I think we can all agree that one of the things we most need to teach children who hit, kick, tantrum, or throw things is how to self-regulate.

Children need to learn to self-regulate throughout the day, but especially when they’re upset!

Those children who seem to go from 0-10 in the blink of an eye, flip their lids over the littlest things, or who hurt their peers?

Common wisdom in our early childhood field is that we need to help them learn self-regulation skills.

Yes, other skills are needed. How to recognize and name those big emotions.…how to ask for what they want and need (with words, rather than their hands!)

But first and foremost, I hear teachers looking for strategies to teach self-regulation.

Perhaps you dream of a classroom…

In last blog I said I’d share some examples of how simple yet powerful changes can prevent or quickly de-escalate challenging behaviors.

When we’re on the challenging behavior hamster wheel it's easy to think “nothing is working” and therefore expect that the solution must be complicated.

But, oftentimes nothing could be further from the truth!

What if instead of trying to cajole children to clean up and come to snack we offered them the opportunity to come to the snack table throughout a 1- hour center time?

What if instead of trying to distract or reprimanding young children who want to climb and touch and move we revamped classrooms so they could climb and touch and move throughout the day?

Whether you’re currently embarking on a new school year or you work in a year-round program I’m thinking of you during this time of year with all its back-to-school vibes.

My hope for you is…

IT’S OFFICIAL: I’ve decided that in one month we’re opening enrollment to the Transform Challenging Teachers’ Club! (But just for 3 days)

We’re busy serving our existing members so we only planned to open enrollment once per year.

I recently received an email from Sue Paton, one of the Founding Members of our Transform Challenging Teachers’ Club, that beautifully captured some key ideas that I think you may want to keep top of mind as you transition into a new school year.

What tweaks are you making to your activities, daily schedule, and interactions with children for the upcoming school year?

WAIT, what!? You haven’t yet planned any changes? Fear not! It’s not too late.

What do you do to ensure that children feel they belong in your classroom?

Last month in our TCB Teachers’ Club, inspired by a revisit to Dylan Bosseau’s Transform Challenging Behavior Online Conference interview (2021) we spoke about how morning rituals and routines can be designed and tweaked to help children feel they belong and are part of the classroom community.

Sometimes people ask me what I mean by “transforming” challenging behavior.

Does “transforming” challenging behavior include preventing and addressing it?

Sometimes people ask me what I mean by “transforming” challenging behavior.

To learn about the meaning you’re going to have to wait and then read next week’s blog post.

First, I want to tell you how the concept/name “Transform Challenging Behavior” was born...