Do you have children in your class who hit, push, or yell whenever someone tells them what to do or even just stands too close to them? Maybe they even hit kids and teachers with blocks (scary!).

...or, maybe they just don’t like it when someone starts playing with the bucket of toys they’re using or attempts to clean up in the same area they are cleaning?

Well, that’s exactly what was happening in Loretta's classroom. She told me…

That’s one super important thing we need more of in the world, support for early childhood teachers..

Yes, I want to support the kids who exhibit “challenging behavior” (kicking, biting, tantrums, yelling, hitting, running out of the classroom and throwing chairs)....but first and foremost my mission is to support YOU.

If preschool teachers don’t feel supported in their work…

The other day I was texting with Dylan, a PreK teacher in a public school. Dylan's school has been Zooming (or maybe they use Microsoft Teams?) since sometime last March.

Dylan told me that one morning recently he was feel tired and overwhelmed. There's so much going on in the world and he hadn't slept much the night before.

Planning and implementing lessons that day felt daunting.

...but then he remembered that supporting children's social emotional development and building community is THE most important thing we do in preschool.

He realized that some days the most important thing is to just show up and hold space.

Luckily, that's Bunny, the class puppet's specialty.

Dylan explains...

In another article I spoke about what to do with children who want what they want when they want it or who say things that aren't true.

Both of these scenarios can result in adult-child power struggles and sometimes even aggression.

I received a follow-up question that's worth a quick chat, let's call this child, "Leo"...

Just a question in the instance of a child who wants something, is asked to wait for another child to finish with it and then said child begins calling everyone [SWEARWORD NAMES] and begins throwing chairs at children and staff?

Great question…

Is this a behavior you are currently struggling with or have previously struggled with..

...the child who wants what he wants when he wants it and there is no reasoning with him or her?

What about a child who says things that aren't true?

Maybe they say there is a pink unicorn in their yard.

(How cool would that be!?)

At first glance a child wanting what they want when they want it or insisting there's a pink unicorn in their yard may not appear similar in any way.

But to me they are.

My #1 guiding principle in responding to children is…

How's it going this week?

I wanted to remind you that everything we know about how best to teach young children in developmentally appropriate ways still applies.

This is true, even if…

I recently got asked a question about the following scenario...

"I have a parent that struggles with keeping her child on task with work/play activities. Granted he is 2 years 7 months old. However, the parent wants tips to increase his time on task with virtual learning activities. Suggestions please and thank you!"

What are your thoughts?

Here are some of mine…

Play is developmental.

Healing is necessary.

Hello my friend,

How is teaching for you? How's getting through the day going?
WOW, what a difficult time.

…I don't mean the set of puppets with optional puppet show apparatus that sits in or near dramatic play. Though that's great, if you have those!

I'm talking about a "Teacher Puppet" or a "Class Puppet".

A puppet that you, as the adult, manipulate....and, only you use.

This is something I learned to do way back in the day from some of my co-workers.

(Not something that was ever spoken about in any of my many early childhood courses, interestingly. I tried to change that for my students when I was a professor.)

I watched Teacher Eiko manipulate a parrot she called Peace…