HELP... Toddler classroom going crazy!?

Question

Hi. I am a toddler teacher of the two year old variety. Recently we have been having issues. The kids have been going off the wall. Running around, pushing eachother, ramming eachother into walls, and of course biting. There seems to be one child who is the instigator. The other children follow his high energy lead. I have attempted to change the enviorment, talked with the children about how to treat our friends. I had a break down last week and am at a loss as what to do.

Answer 1

I hear you too! This is especially bad when the boys to girls ratio is really high...

I make sure to praise, praise, praise things that I like to see. "It is SO nice how Hailey is sitting in her chair so quietly!" Things like that. Be very matter-of-fact with the not so good stuff "Our feet stay on the floor. Climbing a chair is not very safe."

Remember, they are kids! I know, I know, it is HARD sometimes, and they drive you crazy...but we have to remember we are the adults. I always keep this in mind...would I want someone doing this to my kid (neice, cousin, sister...)?

If all else fails, take them outside and chase them and tickle them. You will get worn out, but so will they...and their smiles and laughter will remind you what it really means to be a teacher.

Answer 2

I know how you feel. I am also a toddler teacher and there are 3 teachers in my classroom and there are times I feel the same way.

Structure is your best friend when it comes to helping the children settle down. It may seem like it is not working but if you stick with the structure then they will learn and it will get easier. I have finally started to see the results of my structure and it has been 3 months since I started.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Find lots of movement activities and use them when you see students attention wavering or when they get fidgety. Also when you have an activity or circle time planned use movements in the lesson. Find a way to keep the kids moving and getting the energy out in a positive way. Some examples of this is to do freeze dance, have an animal parade where the act and sound like animals, do fingerplay songs, or just have them play simon says where they get to jump and do large movements.

When there is one child that is acting up, have them become your new teachers assistant. I started this with my child that is the leader, and he wants the attention and this is a positive way for them to get this attention. I have seen that a good number of these students are looking for attention, and see if you can find a way to turn their attention seeking into a positive. Each child is different.

Talk with your director/owner/boss. Let them know what you are going through and see if you can get help from them. See if you can get a support system for yourself.

I hope that things get better for you!!! Take care of yourself first. Wishing you the best in what you do.

Answer 3

Try rewarding the students that are showing the desired behavior.  I'm not saying that it is okay to isolate a child away from the others, but some times that child just needs to talked to and showed the consequences for his behavior.  So when it is play time have the child that cause the disruption to sit beside you while the others are having free play.  Then tell him that if he wants to play like the others he will have to learn to behave in class.

Answer 4

I hear ya! I, too, am a teacher in a toddler classroom. It's rough. First, refresh your memory on the developmental stage of a 2 yr old. They need a sense of autonomy -- "I can do this." And more importantly "I can do this myself." Because of this, activities and learning are going to be mostly child-centered. And because of their attention spans, centers for learning are going to happen in small intervals (10-15mins).

Positive reinforcement is key. The more negativity and use of the word "no" the more out of control things will get.

Maybe you should begin a behavior chart. Make a "stop sign" with clothespins or some character with their name on it. Everyday starts with their name on green (Making good choices). If a poor choice is made they have to move their name to yellow (making some good/poor choices). And maybe this is accompanied by 2 mins on the time out rug/line/chair. Next time they make a poor choice their name moves to red (making poor choices). (These colors can also be accompanied by a happy face, straight line face, and sad face). Moving to red also results in sitting in time out or possibly being removed from the classroom depending on the poor choice that was made (sitting with the director or even sitting in the time out in the next younger class). You can even involve the parents, putting - of course - a positive spin on this behavior management and explain the consequences and actions so they understand. There also needs to be a reward for remaining on green the whole day (or even starting with the half day). It has to be something simple, yet fun for the kids to recieve - and it depends on  your kids interests. Candy, stickers, stamps, happy face on their daily report... whatever works for them. You have to stick to your guns on this one. And you'll have to do a lot of explaining and reminding for the first month or so. (I'm confident your teaching skills can lead you to a logical explanation to your students of how and why this is going on... )

Another, or even additional, idea is to have a sticker chart that rewards good behavior. And EVERYONE has to get a sticker for the first week or so, or the trouble makers will have no interest in this thing they can never achieve. So have an assorment of stickers in your pocket and be ready to hand them out for anything positive: playing nice with friends, using words with friends, cleaning up, sitting quiet at circle, helping out a friend, anything. They will all want to get a sticker as long as they all see that they are capable of getting one. Remember:autonomy.

I've rambled on...

Stay positive. Do you have assistants? (I hope so!) Talk to them and get ideas. Tell them your ideas. Remain positive, I know it's hard sometimes. Remember what it's like to have fun with the kids... if you can remove the stress you will find yourself and the kids having more fun.

Good luck. Hope that sparked some ideas. Let me know if you want help brainstorming more!

Answer 5

SEPARATE ARGUEMENTS. PLAY WITH THE KIDS TO KEEP THEM BUSY

Answer 6

It may sound a bit strange, but deal with them just as you would with a puppy that misbehaves. Reasoning with them's no good, nor is getting angry or sad. Use distractions when they start to play up, find plenty of rewards they really want, use time outs (You'd never believe how well this worked with my dog either). When the situation is minor, sympathise with the victim, and ignore the instigator until they calm down,and then put it behind you and start again. On the other hand, never, ever give in to even minor bad behaviours, or you have lost. Try to get backup if you're finding it hard, and remember it's nobody's "fault", it's just your responsibility to deal with it. I feel a lot of sympathy with your position, but without insulting you, it might be worth remembering that teaching older kids can be as hard or harder. I missed a lot of schooling, but in the three years of secondary education I had our class alone drove FOUR teachers out. They cried, had breakdowns or left. You can win, but you have to be strong, and remember, even if you feel you can't cope, never show them you feel that way. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Use classical music, a soft voice, aromas (like tangerine, vanilla, or spruce), and routine and structure everyday.  I am sure you have contacted the parents of those who are disruptive.  Since that might not have helped, provide the class the opportunity to dance and move in a structured manner.  Use songs that they can dance to everyday that have body movements.  Give them arts and crafts to do as a reqrd for good behavior.  Keep their entire bodies involved in lessons as much as possible.  If it is nothing more than taking turns playing follow the leader and do what I do, it will keep them focused on the learning and not on each other.  Make sure that consequences are immediate and fair and visible to all students so they know what will happen if they get out of line.  Start working with those who will fall in line first.  Give out stickers as rewards and brag about them when their parents arrive.  The others will want the same acknowledgement and in time your class will settle down.  Be prepared with lots of structured activities each day.  AND never let them see you sweat!!!! smile

These website will give you additional ideas.

Answer 8

Make sure you have a set routine and you NEVER waver from it.  In the mornings we usually have exercise and dancing, this helps them get a little energy out.  When you're doing circle or group time and you see kids getting antsy say "It's wiggle time!" and stand up and start wiggling.  Kids will have a fun way to get the ants in the pants out!  Also, when you see this certain kid do something good, praise him (as with all the others), or when there's a certain time he starts acting up pre empt his behavior by asking him to help you with something (like passing out napkins at lunch) pretty soon he'll see that his good behavior gets him more rewards and attention than his bad.  If he does bite, tell him it's not nice, walk him over to sit by himself, and walk directly back and give the bitten child love and attention.  He'll get the idea!

Answer 9

one thing you have to understand is that they are in the age bracket of such behavior.i think what to do at such time will be to keep them busy with learning tip[ songs,poems ] they like.then after the session you try to reachout to the parent of that child that is stimulating other.

Answer 10

At circle time share a book, made by you, of things that are appropriate to bite and things we never put in our mouth.  Have a picture of your group of children on the last page.  We don't bite our friends.  I offer the children something appropriate to bite because they do need to chew.  Some offer pacifiers, others make bracelets from yarn and aquarium tubing, and still there are varieties sold on eBay.  They are cutting teeth and I'm sure their gums itch!  Karen Katz has a series of books designed like the one I describe.  No Biting, No Hitting... the books offer alternatives to behaviors like spitting, it's ok to spit... toothpaste in the sink.  Keep reminding the children of the correct behavior, over and over.  Toddlers are acquiring self autonomy, control of some of their behaviors, where they have had no control, I like to think of it as limit-learning.  They aren't trying to torture you although after 9 grueling hours it seems that way!  They are learning social rules.  Use this as a challenge to teach them to become good citizens, give them good example to live by, smile at them often, even when you feel like the Grinch.  And most of all have fun, because if its not fun for you, it's not going to be fun for anyone!  I would talk with the parents of the "leader".  Are there issues at home causing this behavior? This behavior is getting attention and that is why it continues.

Answer 11

Try rewarding the students that are showing the desired behavior.

Answer 12

See if you can get a couple of the fathers to sit in on the class every now and then.  That way, when one needs a time-out, he'll have a stern-looking masculine figure keeping an eye on him.

Answer 13

This is a hard thing to do, but you can't let the other kids see that they will get attention for doing something bad. Pay more attention to the victim child, and explain to the guilty child that his behavior is not ok, tell them to look at the face of the child that they wronged and point out that that person is now sad. Ask the victim child if they are ok and make sure that they really are. If there is repeated behavior (like your instigator) remove him from the group. Tell them "If I see you do that again I'm sending you to help cleanup/ sit at that table/whatever" Sometimes children act out when they have no other way of expressing themselves, so you need to work to figure out why you think they did what they did and help give them the words to express themselves. Example: "Billy, I see that you want the toy that Clara has, but it is not ok to bite her. You need to ask Clara if you can have a turn with the toy." if the child has difficulty speaking maybe say to Clara "Clara, when you are done with this toy may Billy have a turn? You can play with it for two more minutes and then it is Billy's turn." Another example "Todd, I see that you don't like it when Emily pushes you, but that doesn't mean it's ok to pull her hair. Next time she pushes you, you need to say 'Stop! Don't push me!' but it is never ok to hurt her body"

Hopefully this will help. I work with toddlers as well, and it can be challenging. Good luck, and don't give up!