I would like you to know that we meet each child where they are, but we still teach developmentally appropriate behaviors that keep classes of twelve or more 3, 4, and 5 year olds safe and happy. It's not about having them act like the K-5 students, its keeping them safe and confident in independently navigating their environment. In fact, we developed the plan, because our school wide plan was not developmentally appropriate for our young students. Our little ones independently play and create cooperative projects (like paintings, block cities, sand/mud creations), caring for our outdoor classroom garden, and taking care of their own personal needs (i.e., eating, washing hands, cleaning up after themselves, and using the bathroom). They excitedly participate in whole and small group learning groups with lots of music and movement, interactive reading, pre-mathematics games, and lots of fun for up to twenty minutes because we support them with visuals, positive words, modeling, and lots of love, which is all supported by our written plan.
Our students walk in a line with soft rope with places to hold on. We can safely leave our gated secure area to walk to the rabbits, outdoor theater, participate in our school wide parades, go to the "big-kid" garden, and go out into the unsecured parking lot for fire drills without anyone getting hurt or running in the street. This week we had the Great American Teach-In and my little ones went to two separate school parking lots to learn about and interact with our local police K-9 units and Fire Department. The rope line, quiet whispers, and eyes watching got them safely to places most young children could not be without one on one support. They stood in line and waited (with some high probability sequences-jumping, touching toes, & wiggling) for an opportunity to get into the fire trucks and to pet the dogs with our positive modeling and support. With lots of love and support it is amazing what they can do and what great life experiences they can have.
We do not restrict, we support, teach, model, and scaffold. We support "big feelings," and teach them to express them without hitting, biting, kicking, screaming, etc. "Good sitting," simply means they have enough personal space (we teach this too), to sit and not hit, kick, or harm one another. Absent "w sitting," (our OT and PT say is very bad for their developing bodies) they sit crisscross, mermaid, or cowboy (some with varied needs pace, rock, wobble, and/or use a "figit" support ) and this allows them to positively participate in our cooperative activities like story time, cooking, gardening, gaming, etc. When your support plan creates and environment that is predictable (they know what it going to happen), the children know what is expected of them, they know how to meet those expectations (use words instead of hitting, wash hands before we eat, etc.), and feel loved and supported your behaviors are minimal and mostly related to a tired, hungry, or frustrated child that simply needs adult support.
We have a great emergency plan, where we ring a bell and everyone signs and says "freeze, stop, Ray's up," they look at the adult in their room and listen to the directions, which is really great for an unexpected fire alarm or safety lock down. We practice this with song and dance, silly chants, and lots of positive supports (high five; hug; super friend award). This safety plan with a bell is necessary, even if it is not developmentally appropriate, to keep them safe in an emergency situation. Our support plan corresponds the Florida Early Learning Developmental Standards and Professional Competencies which is based upon building social, pre-writing/reading, pre-mathematics, and motor skills.
We also worked closely with multiple ABA therapist to keep improving our plan to meet the diverse needs of our blended classrooms that include students with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. Recently an outside ABA therapist working with a student in my classroom told me that she was pleased to see that in our classroom the student was receiving all of the ABA strategies they provided in their therapy center. One of our ABA partners now use the three high probability sequences we use in our classrooms in their therapy to promote positive engagement by their clients. In addition, we do extensive research and keep data to continually improve our plan. Maybe the titles of the social stories look inappropriate but I can assure you they are not.
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Beatrice Engwall, M.Ed.
Blended PreK Teacher
Pinellas County Schools, Florida
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-17-2022 12:34 PM
From: Cathleen McAuliffe
Subject: Struggling with behavior issues
This is in response to one of the responses that mentions teaching children how to sit in school, how to line up in school, etc.
I believe that as advocates for young children we must remember what "pre" means. It means before. So preschool is before school. It's not school. These children are in the preoperational stage of cognitive development. They are not ready for school, and our job is not to get them ready for school. Our job is to meet them where they are. I know I'm not going to get Dr. Lilian Katz's quote right, so I'll paraphrase: if we do what's right for children when they are two and three and four and five, they will be ready for school. The question is: will the school be ready for them? Just because the physical facility is a "school" doesn't mean we should abandon what we know about how young children learn best.
I have never felt the need to line up preschool children, and because of the characteristics of preoperational thinking, I think it's unfair to expect them to understand staying in a line.
I learned many years ago that expecting children to sit a certain way (my way) is not developmentally appropriate and it is not respectful of individual children. And then when I became a CLASS observer, I understood this even more.
I have seen discussions about many children showing developmental delays possibly as a result of the covid pandemic, and I am seeing it myself. We need to meet these children where they are, not where we think they should be. It's a challenge for sure.
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Cathy McAuliffe, PhD
*Children's Coalition of Aransas County Executive Board Vice-President
*NorthWest Arkansas Community College Adjunct Professor
Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 03:45 AM
From: Beatrice Engwall
Subject: Struggling with behavior issues
We have worked really hard in our PreK Program and developed a PreK/VPK Positive Behavior Support Plan that includes a list of the processes and procedures we want in place in our classroom, social stories, practice activities, visual supports, chants and songs, and modeling of each process and procedure until it is learned by all. We combine that with positive attending (pointing out something good the student is doing before we ask for correction), sometimes its "I really like the color of your shoes," just to get the student positive and then ask for the modification of their behavior "I know you can sit criss-cross and listen to he story" followed by "great job." Sometimes it is just complimenting the students doing the right thing and ignoring behaviors that are not what we want (but not a danger to the student or others) works great too. I choose what strategy, both positive, by the individual child. Our social stories, activities, visual supports, and predictable schedule the students know are all public on my Lessonpix https://www.lessonpix.com, this is the best $36 a year I invest in.
We also use Second Steps as our social emotional learning curriculum and a schedule the children know and can count on to be the same. We let them know in advance of any daily changes, because the routines that are broken can cause a day of tantrums. Second Steps is a quick five or ten minute lesson every day that teaches social skills like welcoming, listening, feelings, problem solving, attention, and persistence. I love the puppets and include stories about feelings, behaviors, processes, and procedures to extend each focused skill to at least one week (or until 90% of the class understands it). It sounds like a lot of work and it is, but in the end the children know what is expected of them, their schedule, and are much happier.
These are the processes and procedures we worked out as most useful to our classrooms and they are all based on ABA practices and our Second Steps Social Skills Curriculum:
When I Come to School--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
Voices in School------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
When the Bell Rings-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3
Good Sitting in School----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
Line up and Walking in School------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
Going to the Bathroom---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Washing My Hands--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
Eating at School------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
Keep Your Hands and Feet to Yourself-------------------------------------------------------------------9
Cleaning Up in School---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10
Fire Drill Practice----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
Rules-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
Affirmations----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13
Great Day!
R-A-Y-S!
Self-Calming----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14
Three Breathes------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15
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Beatrice Engwall, M.Ed.
Blended PreK Teacher
Pinellas County Schools, Florida
Original Message:
Sent: 11-15-2022 04:55 PM
From: Joseph Thompson
Subject: Struggling with behavior issues
At the school I am at I am struggling with behavior issues in my room which affect the children who are trying to learn. Despite all of my best efforts, nothing is working. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do.
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Joseph Thompson
JrK Teacher, Preschool Curriculum Coordinator, Training Coordinator
Trucks N Trykes Playcare
Sioux Falls SD
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