Newbie Room Leader seeking help how to manage the room

[kclaire]

Hello fellow members,

I know that there have already been a lot of posts regarding new graduates taking in Room Leader roles and seeking advice. I am one of them but I would like to tweek the story a bit. So here it goes... I finished my Diploma last year and I have now gotten the chance to find a full time role as a Room Leader. I am managing a 2-3 year old room and as we all know this age group has their own challenges and difficulties.

Majority of the children have been in that room for a year or so. Some of them even started as a baby in the centre and just moved up. However after 3 weeks of spending time with them, I find that their behaviour might not have been managed in a positive way. They do not respond with a gentle voice and would even laugh off when they see you getting really upset. I have been really working hard to manage the room but apparently I do not think anything is working. The other staff working with me has been in the centre long enough and she says that the 2-3 room has always been difficult. Apparently, no staff has lasted in that room for more than a year. Some of those who stayed there have asked to be moved to another room while others just left the centre altogether.

I have been asked to come up with activities that would really engage them and I have came up with some but I still feel like they are not enough. Group time is mostly a struggle as well because when one child acts up, I either need to get his attention back which will disrupt the whole group time or another staff will get him to sit and listen.

I really do not want to be all negative with this new role and the centre especially that the Director has been really supportive. Any suggestions on what I can do?

Thank you all!

[Lorina]

Hi Claire,

Welcome to Aussie Childcare Network!

First off, the toddler room (2 - 3 years olds), in my opinion ids one of the hardest rooms to run. I spent almost 2 years as a room leader in the toddler room and you're in for a fast, action roller coaster ride! As you have probably experienced there is not a chance to yourself when you step through that door!
Even though, the children are just beautiful and melt your heart. You form such a strong bond with each and everyone of them they are just too cute to resist!

Alright back to your questions... toddlers will be toddlers they are defiant and independent and sometimes drive you crazy. They don't mean to be this way it is all part of their development however it's your responsibility to guide them. Saying No, Don't, Stop over and over doesn't help and how many times can you say it as well as the children listening to it. You need to set up some clear easy to follow guidelines that the children understand so they know what is expected of them. It's a great idea to have a class discussion about this at group time. The older ones will be able to participate and the younger ones observe. For example "Sophie I liked the way you packed away the blocks when you finished, that lets us know that someone else can play what else do we do that helps out our friends in the room" then you can talk about putting books on shelves, walking inside, etc. You could also act it out. For example: if one of the behaviours was throwing toys on the floor, you can start playing with the toys then after a few seconds start throwing them everywhere and walk but to the group and say something like "is is safe to throw toys on the floor, why, what will happen" etc. Conversations like these will be grasped by the older toddlers and once they know what is acceptable and what is not then you will see an improvement. You could also make colour rules. Choose 5 rules one for each colour, display them on the floor on shelf for children to see along with a photo. These should be discussed regularly. For example :red rule - walking feet inside, blue - pack away toys etc. Children will begin to remind each other. Re-directing their behaviour is also helpful and it just quickly diffuses the situation and just move onto the next. I have written an article in our Wiki, in Childcare about Behaviour which may help. It will give you strategies on different techniques to try. I have also recently written an article on group time which provides information on what to do during group time, hints and tips etc. (also available in our Wiki, in Childcare).

Behaviour Management In Childcare
Group Time With Children

Hopefully this gives you a few starting points,

Let me know how it goes,

,
L.A

[law92]

Hi sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time in your new role. Believe it it not you can turn the behaviour of these children around, but you will need the other staff to be on your side and consistent as well.

First of all, never show the children that you get upset with their behaviour. You are in charge you are the adult and they need to listen to you. You need to feel authoritative and in control and not like the children are running the room. Always remain calm at all times no matter what. You need to establish clear expectations for behaviour, otherwise known as class rules, and communicate this to the children regularly, which means several times a day if needed. You should have a group session to initially establish these rules then consistently implement them. Do not get discouraged - it will take a long time for their behaviour to change but just persevere and it will happen.

Also, you need to teach the children how to behave, rather than just expecting them to behave. This means always role modelling the behaviour you expect them to exhibit themselves and explaining to them why their behaviour is inappropriate if they misbehave.

You also need to establish logical consequences for inappropriate behaviour.

As for planning activities, you need to plan activities that incorporate the children's interests. One main rule if teaching is that pedagogy and relevant engaging curriculum go hand in hand. If the children are bored, or if the transitions during the day are boring and lengthy, they will misbehave. Remember, children this young have short attention spans, so try and keep group time engaging, interesting and short in duration. Have you thought of doing finger plays? Children this age love finger plays and keeps their interest during story time. As for the child that misbehaves during group time, don't interrupt the lesson to correct his behaviour - it will only draw unwanted attention to this behaviour and the other children wi often follow suit. Instead, get the child to help you - ask him/her to stand beside you and help you with story time for example, turning the page when you ask them to, etc.

A behaviour management strategy that I've seen works quite well in kindys is the positive thinking space. As soon as a child breaks a class rule, you need to explain that they have broken the rules and why, and that they need to go to the thinking space, where they think of what they did wrong, and what they should do next time. They need to pick their inappropriate behaviour they exhibited from the laminated illustrated chart from the Velcro wall, then the more appropriate behaviour from the other side of the chart. Then, the teacher goes to talk this over with the child once they've done this. Maybe you could use something like this and adapt it for your younger aged room.

I hope this has been of some help and good luck I hope things improve. I know behaviour management issues can be emotionally draining, but if you stick to these guidelines, eventually things will improve.

[kclaire]

Thank you so much ladies for taking time to post replies. I have been working for seven weeks now and though I have seen little improvements, I feel that I still have a long way to go. One of the things that frustrate me at the moment is nappy change time. Unfortunately, our centre is structured in a way that the nappy change room is in another room. So gathering the children that will have nappy change is a struggle because as you ask one to go and sit on a mat where they will wait for the rest, the one that has been is long been gone. Same with gathering them after outside play. They cant just sit still and wait for five minutes until the educators have been able to help everyone to put their shoes on. I do understand that these are all part of their development but I am now running out of strategies to manage this. I have tried singing but towards the end of the day singing and reading stories do not work any longer.

[Lorina]

No you can't get the children to sit quietly why you do nappies. Doesn't work at all!

Rather than taking all the nappy wearers at once can't you take 2 at a time. The other staff in the room can supervise why you are changing nappies. As you change 2 children at a time you can take them back to the room and get 2 more etc. It's easier to handle 2 rather than a whole bunch.

In regards to putting shoes on get one educator to help children put them on while the other educator gathers children. You can do it progressively, meaning rather than calling all the children at once call a few at a time to put their shoes on. When the children have put their shoes on they can move inside for an indoor game. Or if there are only 2 educators including yourself bring some books outside. So, as the children finish putting their shoes on give them a book to read while they wait.

At this age children shouldn't be waiting long or if they have to wait give them something to do (read a book, puzzle, draw) to keep them occupied...

,
L.A

[kclaire]

Thanks LA! Unfortunately, our room is always full on. 16-21 children with 2-3 educators everyday. It helps when there is a third person in the room but when there is only me and another staff that is when we struggle. If we only take two at a time that will leave the other staff with so many children. I am trying to discuss this with my director but I am hoping I could come up with some ideas before going to her. As for putting the shoes on, I really like the idea of getting out some books. I will try that with my class straight away!

Thank you so much for your help!

[Lorina]

While you're changing nappies, it's best for the other educator in the room to group the remaining children for an informal group time. Play music, dance, sing songs, read stories, play games (parachute, throw balls into a basket etc.), use finger puppets, felt board stories etc. Basically anything to keep the children engaged. You can even plan this within your program as intentional teaching. This way the children can easily be supervised and controlled during nappy changes...

,
L.A