Open Discussion Forum

I love this question! One of the things I teach in my trainings on preventing challenging behavior is singing "songs with directions embedded" - it's so often an underused strategy. I am currently working with a Head Start program (includes early Head Start rooms) where the teachers literally sing there way throughout the day. What some of them are having a ton of success with is using the same tune or song and then just tweaking the words to the time of the day or task at hand and/or using the children's names. Actually, one class has a song that they sing at circle time where they call each child's name (or two at a time) - similar to Get Up and Dance - and I just last week developed a theory about it. They use it at circle time strictly as a fun/welcome to school type song. But then they use the same song when they are calling each other from play time to take their turn with the potty and they come right away. My theory is that it's because it has a fun association and they were already used to following the song's directions. So...maybe you could adapt some songs you are already singing. Or, simply, "Now it's time to pick a book, pick a book, pick a book, now it's time to pick a book and take it to our cots" (sung to the tune of Now its's Time to Clean Up, Clean Up...) Hard to "sing" for you here. Hope that helps and curious what others have to say!

I love this question! One of the things I teach in my trainings on preventing challenging behavior is singing "songs with directions embedded" - it's so often an underused strategy. I am currently working with a Head Start program (includes early Head Start rooms) where the teachers literally sing there way throughout the day. What some of them are having a ton of success with is using the same tune or song and then just tweaking the words to the time of the day or task at hand and/or using the children's names. Actually, one class has a song that they sing at circle time where they call each child's name (or two at a time) - similar to Get Up and Dance - and I just last week developed a theory about it. They use it at circle time strictly as a fun/welcome to school type song. But then they use the same song when they are calling each other from play time to take their turn with the potty and they come right away. My theory is that it's because it has a fun association and they were already used to following the song's directions. So...maybe you could adapt some songs you are already singing. Or, simply, "Now it's time to pick a book, pick a book, pick a book, now it's time to pick a book and take it to our cots" (sung to the tune of Now its's Time to Clean Up, Clean Up...) Hard to "sing" for you here. Hope that helps and curious what others have to say!

• wash our hands, and say goodbye to germs
• clean the room, when center time is done
• sit at the table, and eat our yummy lunch