed an uptick in challenging behaviors? If so, attempt to determine whether the children would benefit from an adjustment to the daily schedule; perhaps they need more time to eat their snack or get their coats on for outdoor play.
• Consider how you are feeling at certain points of the day. Are there times when you feel rushed? Are there times you wish you could be more present for the children? Create a plan to address these concerns. If you have a second person working with you, brainstorm how to better divvy up responsibilities so everyone feels fully present.

Consider the children in the group.

• Are you familiar with their skills and abilities? If not, how will do you plan to get to know the children? Can you speak with a teacher who worked with the children previously? Can you set up brief interviews with the families, or gather that information through a survey?
• Are you aware of any children who may need extra support or attention during the transition to the learning environment? Work with colleagues and the child’s family to create a plan of action to help the child succeed.
• Are you aware of the children’s interests? Identify activities and conversations you can pursue during the first weeks of the new school year that will help you get to know children on a more personal level.

Reflect on the curriculum and the way that you plan activities for children.

• Do you follow a scripted curriculum plan or co-create the curriculum with the children? Think about ways that you can use what you know about the children’s interests to create more engaging curriculum experiences. If you are able to tailor the curriculum to the children’s strengths, needs, and interests, you can prevent behaviors that sometimes stem from boredom and frustration.
• How can you integrate important self-regulation skills into the curriculum activities that you present to children? Be sure to recognize each child as a unique learner. Not every child comes to the environment with the same skills. Blanket expectations for every child in the group may cause more harm than good. Modify and adapt expectations and activities as necessary.

Reflecting on these areas of your program can help you identify areas where shifts can be made to prevent behaviors and engage children more deeply.

For the main article Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Viewing Behavior in a New Light, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Rethinking Transitions, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Creating Consistency between Home & School, CLICK HERE

Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors: Try Viewing Behavior in a New Light

Behavior is simply a child’s (or adult’s) reaction to their environment or stimuli within that environment. The skills a child (or adult) has built will determine how well or how poorly they react. The skills we are referring to include the ability to manage strong emotions, communicate needs, delay gratification, compromise, and control impulses, just to name a few.

When you look at challenging behavior as an indication of the skills children still need to build, you can move from constantly reacting to behaviors to identifying missing skills and intentionally working with children to strengthen these skills.

Here are a few additional ways that educators can look at challenging behaviors that might shed new light on what is being observed:

1. Behavior is a form of communication. Even children who are not yet using words are telling us so much with their behaviors. Sometimes, children tell us they are tired by crying uncontrollably. Sometimes, children tell us they are frustrated by throwing blocks. Sometimes, children tell us they need connection by seeking attention from us in less than desirable means.
2. Some behaviors are developmental. A familiar example would be biting, where children explore the materials (and peers) in the environment with their mouths. Toddlers are also in the developmental stage where they are seeking autonomy. Preschoolers may have trouble transitioning because they are still working on their mental flexibility.
3. Sometimes, behaviors are a form of play. Wrestling, tumbling, and big body play can appear to be aggressive interactions. Sometimes, children throwing dramatic play food items at one another are just playing a game that requires safer objects to toss.

Looking at behaviors differently can help educators to pause and look for the underlying cause or message behind the behavior.  This pause should provide enough time for teachers to regulate their own emotions, use the skills they have developed, and respond to the behavior effectively.  Remember, you can’t teach self-regulation to children when you are not managing your own emotional responses to what is happening in the environment.

For the main article Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Taking a Proactive Approach, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Rethinking Transitions, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Creating Consistency between Home & School, CLICK HERE

Shifting How we Manage Challenging Behaviors

Welcome to the August 2021 CCEI Newsletter!  It is the time of year when most programs wrap up summer events and transition into a new school year.  Each year at this time, we try to provide our readers with some meaningful content that they will be able to use over the first few weeks of the school year. If you are interested, you can find past issues of this newsletter here.

This year is no different! In this issue of the newsletter, we are going to explore ways that teachers can shift their perceptions of children’s challenging behaviors; starting with the words we use to label the common actions children take to communicate their needs.

Courses on challenging behavior are some of the most frequently requested topics on CCEI post-course survey responses (yep, we read them). So much so, that we recently revamped our positive guidance series, the first of which is available as the August trial course for people who are new to CCEI.  For those of you who are already subscribed, check out the series by enrolling in the following courses today!

• GUI106: The Foundations of Positive Guidance
• GUI107: Practicing Positive Guidance with Infants and Toddlers
• GUI108: Practicing Positive Guidance with Preschool and School-Age Children

Our intention is to provide different perspectives for you to consider and encourage you to step out of the comfort zone of how things have always been done.  Be sure to share this newsletter with colleagues to create consistency across your program.

For the article Try Viewing Behavior in a New Light, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Taking a Proactive Approach, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Rethinking Transitions, CLICK HERE

For the article Try Creating Consistency between Home & School, CLICK HERE