Posted on

Using Music to Address Challenging Behaviors

Whether in the classroom or at home, if there are children, there are likely to be challenging behaviors.  That’s because kids will be kids, and we all have our moments.  While there are many appropriate ways to address challenging behaviors depending the child, the situation, and the need of the moment, we’d like to suggest a few creative ways to use music to respond to challenging behaviors.

  • A simple little children’s song, even one adapted for the moment, can ease the transition times in a child’s day.
  • Songs, rhymes, and rhythmic activities can become a part of a reassuring and predictable daily routine that will nearly eliminate feelings of frustration or uncertainty.
  • A song or rhyme like Dr. Becky Bailey’s “I Love You Rituals” can give a child an appropriate way to express himself.
  • Playing recorded music can set the tone for the day in the classroom, bring down the energy level, or even help ease a child into nap time or bed time.
  • Quieter songs and recordings will do wonders to calm and quiet busy little minds and bodies.
  • If a child is singing, he/she can’t be talking!
  • Singing, moving, or listening to music can help re-direct a child’s attention.
  • Moving to music not only wakes up the brain and primes it for learning, but moving to music also eliminates the wiggles.

So try it out.  See for yourself how a song in your head and a song in their hearts will work wonders, especially when it comes to addressing challenging behaviors!

Shared by Theresa Case whose award-winning Kindermusik program is located at Piano Central Studios in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina.

 

 

 

Posted on

Questions from the ESL classroom: Setting boundaries with puppets, instruments, and more.

Puppets can help to provide a cultural connection to the classroom while helping young children learn English.

Puppets are often used in the ESL classroom for young children. These playful characters are used to provide a cultural connection to the classroom, to enhance storytime, and to model conversational phrases. In addition, the puppet can speak exclusively in English, and the teacher can speak in the child’s first language to help facilitate class activities.

Even in the most playful classroom, behavior issues with puppets can arise. For one educator, a few students started a “hitting game” with the puppet during class time. Should this problem arise, an educator can use the opportunity to set appropriate boundaries with the puppet and all the classroom props – such as instruments – and redirect the behavior back to appropriate, playful classroom behavior.

We asked curriculum authors and Master Kindermusik Educator Carol Penney and Cindy Bousman to provide a few classroom behavior tips.

Here’s what they had to say:

When the puppet is first introduced to the class, it is important to set and state acceptable behaviors. Be clear and simple when these are stated. The same goes with instruments, books, visuals, and all other materials used in the class. When a teacher does this, it’s  helping the children build and develop respect for other people’s “things.”

1. Start all over with a brand new puppet. Even if it is a homemade sock puppet. Talk to the children as a class about how to treat and handle this new puppet. If a child starts to hit the new puppet, immediately withdraw the puppet and explain why, then go on to the next child. The child needs to understand hitting the puppet is an unacceptable behavior.

2. Let puppet stay at home for a while. The teacher can use his or her own hand as a puppet – opening and closing four fingers together and thumb. To make it interesting, put circle stickers on hand for eyes.

3. Speak up. Say, “I don’t want you to hit my doll. You can touch him gently and sing or say hello or you can choose not to.” Make clear what you expect and/or remove the temptation.

Want to know more? Read more about using puppets in the ABC English & Me classroom in “One Puppet, One Language.”