Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers Blog

Classroom Management for Preschool Tips and Tricks

5/27/2021

You prefer to watch instead of read. I got you.

What’s Classroom Management
Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that a teacher uses to ensure a smooth-running classroom.

Classroom management for preschool begins with classroom procedures and routines. Did you know that research shows that most behavior problems results from lack of a classroom routine and procedures and that most behavior problems in the preschool classroom can be solved by teaching classroom procedures and routines. It’s never too late to get out your classroom procedures list and start teaching them and checking them off your classroom procedures list.

The idea is to standardize these moments into routines your children can do quickly and independently.

Start off by thinking about all the parts of your day and break it into predictable routines. Make a classroom procedures list that you can use to plan out teaching, teaching, oh and teaching them in your lesson plans. Here is a classroom procedures list that I use every year to help get you started.

You have your list now what?

When teaching procedures and routines in the classroom it is important to teach your children in a way that will compel them to perform them correctly and independently.

Provide children with visual reminders. This will help you to not repeat yourself over and over again, which can be exhausting at the beginning of the year, but well worth it.

Role model what it needs to look like. Start your role modeling where the routine begins. Show the children what it looks like, talk through each step as you role model the procedure.

Have children model. Select a child or group of children to practice and role model the new routine. If you notice that they forgot a step in the routine, role model it again and have them try the routine again until they are able to model it correctly.

Practice with the whole class. Now that you have modeled it again and perhaps again. The children have modeled it correctly it is time for the whole group to practice the new learned routine. The key at this point is to make sure all children are following the routine if some are still missing some of the steps have that group practice some more.

Go live with the routine or procedures. It’s time to let your children proceed with the routine on their own for that portion of the day. Make sure you are watching children and praising individual children, this will cement the routine or procedure into a successful part of the day.

Individual brag tags- When you see a child follow through with a routine or procedure make sure that you are praising what they did. “I see that you can hang up your jacket all by yourself.” Give them a high five and brag tag that they can fill their bucket with.

Group brag tags-When the whole group has shown success make sure that they know it. Have a motivation We can fill our bucket board at the group meeting area. “I’m so excited to give our class a brag tag for everybody know how to use their walking feet.” Put the walking feet brag tag on the group motivation board. You could have a special celebration when the class fills the bucket with so many brag tags.

Shout it out to the whole world. Post it on your classroom community ClassDojo stories so that all the families know about their accomplishments or send out a family note that celebrates the success so that families can join in on the excitement.

Procedures for Classroom Management

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create a smooth-running classroom by teaching children the procedures that will lead to a healthy learning community of children.

Give positive healthy feed back with these fun to collect I can statement swagger tags.

Grab it Now!

FREE Classroom Procedures List

I want to help you out just a little with a FREE Classroom Procedures List to help you have tame your classroom this school year.

Classroom procedures list

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Lesson Planning Brain Dump

5/9/2021

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Want to watch a video version of this post? I have you covered!

Lesson planning is a big part of a teachers work load. So before the school year ends start the lesson planning process with a lesson planning outline session know as a brain dump.

Before the school year ends I like to do a good brain dump to get rid of all the noise in my head about what happened over the course of the school year.

I like to reflect and make a list of EVERYTHING that worked in my lesson plans and also everything that DIDN'T work in my lesson plans. This allows me to make a lesson plan outline for the follow year.

During the brain dump process I also like to think about all of the procedures that we taught and perhaps some of the procedures that we should of taught.

We all know to get a smooth running classroom we have to take the time to teach procedures, but sometimes some just get missed or some just didn't get taught the right way the first time around.

That's why the brain dump process saves me for the following school year. It gives me the needed information to help me plan properly for the new school year.

Once I have my list I like to think about how long it is going to take for this procedure to become a routine that just happens naturally.

Do I need 1 week or longer to teach that procedure. Some will just come easily and naturally but others you will need to teach, model, practice, practice and practice some more until it's a habit for the whole group.

The last thing that I brain dump is children's interest and themes that the children really enjoyed this gives me a spring board of information to start planning activities that will be engaging for the new group of children.

Again I like to think about how long I need to really plan for each idea so that we can really dive deep into the investigation and learning with the children.

Want to give the brain dump a try? Then you landed in the right place. Below you will find a FREE downloadable file that you can use to purge your brain of all that stuff so that you can start your first few weeks of summer relaxing and recharging.