5. Spilled Yakult
Most of my pupils love drinking Yakult just like almost all children (and even adults, like my older brother) do. Hence, most of them have a bottle of Yakult during Snack Time. During our first few weeks, my co-teacher and I usually opened the wrappers of the children’s biscuits or bread and punched their packed juice with a straw right after we finished praying for the food. As for a Yakult bottle, we usually removed the entire foil lid. At first, the sight of Yakult was ordinary to me. But after a series of events, it became dreadful for me. Almost everyday, at least one child spills a bottle of Yakult on the table and down to the floor. Then, he/she steps on it. And then a classmate steps on it and then walks around the classroom and then steps on the rubber mats. Some children even drink while walking or running! And there, there is sticky feel all over the classroom! Mind you, the sticky-ness cannot be wiped off easily. A wet cloth is not enough. And even if you wipe it off several times, the presence of sticky-ness is still there. A disaster, indeed. Because of this, we have decided not to remove the Yakult’s lid until the child is ready to drink it. I love Yakult. But I hate Yakult spills. I would love it more if straws are included in the package.
4. Scattered toys
Two-year-old children are at a stage in which they are still discovering a lot about themselves and what they could do and about their surroundings as well. They love to hear sounds, look at pictures, touch and manipulate objects around them. That is why my pupils love to scatter the toys in our classroom. They love throwing toys and hear the sound when a toy hits the wall. They love mixing different toys together until it becomes difficult for us, teachers, to sort them. Believe me, seeing scattered toys is a disaster. And in our classroom, toys are not just scattered… They are also flying!
3. Iron hands
When decorating a classroom for toddlers, you must think of ways how to protect the decorations from iron hands. You must do careful planning and imagination. Way back June, we decorated our classroom by sticking Styrofoam cut-outs on the wall. They were grasses and flowers. You now know what happened. As early as the first day of classes, they were all removed! We immediately witnessed the iron hands of our cute, little, cuddly pupils! Two-year-old children love to explore the things around them and to discover what happens when they do something. Hence, when they remove decorations, they do not really mean to destroy. They are just curious. That is why when decorating a classroom for toddlers, do not expect decorations to last long. You really have to replenish once in a while. Upon learning the toddlers’ ability to remove decorations, we have devised ways how to somehow prolong the presence of our decorations.
1. Always use plastic covers.
2. Always use thick packaging tapes and make sure the children won’t easily find edges.
3. Lessen decorations if they do not have a purpose. Decorations should also be “educational.”
2. Storytelling Time Stampede
We have chairs in the classroom but we choose to sit on the matted floor during Meeting Time, Circle Time, and Storytelling Time. It’s because I thinks it’s more intimate, comfortable, and age-appropriate. However, a lot of times I have considered to start using chairs because a stampede always happens during Storytelling Time or anytime that I present to the children something that really catches their interest. That’s a disaster because some children get hurt because a classmate pushes in just to have a close look on the interesting thing. “Hindi ko makita!” That is what most of them exclaim. When that happens, I have to stop talking, to remind them to sit properly and not to push each other. Just when I am about to start, another child pushes in. What a disaster! However, that proves that I catch their attention and interest. And children learn when they are interested.
1. Bites and scratches
Don’t get me wrong. There are no mosquitoes or cats inside our classroom. There are toddlers. And yes, biting, scratching, and hitting happen inside a classroom of toddlers. This is the most dreadful disaster that could happen in our classroom for two reasons. One, I’m concerned about the children. Two, their parents are REALLY concerned about THEIR children. I experienced a week with these incidences happening everyday! Can you imagine how hard it was for me to explain to the parents of the involved children what happened? I, myself, cannot imagine how I survived those days. The best thing I could do was to pray.
Why do children bite?
Biting becomes apparent between one and three years of age. A child may bite in order to test his or her power or to get attention (AACAP, 2010). Based on my observation in our classroom, children may also bite to get what they want. Biting usually happens among my pupils when a child wants to get another child’s toy. Children also bite when they get annoyed and angry.
Here are some tips from American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) on what to do when biting happens in the classroom:
- Say "no", immediately, in a calm but firm and disapproving tone.
- For a toddler (1-2 years), firmly hold the child, or put the child down.
- For a young child (2-3 years) say, "biting is not okay because it hurts people."
- Do NOT bite a child to show how biting feels. This teaches the child aggressive behavior.
- If biting persists, try a negative consequence. For example, do not hold or play with a child for five minutes after he or she bites.
Why do children hit or scratch?
Again, the primary reason is most likely a fight over toys. Based on what I observe among my pupils, two-year-old children find sharing difficult to do. And that’s just normal because they have only been in this world a short while.
These what-to-do tips from AACAP may be helpful when hitting or scratching happens inside the classroom:
- It is more effective to intervene before a child starts hitting. For example, intervene as soon as you see the child is very frustrated or getting upset.
- When young children fight a lot, supervise them more closely.
- If a child hits another child, immediately separate the children. Then try to comfort and attend to the other child.
- For a toddler (1-2 years) say, "No hitting. Hitting hurts."
- For a young child (2-3 years) say, "I know you are angry, but don't hit. Hitting hurts." This begins to teach empathy to your child.
- Do NOT hit a child if he or she is hitting others. This teaches the child to use aggressive behavior.
- Parents should not ignore or down play fighting between siblings.
These incidences are really inevitable inside a classroom of toddlers. But the famous quote may be applicable. Prevention is better than cure. Preschool teachers should really be very observant and alert.
Some of my cute, cuddly pupils :)
Source:
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2010). Facts for Families. Retrieved on November 30, 2011 from http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/fighting_and_biting
No comments:
Post a Comment