shazzam Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 help! we been experiencing a fair bit of negative behaviour lately, i thought it would be a good idea to do a 'friends' theme for after half term but lacking a few ideas i want to include sharing, how we treat others, being kind etc. i thought we could do a circle time to get the children to talk about what rules we should have. but thats as far as i've got! need some inspiration pleease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Hi Shazzam, sometimes this can be just down to the dynamics of your current group, the build up to end of term / transitions etc. But well done for thinking of ways to address this. It's difficult, as I'm not sure that a 'theme' helps, unless it is purely focused on the positive in terms of rules etc. What we 'can do'. Attitudinal changes such as this, I think, is better managed as holistic to everyday experiences and not defined as a seperate theme. Addressing individuals, what difficulties individuals are having, giving them some 'self esteem / feelgood input etc. Maybe finding out any underlying causes / concerns and addressing these. Positive reinforcement to individuals and at group time. Talking about friends, what we like about each other, or even ask them what they like about themselves. Have these chats individually and in groups. Maybe get your staff to plan to have a "I like you because.........Who do you like because................what do you like about yourself type chat with say, 3 children per day. Role model positive thoughts/feelings, all staff to talk to children with phrases such as I feel happy today because.............I feel good today because...................... and let them be minute things such as "I'm happy today because my hair looks pretty" Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shazzam Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 peggy you are wonderful i had hoped you were online! your right the 'theme' really is for the parents benefit! the problems we have are because of all the things you've mentioned, we have written 'rules' before and like you say they must be positive 'can' ones. i dont usually enjoy this last half term and this time i want to change my attitude and stick with the 'i'm going to miss those children rather than a 'i cant wait til they've gone to school' one !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I would endorse what Peggy has said. I am afraid it is mainly down to staff to keep absolutely on top of things and step in quickly to help model good behaviour and give plenty of praise whenever possible. Heading off possible conflicts and also giving children the tools to deal with situations themselves in a reasonable way. Also remember the age of the children - they are barely out of babyhood and often adults have very high expectations of them, particularly if they are going to school after the summer. During this term they will be getting very mixed messages and they may well have lots of feelings which they are unable to recognise let alone deal with. Giving them an opportunity to identify how they are feeling and talk about it will also help them. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublinbay Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Thanks to you both Peggy and Beau. We are finding this term a bit of a struggle for all the readons stated. I agree it is up to us to remember their young age (several children only 4 in June/July and starting school in September!!!!). I will take on board some of the activities suggested by Peggy and perhaps will look forward to a lovely, rewarding and sometimes sad last term as we say goodbye to 40 of our children. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Have you looked at the Jenny Mosley 'golden rules?' they are all positive ie do be kind...etc she has a circle time book for 3-5yr olds with some excellent ideas it's called 'Here We Go 'Round' I thik and is linked to FSC. One activity I like is putting a mirror in a box explaining it contains something special, pass the box around and conclude that we are all special, follow up work of how differences are positive ties in well too........... hope this helps Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 peggy you are wonderful i had hoped you were online!your right the 'theme' really is for the parents benefit! the problems we have are because of all the things you've mentioned, we have written 'rules' before and like you say they must be positive 'can' ones. i dont usually enjoy this last half term and this time i want to change my attitude and stick with the 'i'm going to miss those children rather than a 'i cant wait til they've gone to school' one !!! Ah...Thanks Shazzam (blush) Your last sentence is so profound at this time of year. I would think everyone can empathise with the "I can't wait til they've gone" feeling. I think it's great you've recognised this. I also think part of this feeling is about our own emotions to deal with, as well as the childrens. The staff are feeling the impending transitions, and what this means to them. It provokes questions/feelings such as "Did I do enough last year for all the children?", Will he/she cope without me/us?", "How will the school understand his tantrums like we do?", "I will really miss the children and their parents too" These children have been part of our eveyday lives for up to 4 yrs, most every bit about them is familiar to us, and it's hard to let go. I remember one particular member of staff who was so morose (spl?) as we entered the second half of the summer term, she would over cuddle the children, saying to them how much she was going to miss them, looking to the children to comfort her own needs of 'seperation loss'. It came to a very delicate discussion with her about me recognising her feelings but also reminding her of how she was affecting the children and how she needed to be 'more professional, and yes, detached' for the childrens sake (and hers) I would find the act of getting the end of year transition reports done as a way of looking back and celebrating the achievements of the children and just as importantly the achievements of the staff in 'doing a good job'. I reminded the staff that their job was well done because as well as 'academically' they had, and continued to need to, helped the children to develop and be able to deal with transitions and change, by mainly PSE support and empowerment, raising confidence and self esteem of the children throughout the time they had been with us. We talked daily about not being 'sad' that the children were going, but proud that we had such a good bunch of leavers. Chill out, have fun, hope the sunshines, and yes, ENJOY and be PROUD. Peggy p.s. Thanks for the 'warm' memories this post has provoked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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