YES! Today was sooooooooo much better than yesterday. All it took was an attitude adjustment- my attitude. That and some strategy. It is common knowledge transitions are the time of greatest discipline problems for many reasons. Well, I had to admit I had neglected to prepare for my transitions... Instead I kinda (foolishly) expected my 3- and 4-year olds to sit on the carpet and chill for a few minutes while I prepped... Or, I would allow them to horseplay and then get mad when they didn't want to stop... Hey, to give myself some credit Ive been doing a lot of other things really well... like completing my assessments on time, organizing the physical classroom, and creating some highly engaging lessons.... I just forsook the transitions. Which ended up costing my sanity- momentarily.
So, I made a 'playlist' of songs to sing during circle- "TootyTa" worked like a charm! Plus I brought in my Beenie Baby puppy dogs which we used for carpet games. I also extended Outside Time ten minutes and added a group jogg around the playground... I patted my extra rowdy babies during Naptime until they fell asleep (that nap makes all the difference). And, I rewarded the behaviors I wanted, not highlighted the ones I didn't. I wanted my students to know they were capable of self-regulation and I recognized when they worked hard at following the rules.
Im thankful my assistant is a self-starter and not someone I have to constantly ask to help support me in the classroom. Her contribution helps tremendously. I'm all smiles.
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