Action Cues
Preschoolers
respond to routine and regularity. Teachers can establish a certain sound or
motion that signifies the action they should perform. This may be a way of
telling students to close their mouths and turn their attention to the teacher,
or it might signal the end of an activity and the preparation for another. Some
teachers like to do a call and response system, when they call out one word and
the children respond with another to indicate that they are listening. Other
teachers might use a special instrument to make the sound, such as a drum or a
kazoo. Others prefer to flick the classroom lights on and off or hold up two
fingers in the air. It can be helpful to have a specific cue to let the
children know that it is time to re-focus their attention on the teacher and
prepare for further instructions.
Behavior Charts
Display
each child's name on the wall of the classroom on a behavioral incentive chart.
Such charts can be very motivating for preschoolers. They enjoy earning the
incentives, and will not want to see symbols of poor behavior displayed next to
their names. Some teachers choose to coordinate this type of display with a
classroom theme, such as frogs collecting bugs or elephants collecting peanuts.
A traditional display with students' names surrounded by gold stars or some
other typical reward element is also effective.
Classroom Helpers
Enlisting
the students' help in the classroom gives them a chance to feel like they're
part of the group and keeps them busy when they become bored or antsy. A
bulletin board displaying the day's classroom helpers next to the names of the
students is a helpful visual aid. The teacher should rotate classroom helpers
every day or week. Classroom helper roles might include line leader, snack
helper, art
supplies coordinator or calendar assistant.
Planning Carefully
Downtime
in a preschool classroom can lead to a teacher's downfall. When there is a lull
in the scheduled activity or routine, busy preschoolers will find a way to fill
it. An effective preschool classroom management strategy is to make sure that
every minute of the day is filled with purposeful activities. If the students
understand that there is always a specific activity they are supposed to be
doing, they will be less tempted to find their own amusement. Displaying the
daily schedule prominently in the classroom helps further this strategy.
Timely Transitions
The
transitional time between activities can be a time of disorder. If preschool
students do not have an established procedure for switching from circle time to
a table activity, for instance, they may choose to make the transition by
running around the room and screaming at one another. To avoid this, teachers
should explain to the children what they must do as they move from one activity
to the next. Offering a very limited window of time to make this transition is
also helpful. Students will be so busy preparing for the next activity that
they will not have time left to get into trouble.
Make It into a Game
It's
much easier for students to follow your directions when you make the directions
fun. Rather than simply moving them from the snack table to the other side of
the room for free play, put on some music and encourage students to get up from
the table to dance with you for several minutes before beginning to play. Have
a race to see how many of them can put on their coats in the time it takes you
to count to 20. Whenever you find students are struggling with a certain set of
instructions or acting up at a specific time of the day, try to inject a bit of
fun into the situation.
Giving Classroom Jobs
Giving
out jobs to students is a great way to teach them
responsibility, and it can also help you manage the classroom effectively. For
example, if you appoint one student as the "line leader" and another
as the "caboose," they can assist in encouraging their classmates to
line up between them. If you have one or several "snack servers,"
you'll be free to watch the rest of the class while the snack is being handed
out--or at least while plates and cups are being handed out, if your students
are too young to hand out the snack. You can also appoint one student as
"teacher's helper," and this student can deliver messages to the
office or to other teachers as needed.
Set a Routine
Routines
offer children not only a sense of stability, but also help give children the
feeling of confidence and caring from an adult. To better manage your preschool
classroom, set a routine and implement it daily. From naps to play time to
restroom breaks to snacks, lead the preschool children in these activities at
the same time every day. Follow a routine based on the needs of the children,
and try not to rush through activities for the sole purpose of staying on
schedule,.
Set a Schedule
In a
preschool classroom, having a set schedule can make all the difference between
an unruly group of students and a content class. When students have the
security of knowing the general progression of events in the classroom each
day, it allows them to relax. A set schedule can also help students who have
difficulty with transitions, because they can anticipate when a transition is
coming and prepare themselves mentally for it. Although your schedule should
stay relatively regular from day to day, there can be some flexibility in the
schedule without undermining its helpfulness in classroom management.
