Barb’s Behavior Blog
Stories, Strategies & Inspiration
If you’ve been around me and Transform Challenging Behavior for awhile then you know I’m a HUGE advocate of using a Teacher Puppet (also known as a Class Puppet).
A Teacher Puppet is a special puppet that only you as the teacher use.
If you need a little inspiration to start using your Teacher Puppet more here you go…
On the last blog, we talked about Xavier needing support during clean up time.
We explored giving the whole class a five-minute warning, giving Xavier a 1:1 reminder of the five-minute warning, and then announcing (or singing) that it’s time to clean up when those five minutes are up.
But what if that wasn’t enough? What if Xavier still struggles to clean up?
How can you use what you know about Xavier to motivate him to transition and prevent behavior problems?
Seeing a lot of challenging behavior during your classroom transitions?
Transitions are tough.
Not just for kids but for many of us as adults.
I still remember that when I was a new preschool teacher at the University of Minnesota Child Development Center in the early 1990s our Ed Director, Sherry, did a fabulous workshop on transitions. She pointed out that even for us as adults, transitions can be hard. She referenced packing for a vacation as an exciting yet stressful transition. How many of us get discombobulated or fight with our loved ones during transitions as small as getting out of the house in the morning….or as big as getting ready to move to a new home?
I’m not sure if you know this, but the Transform Challenging Behavior framework, is based on an understanding of:
How the brain works, so both teachers and children can stay calm and regulated. (brain-based)
Research finding that Children of Color are disproportionately suspended and expelled from preschool due implicit bias. (equity-educated)
The power of play to motivate and connect with the hardest to reach children. (play-powered)
There’s more to the TCB approach than that, but those 3 key ideas are threaded throughout everything I teach.
Are you a storyteller?
Most early childhood teachers (hopefully!) read stories several times a day (at least once?) but what about oral storytelling? That’s when you tell a story from your mind (and heart!) after “putting the book down.”
It could be your best effort to memorize and paraphrase an easy and repetitive book like The Very Hungry Caterpillar (hence the phrase “putting the book down”) or it could be a story you made up. Or, even a story from your own life.
Do you have children who get REALLY upset and have trouble returning to calm?
See children grabbing or otherwise struggle to control their impulses?
Or, have one or more children in your preschool class who are bursting with energy and can’t seem to “down-regulate” and pay attention during story time or morning meeting?
If so, you may have wondered how best to teach children to self regulate.
Did you hear the news?
The FREE live TCB training series is happening again this February!
This is your chance to learn:
What early childhood teachers who seem to have the magic touch with children who exhibit challenging behavior do that most teachers miss
The secret to teaching self-regulation so children can calm themselves when upset
How teachers around the world are successfully using our simple yet powerful TCB strategies to succeed with even chronic and severe challenging behaviors
And much, much more!
Happy almost-New-Year!
Last week I acknowledged that depending on you and your life this may be a BUSY time of year.
And, I encouraged you to consider thinking about one way you can make time and prioritize what matters most to you this week or this month, as you wrap up the year.
One thing I always make time for in December is reflecting on the year (acknowledge accomplishments, gratitude, trying to learn from struggles) and set intentions for the new year.
