Behaviour Management In Reception

[Guest]

Hello All,

 

I have decided to introduce a 'happy sun' and a 'sad cloud' to my reception classroom.

 

This is really for the benefit of just a few select children who are proving to be very challenging.

 

The system goes:

All children have a picture of their face on the sun.

If they refuse to do something or are rude etc they go on the sad cloud. They immediately have an opportunity to be removed from it by doing what was asked of them/ redeeming their behaviour.

If they choose not to or are put on the cloud twice on one day they will be sent to the other reception teacher.

 

I am just a little concerned as after only just introducing it this afternoon I have already had some negative feedback from a Mum (you all know the type!!!) who said her daughter was worried about the cloud.

 

What are your views on the subject?

 

The other children seem unphased by it but aware that they do not want to be on it which was the aim!

 

I just feel if I cannot deal with/prevent the negative behaviour initially in my classroom and have to immediately start resorting to headteacher visits etc then no one is benefitting!

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Guest]

Hi we use the same system in our reception class. It's just a system like dots next to names, happy and sad sides. there has to be consequences and rewards and children and parents must accept this. If you didn't have a cloud but just had dots or sad faces then the child would be worried about that too! we have to have some systems in place.

 

All of our children start on the sun and move to the cloud and then the rain cloud if behaviour continues, or they move to the rainbow or the pot of gold. children can move from the cloud and rain cloud back to the sun. I send a small photo of the chart home in our news letter so that parents can talk about it.

 

If they get on the rainbow they take home a happy card and if they get to the pot of gold they take home a gold card and choose s 'prize' from the treasure chest. If they end up on the clouds regularly then a letter will be sent home!

 

The children love it and strive to get to the pot of gold.

 

good luck with it

 

Hello All,

 

I have decided to introduce a 'happy sun' and a 'sad cloud' to my reception classroom.

 

This is really for the benefit of just a few select children who are proving to be very challenging.

 

The system goes:

All children have a picture of their face on the sun.

If they refuse to do something or are rude etc they go on the sad cloud. They immediately have an opportunity to be removed from it by doing what was asked of them/ redeeming their behaviour.

If they choose not to or are put on the cloud twice on one day they will be sent to the other reception teacher.

 

I am just a little concerned as after only just introducing it this afternoon I have already had some negative feedback from a Mum (you all know the type!!!) who said her daughter was worried about the cloud.

 

What are your views on the subject?

 

The other children seem unphased by it but aware that they do not want to be on it which was the aim!

 

I just feel if I cannot deal with/prevent the negative behaviour initially in my classroom and have to immediately start resorting to headteacher visits etc then no one is benefitting!

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Guest]

Hi we use the same system in our reception class. It's just a system like dots next to names, happy and sad sides. there has to be consequences and rewards and children and parents must accept this. If you didn't have a cloud but just had dots or sad faces then the child would be worried about that too! we have to have some systems in place.

 

All of our children start on the sun and move to the cloud and then the rain cloud if behaviour continues, or they move to the rainbow or the pot of gold. children can move from the cloud and rain cloud back to the sun. I send a small photo of the chart home in our news letter so that parents can talk about it.

 

If they get on the rainbow they take home a happy card and if they get to the pot of gold they take home a gold card and choose s 'prize' from the treasure chest. If they end up on the clouds regularly then a letter will be sent home!

 

The children love it and strive to get to the pot of gold.

 

good luck with it

[Guest]

I'vs used a very similar system to this in the past and it worked really well

[Scarlettangel]

A parent who does not recognise the need for some sort of behaviour management can make you feel unsure about your own decisions!

 

Every class will have something they use and I think that the system you describe sounds fair and easy for the children to get out of Sad cloud!

 

I do like the added rainbow and pot of gold idea though!

 

Good luck. Stick to your guns if you feel it is right for you and your children!

[catma]

However......whilst I agree with systems etc I do think we have to look at the behaviours and consider how we are judging "bad" behaviour. It is all too easy for a child (especially boys) to become labelled as "naughty" at this early stage and believe me, it will stick, often for their whole school career.

 

Adults need to examone why a child is "refusing to obey" first. Do they fully understand the language you have used (sit nicely for example is a particular irritation - who's to know what "nicely" means to a 4 year old.). is your request realistic given the capapbilities and develeopment of the child. At this stage refusal to write can be common as children are uncertain and maybe think they can't write because they know what writing is and they don't do that yet....it's easier to say no than be shown to be incapable. I myself can recall refusing to draw a picture of the three bears (and this is wellover 40 years ago so you can see the impact!!!) because I thought it was too easy and boring a task.

 

 

Sending out for a 2nd offence is also a bit harsh for very young children and I don't believe you should use your big guns so soon. It will cause stress. They are just getting used to their new environment and to threaten to send them to someone they don't know won't change behaviours.

Instant sanctions within your space are far more effective - a short time out on the carpet, having to sit beside the adult quietly for a few minutes, talking to a parent at home time....they make your point to the child quite easily. in fact it's parental engagement which is the most effective tool in the bag when it comes to behaviours.

 

I also think there needs to be monitoring of what constitutes good behaviour - is it always the same children on that sunny side for just following instructions and rules. What is really a good thing that stands out above just doing what you should.....otherwise you debase that currency too.

 

Just a few thoughts!

 

cx

[Guest LornaW]

However......whilst I agree with systems etc I do think we have to look at the behaviours and consider how we are judging "bad" behaviour. It is all too easy for a child (especially boys) to become labelled as "naughty" at this early stage and believe me, it will stick, often for their whole school career.

 

Adults need to examone why a child is "refusing to obey" first. Do they fully understand the language you have used (sit nicely for example is a particular irritation - who's to know what "nicely" means to a 4 year old.). is your request realistic given the capapbilities and develeopment of the child. At this stage refusal to write can be common as children are uncertain and maybe think they can't write because they know what writing is and they don't do that yet....it's easier to say no than be shown to be incapable. I myself can recall refusing to draw a picture of the three bears (and this is wellover 40 years ago so you can see the impact!!!) because I thought it was too easy and boring a task.

 

 

Sending out for a 2nd offence is also a bit harsh for very young children and I don't believe you should use your big guns so soon. It will cause stress. They are just getting used to their new environment and to threaten to send them to someone they don't know won't change behaviours.

Instant sanctions within your space are far more effective - a short time out on the carpet, having to sit beside the adult quietly for a few minutes, talking to a parent at home time....they make your point to the child quite easily. in fact it's parental engagement which is the most effective tool in the bag when it comes to behaviours.

 

I also think there needs to be monitoring of what constitutes good behaviour - is it always the same children on that sunny side for just following instructions and rules. What is really a good thing that stands out above just doing what you should.....otherwise you debase that currency too.

 

Just a few thoughts!

 

cx

 

 

I could'nt agree more Catma and as usual you give such very sound advice.

 

I have used the cloud system in the past but after attending some training on Conflict Resolution completely changed my attitude.

 

http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=284

 

Just exactly what is naughty and do the children know that? As we all know 4 year old boys have a boost of testosterone as they come into reception but we are asking them to sit, listen, play OUR games. When they need to run, shout, invent , discuss, role play their super heros and because it doesn't fit in with OUR timetable we then label them as naughty.

 

To have to wait for the punishment is the worst thing. Discuss with them why you do not like the type of behaviour and ask them to moidify it and if they are unable to do so then there will be consequeses to their actions. So very often young children are not awasre that their behaviour is upsetting / hurting others!

 

 

Lorna

[Inge]

teacher Tom.. I will not obey

 

worth thinking about

 

and I do feel if a child is worried enough to tell mum about it , it is worth thinking about why? If parent is concerned enough to ask and raise the question why they deserve an explanation and reason behind the thinking so they can understand and help the child...others may be thinking the same but not willing to question about it... they have to deal with any reaction to things in school at home..

[Guest]

Thanks for all your inputs.

 

I am not expecting perfect behaviour from the children of course and I completely understand about boys need to be boys, in fact I actively encourage it.

 

It is more for certain children who have developed some contrary habits e.g. not wanting to wear their jumper and instead of putting it on their peg when asked will chuck it accross the classroom and scream that they won't do it and become very aggressive. I can't allow one set of behaviour for certain children and a different for others.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[finleysmaid]

if i could play devils advocate for a moment....

was there a very good reason for him to put his jumper on?

and this sounds like a bit of a cry for attention...which unfortunately the sun/cloud system would play up to....i think i would have quietly picked up the jumper (and kept it with me) and left him to it while i carried on with something exciting with the other children....he could always apologise afterwards when you have explained your expectations and without anyone else in ear shot. The other children will not follow his example in my experience because they had already complied with your wishes.

I have a lot of children with sen in our group who may not understand the 'rules' and the main group understand what is right and wrong they dont follow the unwanted behaviours from children who are non compliant.

P.s. my oldest would have been the child who worried about the sun/cloud system and would fret about it all day so disrupting her learning....so i would have been that annoying mother on your doorstep!

just my point of view

[Guest]

I wasnt actually trying to make him wear his jumper, just to take it, put it round his waist/in his book bag as it was time to go home. This is just one example, I find it so difficult as he just doesnt want to do anything - have to sit next to a girl, have to sit with the class basically anything that isnt playing with lego! I spoke to his mum to find out what he really likes to play with at home as I much prefer to work through reinforcement and wanted to really engage him! And several other pupils...

 

Do you have any advice on how best to cope with this if the cloud may not work? I'm an NQT so this is a big learning curve for me!

 

Thanks again!

[clairew28]

I have come from a difficult school and we had a behaviour support team come into our school and introduce the cloud system as it is what they use and I must say it worked very well. We had a sun, grey cloud and black cloud (black cloud resulting in 5mins time out in a quiet place). I felt it was good as a clear visual reminder for children and all of mine got a sticker on their reward charts for staying on the sun for the day. We had some challenging children and in time they came round to the idea of wanting to stay on the sun but it was not easy and you need to be clear in yourself and feel good about what you are doing. A lot of it came down to the relationship they build with the teacher and wanting to please however their are some exceptions!!

I feel you should try it and see how it goes, it might work but then it might not, especially as an NQT you need to try things out and test them. At my current school we use a traffic light system which again is proving to work well.

I also had a parent who came to me saying their child was worried about moving - they would never need to worry about moving off the sun as were very well behaved but it scared her so I talked to her about it and she was fine.

I do love the idea of the rainbow and the gold pot as often it is those children who are 'good' that get missed.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes

 

x

[sunnyday]

Adults need to examone why a child is "refusing to obey" first. Do they fully understand the language you have used (sit nicely for example is a particular irritation - who's to know what "nicely" means to a 4 year old.).

 

My granddaughter is Y1.......I asked her about her week at school - she said with real pride "I got a housepoint for doing good work"....the her face fell as she said "but then I lost it straight away because Dylan wasn't sitting nicely"........I didn't make much of a comment to her as I have no wish to 'undermine' her teacher.....but seemed very unfair to me - if it was her poor behaviour that would be fine by me - but she has been 'punished' just because 'Dylan' is in the same house as her

I'm not sure how that can give her any encouragement to try hard and produce her best work........

[Guest]

we have a similar system wth gold, green, amber and red circles with all the children beginning on green and it is the same throughout the school. If a child does something they shouldn't they are reminded of the expectations and why, if they repeat then they move to amber. If they repeat the same behaviour again, then they move to red, once on red if they do it again they are sent to the head teacher and parents are informed. Children are always allowed to redeem themselves and move back up the board and we try to do this quickly. The consequences of having their name moved are that they lose 5 minutes of their golden time. On a Friday afternoon they have 25 minutes of complete free choice (where normally during their child initiated they don't have complete free rein) and the children who lose their 5 minutes have to sit on the carpet with a sandtimer while everyone else plays. This system really works and it only takes one child to lose golden time for everyone to see the consequences.

We also have house points (have never ever taken one away) and marbles in the jar for smart sitting and good listening on the carpet as well as stickers.

 

This is the time of year where every last little routine needs to be explained and practiced by the children and broken down into tiny steps. Take your time in doing this it really does pay off. eg I send children a small group at a time to collect their hometime things and the rest of us watch to see how clever and grown up they are at getting their things and then we give them a clap. My children have been in for 2 weeks so far 1/2 days and we've done little more than routines so far.

 

I have a lego obsessed child at the moment who struggles to stop as he wants to continue until he's finished his model and I have given him a tray and a special place to put all the pieces he wants and the model in progress and he copes when it is time to stop because he knows he can continue his model the next day. You could engage him by getting him to take pictures of his model and then getting them printed off so that he could take them home (when he's collected his jumper?!)

 

Introducing a visual timetable for the class would be useful to help children to know what's happening when.

 

School can be a very big shock to the system when you are 4 especially if you've not had many boundries at home and Lego being the familiar thing could be helping him feel secure. I would say allow him to play with lego for now- you can teach so much through this interest.

 

Deb

Edited September 17, 2011 by busybeedeb

[Guest]

Hi,

Behaviour is a tricky business! I have come from year 5 where the children totally understood what my posture/facial expression meant and would behave according to seeing these. Now I am working with reception where I have quickly realised that this doesn't work with some children as they don't understand even my frowning. I work from our school behaviour policy which is a warning system involving writing name on the board and using ticks. But way before we do that we 'praise around the behaviour' e.g. saying to all the others "Well done for those children who have got their jumper" etc etc. Giving stickers things like that. Then explain WHY the child needs to obey... e.g. "If you don't take your jumper you won't have one, it may get lost" etc. That works. Other than that ignoring is a great tip, especially with some attention seeking behaviour. Use thank you instead of please at the end of commands then the child is being expected to obey. I read 'getting the buggers to behave' in my NQT year. I know that some people don't like the title but there were some good ideas, things that have worked for me. I hope that I am not teaching my grandma to suck eggs here, I just know it can be hard in your first year to see the wood for the trees! Good luck and most importantly keep positive. Lots of commands followed by 'good boy/girl' works wonders, the child feels happy. Be praise specific as well, this was something behaviour specialists told me. Often we just say 'Well done' and don't say what they have done.

xxx

Edited September 18, 2011 by Guest

[Guest MissJewell]

Hi,

 

I have a similar system in my classroom. We have a reward rocket number from 1 to 10, it's very large so that the children can always see it. The children all have a photo of their face which is laminated and has velcro on the back. When they do something good (i.e. helpful around the classroom, kind to a friend, good effort in their work) they are told to move up the rocket. If they do something unkind or hurtful then they are told to move down the rocket. Once a child reaches number 10 they get a 'medal' and a certifcate to take home.

 

I find it works really well, the children get very excited about moving up the rocket and therefore and encouraged to work well and be helpful and kind. When they see their friends move up they often congratualte them and then try to imitate whatever behaviours have caused the upwards move. It is also very good for reinforcing number recognition as children are keen to discuss what numer they are on.

 

When children are moved down we talk about what they have done to be moved down, how this may make other children and the adults in the room feel, what they can do to move back up etc. There is a general feeling in the classroom that no one wants to be moved down and I very rarely have to take this step. Often just reminding children that they could go down if certain behaviours continue makes children reassess what it is they are doing.

 

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

the discussion is interesting - can identify with all the points of view raised.

 

I recognise that we are supporting children in identifying and practising 'appropriate' behaviours. A large part of what we do is helping children to know that different behaviours are appropriate in different contexts (this is a huge challenge), we are also helping children to recognise that ALL behaviours carry consequences, that they are responsible for the choices that they make.

 

This is huge, so I guess we need to ensure PSED learning is progressive and responsive to children's needs.

Just as in all teaching/learning just talking about is not enough - to make learning concrete we use visual cues.

 

For this reason, in my classroom (and in my school) we create a small set of class rules - these are the yard stick for behaviour in the class. They are displayed with photographs, rewards are carefully linked to them, children are encouraged to look for the positive behaviours we expect too.

Expectations are clear, and taught using stories, real-life contexts and creative activity.

 

We also use visual cues to help children consider the consequence for their behaviour - a smiling face, (where every child starts every day), a very smiley face, a super smiley face, a thinking face and a sad face.

The thinking face is the first step when a child does not keep our class rules. It gives the child time to consider the choice they made that was not appropriate and what they can do to ensure their name moves back up to the smiling face.

 

Most children are horrified to be moved to the thinking face - but at least their 'first mistake' does not carry the additional 'negativeness' of being a 'sad' face.

They also love the fact that everyone is allowed a fresh start to try again and can move back to the smiley face. It reinforces that behaviour is their choice.

[Guest Anje]

That sounds great-do you have a photo of it? Our yr 1 teacher already has the sunshine and cloud system and i would love to try somehing different!

Thanks Anje x

Hi,

 

I have a similar system in my classroom. We have a reward rocket number from 1 to 10, it's very large so that the children can always see it. The children all have a photo of their face which is laminated and has velcro on the back. When they do something good (i.e. helpful around the classroom, kind to a friend, good effort in their work) they are told to move up the rocket. If they do something unkind or hurtful then they are told to move down the rocket. Once a child reaches number 10 they get a 'medal' and a certifcate to take home.

 

I find it works really well, the children get very excited about moving up the rocket and therefore and encouraged to work well and be helpful and kind. When they see their friends move up they often congratualte them and then try to imitate whatever behaviours have caused the upwards move. It is also very good for reinforcing number recognition as children are keen to discuss what numer they are on.

 

When children are moved down we talk about what they have done to be moved down, how this may make other children and the adults in the room feel, what they can do to move back up etc. There is a general feeling in the classroom that no one wants to be moved down and I very rarely have to take this step. Often just reminding children that they could go down if certain behaviours continue makes children reassess what it is they are doing.

 

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

In my class, we have an 'achievement tree', to make sure every one's efforts are rewarded.

Basically, it's a big painted tree on a board. It starts bare at the beginning of the week.

For anything a child does that is positive, it gets written on a paper leaf shape - ie, 'James, for using beautiful manners' etc.

 

On a Friday afternoon, we have a celebration where we read out the leaves. For every leaf there is a sticker - children with the most get a small prize.

 

It ensures all positives are noticed, and those poor kids who always behave get the recognition they deserve. The kids love congratulating each other and now they will come up and suggest reasons why others should get a leaf!

 

Just an idea, but it has always worked for me, and parents love it, as they get to see what their kids have been up to.