Christmas Sensory Bin Checklist

I try to add to our Christmas sensory bin each year. Frankly, they spend the majority of their time filling and dumping the rice. 

The 2s love the sensory exploration, 

and the 4 and ups get more into the dramatic play  and artistic aspect.

 I'm not indicating the type of material. While I love items that are real and wood, I'm not going to put real candy canes in a sensory bin rather than plastic or wood. I know what will happen. Gross. Wood has a heft to it that isn't always welcome. The children like the small plastic ornaments. They are cheap and come in a variety of sensory-rich textures and patterns. 

You can also get creative. Gingerbread salt dough can be cut thick and, when dried thoroughly, it can make some very sturdy little gingerbread men for the sensory table. You can find a picture of a decorated fireplace or Santa through Google, print out and Modge Podge to blocks you already have in use. The children's favorite funnel is the top of a 2 liter soda bottle cut off. Almost no cost for these types of items.

Keep in mind ages and stages. A sensory bin for under 3s is much different from one for over 4s. Choking hazards MUST be minimized for any child, regardless of age, that is still putting items into his/her mouth. Or, direct supervision at all times from an adult is required.

I store my sensory bin items in large, air-tight containers and re-use the items each year for a month. The investment in time and money is well spent. If you don't anticipate this type of long-term need, then use what you have available or invest in just a few items from your dollar store.

I use under-bed storage containers for my sensory bins. These are a good size for 2-4 and, with a tight squeeze, up to 6 children. We usually use them on the SANITIZED train table, since it has a nice lip edge to keep everything contained. 

The children also wash their hands prior to sensory bin use to keep materials clean and germs from spreading in this high-contact activity. Good sanitation is especially important as the cold and flu season hits around now, along with a lot of shopping and visiting of friends, family and parent work places. Never know what is lingering around during the holiday season. 

I have a small dustpan and hand sweep set from the dollar store that I can gather any stray filler with and, since the surface is sterilized, I can plop it back into the bin so there is little waste. 

Every item has a sensory component, but they are also intended for some other aspect as well.

I also try to add items that can be

• Sorted
• Paired
• Counted to 10 or 20
• Used with a magnet
• Stacked
• Inserted into something else
• Flowed through something else
• Manipulating light in some way
• Wrapped around something else
• Smelled

Not sure what they were counting earlier, but there was a heated debate as to whether there were 17 or 18. I asked them to simply recount together.

3yo exhibiting a vertical schema, lining up items in a row

On to the checklist...

Here are the categories I like to cover in each sensory bin with some options listed. Make it your own. Add as few or as many items, as simple or complex, as you desire or need for the children in you care. It can also be themed down to gingerbread people, Christmas trees, Santa, stars, etc. 

𞸆 Filler needs to be something they can scoop and pour [pick one]:

• Green, red or white rice
• Green, red or white rice sand
• Green or red colored macaroni
• Lentils
• White beans

*If your program is against using food items, then shredded paper, kinetic sand, or some other filler can be used. However, the viscosity and flow-ability of the items I listed, is much more conducive to the fine and gross motor activity I am mainly looking to obtain from this activity.

𞸆 Secondary filler something they can manipulate [pick one]:

• Batting for snow
• Styrofoam for snow
• Cotton balls for snow
• Tinsel
• Green and/or red shredded paper

Figures for dramatic play

𞸆 Santa

𞸆 Sleigh

𞸆 Elves

𞸆 Christmas house

𞸆 Reindeer

𞸆 Snowpeople

𞸆 Styrofoam balls & toothpicks to make snowpeople

𞸆 Christmas trees

𞸆 Mini nutcrackers

𞸆 Gingerbread people

𞸆 Carolers

Themed Other items for artistic manipulation

𞸆 Pinecones

𞸆 Christmas ornaments

𞸆 Garland

𞸆 Light string

𞸆 Bell

𞸆 Jingle bells

𞸆 Stars

𞸆 Snowflakes

𞸆 Candy canes

𞸆 Bows

𞸆 Mini wreaths

𞸆 Felt shapes to decorate trees and wreaths

𞸆 Mini stockings

𞸆 Small canvas "Santa" bags

𞸆 Small toys for bags and stockings

𞸆 Black stones for lumps of coal

𞸆 Block painted up as fireplace

𞸆 Poinsettia silk flowers

𞸆 Holly silk flowers

𞸆 Mini presents

𞸆 Mini snowman hats

𞸆 Green feather "Grinch fur"

𞸆 Mini drums

𞸆 Gingerbread house(s)

𞸆 Themed buttons like snowmen, gingerbread men, etc.

𞸆 Themed erasers

𞸆 Themed confetti

𞸆 Themed fabric pieces

𞸆 Cinnamon sticks

𞸆 Christmas cookie cutters

𞸆 Pretend Christmas cookies/candy

𞸆 Icicles

Non-themed Other:

Red, green, white, gold or silver:

𞸆 Pom poms and/or balls
𞸆 String or yarn
𞸆 Straw pieces
𞸆 Pipe cleaners
𞸆 Buttons, beads
𞸆 Fabric pieces
𞸆 Plastic gems
𞸆 Glass gems
𞸆 Feathers𞸆 Red or green craft sticks
𞸆 Red and green milk jug lids
𞸆 Silver juice lids as ornaments or cookie trays

We use the same box of accessory/manipulative items for every sensory bin. I may change out colors if I have them available, but in general, it is the same items out all the time.

Accessories:
𞸆 Tongs
𞸆 Scoops
𞸆 Measuring cups
𞸆 Funnels
𞸆 Tubes
𞸆 Mini rake
𞸆 Mini shovel
𞸆 Sifter
𞸆 Magnifying glass
𞸆 Magnet wand
𞸆 Buckets
𞸆 Cups/containers
𞸆 Small pitcher
𞸆 Egg cups
𞸆 Yogurt cups
𞸆 Kid chopsticks
𞸆 Kid tweezers
𞸆 Ruler
𞸆 Flashlight

Printable checklist:

Note that this post has been added to, so the printable checklist will NOT have absolutely every item included in this blog post. I hope to keep adding to this post list, so please feel free to offer your suggestions!

The small LED flashlight I attached to the bin with a retractable lanyard. We have other flashlights, but this one is specific to the sensory table. It is a huge hit.

Coloring rice for the sensory bin is really easy. It is:
1 Cup rice
1 Teaspoon vinegar
Food dye to the intensity of color you wish

Combine the vinegar and food dye, add that and rice to a plastic bag. Mix and coat the rice well. Spread out on cookie sheets to dry. On sunny days I do this outside in someplace protected from wildlife. It can be done just by letting air dry on paper towels, or it can be put in a 200 degree oven until dry. Check it every 15 minutes and stir to prevent clumping.  

My green rice was made many years ago and the color has faded a bit over time. All I would have to do to refresh it is to color it again. This green was done with regular grocery store liquid food dye, but for more intense colors and more variety, I use the Wilton gel colors. You just HAVE to make sure the coloring gets absorbed and thoroughly dried before the children use it when using the gel colors, as it could dye their hands and clothing otherwise.

Sensory bins are "play" with some AMAZING learning inherently built within the activity. It is developmentally appropriate for the under 8 age group, and enjoyed by any age.

Skills:

• Fine motor
• Gross motor
• Logic/reasoning
• Creativity
• Numeracy
• Cause/effect

Sensory bins can be as elaborate or as simple, as costly or as inexpensive, as your program requires. Yes, they can be a bit messy, but they are SO worth the time training the children in proper use, and the clean up required, to integrate them into your environment.

Follow Connie -'s board Sensory on Pinterest.

homeschool, teaching, parenting, special needs, holiday, math, language, manipulatives, Montessori, Reggio, Waldorf, loose parts, 

Discipline Through Observations

"Kind of a mess in here, isn't it gentlemen?"

Discipline literally means "to teach." It is not only learning to follow rules, which so many adults focus upon. It is also teaching children to CHOOSE to follow the rules, to choose to work with their community members to better situations, to choose to be responsible for their behavior and their actions, to choose to not follow friends who are making bad choices, and to have the internal motivation to make correct choices even when no one is looking. 

This is another low-key method to use in your discipline strategy, that greatly enhances the above aspects in children's behavior.

It again works best with clear and consistent rules and expectations. If a child knows exactly what is expected, then they also know exactly what is going wrong. 

The key aspect of this method is that it places the responsibility for knowing the rules and expectations, choosing to follow the rules and expectations, and correcting their behavior, ON THE CHILD. It is not a top-down demand for obedience, it is an observation that requires the child to own their behavior and make different/appropriate choices. 

It promotes internal motivation, self-reliance, resiliency, responsibility, autonomy, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, community...Yes, 3-4 year olds. 

Demands simply require compliance. Demands place the problem on your shoulders. Demands tell children to do things they should already be doing.

I use it in a 3-step process:

1. "Do I hear someone running inside? I hope not There is no running inside. Someone could get hurt and I don't like my friends to get hurt."

2. "Did I just hear someone running inside AGAIN? People who run inside will have to go into time out."

3. "[Mr. L] time out for running."

Examples:

"Did I hear someone spitting? [blowing raspberries] I hope not, there is no spitting. That's how people spread germs and children get sick. No one likes to be sick."

Mr. R: "[Mr. La], don't do that. It's nasty."

"I wish we could go outside, but the floor is all full of toys. We can't even safely get to the door. We have to take care of our responsibilities first. Responsible children don't leave messes on the floor for others to trip over and get hurt."

Mr. L: "[Mr. H] and I'll pick up the block area. You guys pick up the play area so we can go outside."

"We can't have story time until people take care of their responsibilities." [I circle my finger around the table area, where children have abandoned activities]

Mr. H: "I'll put mine away. [Mr. La] you need to put your activity away so we can have stories!

I have no problem rewarding and promoting compliance. I always offer high praise. The person who chooses to pick up will get the choice of story. The person who picks up others' messes will get a few chocolate chips. These random rewards just help to reinforce that good behavior, good choices, have their benefits.

We currently have a "Responsibilities First" agenda going on here and at home, so they hear that word repetitiously, and know what it means.

When you are not telling a specific child to do a specific thing, then the group as a whole has to decide who is responsible, what changes need to be made, and who will perform in what manner. 

There is an underlying request for action, and an underlying reward or threat of discipline for making their next behavior CHOICE. 

It is a choice. If it is not a choice, then I would make a clear demand: "Time to pick up. Let's get to it." "We're going outside. Pick up now." 

Choice of good behavior, teaches SO much more than demand, that I try to use this method as often as possible. It also tells me a lot about each child as to how they respond to these observations. 
Tags: child care, daycare, preschool, parenting, discipline, toddlers, preschoolers

Discipline with Discussions

This is a very calm and methodical method to use in discipline. It works if rules and expectations are clear and consistent, as they should be. Always.

What is a "discussion" and how does it impact discipline?

So just now I had a child complaining about another child taking a toy. Both boys are about to turn 4.

STEP 1 is a warning discussion: 

"[Mr. H], do we need to have a discussion about your behavior?"
Mr. H stands and looks at me, side-eyeing his activity, "No!"
"Do you know how you should be behaving and what you should be doing?"
"Yes!"
"Then I want to see that happening."
"Okay..."
Goes back to his activity.

Why it works:
When I talk to a child, I look them in they eye. They are expected to stand and look me in the eye, which takes them away, momentarily, from their activity. The rule here is that a child has possession of items as long as they are actively engaged with that item. Once they are not actively engaged with an item, then they lose possession and the item becomes available to others. So with this "discussion" I took him out of active play and made him concerned for his possession. It reminds him of what step 2 entails if he doesn't change his wayward path.

STEP 2 is a full-on discussion about his behavior 

At this point, we discuss what he did inappropriately, what he should have done instead, and how he plans to respond in a similar situation in the future. It ends with a warning of a time-out consequence if the behavior is repeated. This discussion takes place away from the other children and play areas, removing the child from active possession of any items. 

Why it works:

• It reiterates the rules and expectations in place.
• It tells the child what TO DO, and creates within them an appropriate plan of behavior.
• It makes them indirectly lose possession of their activity, just as a time-out would, without segregation and direct discipline.
• It is a second-step, higher-level consequence to their continued bad choices.
• It gives them a specific future consequence if the behavior is repeated, placing the choice in the child's realm of responsibility.

These guys spend a lot of time in toy jail. Bad dinos.

What a full-on discussion looks like:

Sometimes, as with Mr. L in the pic above, discussions take place because clarification of rules and expectations is necessary. 

Mr. L is also almost 4. Rule broken: Taking toys from your friends.

Me: "Why can't he play with that toy?"
"I don't want him to."
"Were you still playing with it?"
"No."
"So he could play with it?"
"I didn't want him to."
"Then what do you need to do if you want to keep a toy safe?"
"I don't know."
"You need to put them in a safe spot. Where are the safe spots"?"
"On the counter."
"Yes, or in your cubby or you can hand it to me and ask me to put it on the dresser. If you ASK me to put something there, then you can also ASK me to get it down when you are ready to play with it again." [It also acts as toy jail.]
"But I wanted [Mr. H] to have it."
"Then you walk it over to him, ask him if he wants to play with it, and hand it to him. Leaving it lying on the floor makes it okay for ANYONE to play with it, and it is no longer your decision who gets to do so."
"Okay."
"So, since the toy is causing problems, its going up for the rest of the day."
"Okay."
"Now, where are the safe spots to keep toys you want to keep for yourself?"
"Counter, my cubby, or give it to you."
"Yes."
"And if you want to give a toy to a friend, how would you do that?"
"Go give it to him."
"Yes, and if he doesn't want it, then you put it away in the play area."
"Okay."


I will re-visit this discussion later in the day and once again the next day to ensure understanding. If it is something that needs to be reinforced to the entire group, I will do so in a group setting.
Tags: parenting, child care, daycare, preschool, discipline, toddlers, preschoolers, 3 year old, 4 year old, rules, expectations

Teaching Twos - Science

Please remember that this is child-led learning through play and movement. No drills, worksheets, etc. I'm going to present them in a series of subjects:

• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social/Community
• Gross Motor
• Fine Motor
• Art

SCIENCE

I feel like much of childhood is living in the scientific method: systematic observation, measurement, and experimentation; and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

They observe, they test, they assess, they try something else, and keep evolving their beliefs through data collection and analysis.

Basically, childhood IS living science.

Just as all children are born artists, they are also all born scientists. We do them a grave disservice when we limit their ability to observe and experiment.

What do two year olds learn about science?

Physics
One of the first concepts is gravity. They drop items simply to see them fall. They quickly learn through throwing things up in the air that what goes up will come down.

Force and resistance are learned as they fall, bump into things, and throw things. Even something as low-key as a bead chase teaches gravity, force and motion.

Playing with inclined planes, changing the angles, changing the items rolled down, all work on force, motion and resistance concepts.

As they mature in this concept, they begin to manipulate force and resistance, and to play with forces. They learn if they use more force, they gain more distance. If they use more force, they dig up more sand. If I use more force, they go higher in the swing. If they use more force when pushing their friend, it leads to problems. We explore force and motion a lot with our pulleys and pendulums play. The twos love them.

It always fascinates me when they come up with something like this, where the two's started playing with centrifugal force with the large bowls. They even taught a 4 year old something new. Exploring science concepts within play is natural. They got them moving, then they started adding in other bowls, balls, and items to see how it worked. Many small figures went flying across the room, which they thought was a total hoot.

Chemistry
Yes, art teaches chemistry. Color mixing, making play dough, exploring the viscosity of shaving cream, adding herbs into play dough thus changing the feel and smell, is all chemistry related.

Helping to make food teaches a lot of chemistry.

Yeah. This.

States of matter. Dirt going to mud. Solid to liquid. The boys really understand this one.

Bubbles popping and disappearing really works on manipulation of all three states of matter. Learning through play.

Probably discussing and helping with food making is the best introduction to this concept. Observing how cheese melts and becomes gooey, playing in the sensory bin with ice and water, discussing the steam rising on the pasta pot. It's not a set concept at all, but just an introduction through observations that will make sense later.

They are also naturals at experimenting with solutions and mixtures, and exploring viscosity, and our outdoor environment is well suited to that.

Meteorology
Since we are outside a LOT, and we garden, the weather isn't just a circle time blip here. We discuss the weather daily in relation to its importance to US. It's sunny again today, so the ground is too dry, so we need to water the plants. It's cold out, so we need to wear our jackets. It rained, so we need to wear our boots. The clouds are dark and cover the sky, so it looks like it might rain. The frost on the ground means the end to our tomatoes. Watching the wind blowing the leaves off the trees and feeling it against their bodies is a physical and visceral immersion into weather.

Biology & ecology
We discuss how our animals need food, water, and shelter just like us. The children here are never allowed to chase any animal. The wild bunnies and squirrels will often come fairly close for observation. The kitty patiently teaches the two's how to be gentle and responsible when around animals.

In the spring we incubate eggs and hatch chicks, that end up in my farm's coop making eggs for us to eat. It is an awesome lesson in many biology concepts. We study an egg theme and life cycle theme.

2016 we had ducks, instead. The two year olds were FASCINATED. For children that are usually go, go, go, they would stand or sit around the duck enclosure for up to an hour, just watching them.

We also have tadpoles from the farm pond every spring.

While the two's aren't able to understand deserts, mountains, and other biomes not within their realm of reference, they can understand that different parts of our outdoor environment provide different living conditions for different plants and animals. 

They know that some bugs live under the bug boards where it is moist and shady. They know that some bugs, different ones, live on our squash plants in the sun. They understand that the squirrels live in the trees and the bunnies on the ground. 

I can, however, create artificial biomes to introduce some expanded diversity of creatures and environments.

Physiology & anatomy
I start teaching body parts as soon as they can talk. It's one of the first rounds of vocabulary they get down. At two, we move on to more advanced body parts, and bodily functions. We talk about healthy foods and how certain foods help us to do certain things. They begin to learn about their muscles, heart, five senses, that they are growing, how they can get sick, and how to take care of their bodies.

Entemology & bugs
We have a very diverse outdoor environment. We have access to a wide variety of bugs, and the children are encouraged to explore them. Worms. They LOVE the worms and know where to dig them up. They also know they have to put them back where they got them so they can go back to their worm family.

Botany & mycology
We have a large organic garden. The two's help start plants, assist with garden chores, harvest, and even prep items like cherries for eating or freezing.

We also have a very diverse plant and tree population. The children are encouraged to explore the flowers, leaves, herbs, and fruit within the environment with all their senses.

Data collection and interpretation
A LOT of this is going on within them, as they assess, interpret, re-direct, assess, interpret, etc. They are just two, but we still talk about how many we planted, how many we harvested, if we have more pumpkins or more carrots today. We talk about why there are more rolly pollies under the board today than yesterday. We talk about how it is hotter today than yesterday. We talk about why the worms like to live in the leaves, but not in the sand.

Astronomy
Not much, but the two's can find the moon if it's out, tell you if it is a circle or crescent moon, and we talk about how the moon changes and moves over us. They know about stars and we talk about the sun being a star. We talk about living on a ball called earth and that it is a planet.

Geology & archaeology
Again, not much, but I have collected rocks from my travels that they can wet down and see the stratification and coloring. We have limestone with fossils laying around. We also have rock collections I've bought. We talk about dirt, rocks, stuff in rocks, and sand being smashed up rock.

They learn that there is interesting stuff down below the grass and dirt to explore.

Summary
Children are natural scientists. Their understanding of scientific concepts comes, in a large part, fluidly from exploring a dynamic environment. The problem is when the environment is sterile. When children are spending days in an unnatural environment, on playgrounds full of only mulch with metal and plastic play structures, without even a stick to dig with, their scientific learning is stunted. Environments need to be engaging to all the senses with unlimited opportunities to explore scientific concepts.

Teaching Twos - Math

Please remember that this is child-led learning through play and movement. No drills, worksheets, etc. I'm going to present them in a series of subjects:

• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social/Community
• Gross Motor
• Fine Motor
• Art

MATHEMATICS

If you haven't read my Early Math post, it has some excellent sources for why math introduction is as important if not MORE IMPORTANT than early language learning. We think nothing of talking to our babes in the womb and speaking to them from birth, but we often view any other form of early teaching as harmful. This simply isn't true. 

Learning through play and movement, observations in life, and experiences are how children learn in a developmentally appropriate manner. Of course they shouldn't be expected to do worksheets and drills. Those aren't even developmentally appropriate for a 2nd grader, though school systems choose to often teach them in this manner. 

Early math introduction has far-reaching benefits for children, and many cross-over aspects into reading and other subjects.

There is no expectation on the part of the child here. The expectation is on me to provide the teaching, the exposure to the concepts. The child either embraces it, ignores it, masters it, manipulates it, or just stores bits of it away for later. Often much later. But the point is that the information is there for them when they want or need it and more of it is retained, earlier, due to the exposure through casual, fun opportunities.

Rote Counting
This is what people often view as math learning. Number order and number recognition. This is such a blip on the radar of math learning, though. 

Rote counting is done daily here with our 0-10 chant. They love it. Rote counting is done more for introduction of number vocabulary, patterning/sequencing, and the concept of consistency, rather than getting them to be able to count, at this age. 

Since we begin in infancy with numeracy introduction, the 2's know their number names. Can they count? Not really. They have numbers they like and usually put them in numerical order. Mr. R likes "1,2,5!" Mr. H likes "1,3,4!" Usually they can pop up with the next number in a sequence, and they recognize some numbers. We say things like, "One, two, threeeee, GO!" to help with beginning counting. They are often observed counting in play.



One-to-one Correspondence
From birth we teach one-to-one correspondence. This is SO important for math and reading. We spend a little time on rote counting, but we spend a LOT of time counting THINGS. Numbers by themselves have little meaning, it is numbers as representations of quantities that have meaning, and that concept is as vital as the concept that words have meaning. We count things as least a dozen times a day: animals on a page, cups on the table, rocks in a bucket, balls we pick up, grapes on a plate, etc.

Shapes & Geometry
We work on identification of: circle, square, triangle, heart, star, crescent, with diamond, rectangle and oval added in as needed. Shapes are not something we actively work on, but casually discuss in environmental and book experiences. Just like colors, they seem to just pick them up. 

Even more casually, I introduce 3D shape vocabulary, keeping in mind that they are TWO. The moon is a circle. They lack the abstract thinking to interpret it as a sphere, so for now, it is a circle or a crescent.

More actively, we work with shapes. Often this is not a shape learning activity, but a geometric manipulation activity and/or logic/reasoning activity. For instance, at 2 years and 3 months, the three in the picture below, all born within days of one another, are able to do tanagrams, shape sorters, shape puzzles, Wedgits, etc. that work with shapes, but work with much more than just learning shape identification. Even puzzles are working on perspective, movement across a plane, translation, rotation, etc.

We also actively work with coordinate geometry terminology: up/down, back/forward, in/out, etc. I call this positional work. We do this as physial activities, casual observations, and purposeful book work. such as, "What is BELOW the bird?"

Measurement/Proportion
If I ask the 2's to get one or two of something, they can do that. We are working on more/less, a lot, big/small high/low and various other quantification concepts. 

Much of this type of learning is done in the sandbox and water table and playing with loose parts. Filling, pouring, dumping into a bigger or smaller container, trying to fit items into other items, all teaching proportion, volume, weight, length, height, concepts.

Even jumping off of things, stepping between pavers, reaching up for items, all teach measurement and proportion concepts.

Logic & Reasoning
Logic and reasoning are in play throughout the day. When I ask, "Is that okay?" I can see their young minds running through the reasoning. "Do you need to spend some time in time out?" "No." "Then what do you need to do?" Off they go making a better choice. Much of their logic and reasoning comes through playing with loose parts. We have a ton of stuff in our outdoor play area/classroom that they can use as they will. They often come up with uses for items that I never would have or could have thought up. Much of logic and reasoning comes from simply enabling them to experience a vast amount of different situations and the outcomes of their decisions pertaining to those situations.

Patterning & Patterns
At 2, pattern learning is continued from infancy as a physical and musical activity. We are currently working on "Pat-pat-clap, pat-pat-clap, 1-1-2, 1-1-2, pat-pat-clap, I Love You, 1-1-2, 1-1-2."

Last month it was "Jump-down, jump-down, jump-down, spin around. [repeat]" They would jump up then squat down, and turn around after three rounds of that.

There are patterns sprinkled throughout our play and routine. "1-2-3 GO!" is even a pattern. The order we put out beds, is a pattern. 

Grouping
They have their counting bears to color group as an acitivity center choice.
We also do this in pick-up, "Put all the cars away. Now, put all the baby doll stuff away." It may not seem like a mathematical activity, but it is purposefully intended to be such. They begin early on seeing that like goes with like and making inferences about grouping. This is also a science aspect - characterization, identification of traits.

Beginning Computation
This is casual through observation. "Oh, look, you have three, 1-2-3, and he has three, 1-2-3. TOGETHER you have 1-2-3-4-5-6!" "He has one, can you give him another one so that he has two?" "You have one car and one more car, so you have two cars. one and one more is 1-2."


Summary
Not enough attention is paid to the early introduction of math vocabulary and concepts. Not just my opinion, finer minds than mine are saying this. Children learn many of these through their play, and we can scaffold that learning to a higher level through purposeful teaching. We can also provide them with a much broader base of concepts and vocabulary through casual observations of their activities.

I think I do a pretty good job at this. 

Discipline Planning for Problem Behaviors

We have 4 basic rules here:

- Respect others/living beings

- Respect things

- No running inside - walk

- No throwing inside

That's it. This is a child-led program, so they are pretty much free to do whatever they want as long as these basic tenants are adhered to for their activity choices.

When the usual discipline measures are not working to correct a behavior problem, then a discipline plan is often the key to getting it resolved. A discipline plan has similar elements to a curriculum plan, and the scientific process.

Identify the problem. Sometimes, the root problem is not what we are routinely addressing. We are reacting to symptoms, extensions, or outcomes, rather than the core issue.

Identify those involved. Protagonist? Victims? Home issues? ME? What is each one doing to contribute to the situation perpetuating?

Situation. When does it occur? Is it environmentally stimulated? Does it exacerbate at a particular time? 

Review. What has been tried? Why has it failed? What has not yet been tried?

What is the goal? What is the single most important piece of this situation that needs to be addressed? What does the ideal outcome look like?

What can I change or teach that leads to the desired outcome/behavior?

Implement, review, tweak.

OVERVIEW:

I have a young gentleman, with a big heart and joyful personality, who has been unable to keep from running inside. He father told me it is the same at home. This child also has an issue of always needing to be first/in control. So when he ran, the others would run, and he would push them if it seemed possible they would get ahead of him. Running also leads to tripping, and tripping leads to falling. There's a reason for rules.

I had already tried:

1. Repeating the rule
2. Explaining the reasons behind the rule
3. "Taking away his legs" where he had to sit on the floor or at a table and play
4. Giving him 3 opportunities to choose an acceptable behavior [with above] other than running before time out was initiated
5. Praising good behavior choices

The issue came to a head when he was basically going into time out within five minutes after getting out, sometimes he would RUN out of time out.

Then he started refusing to go into time out, which is basically the highest form of discipline I can use. Parents can also use segregation to a room, loss of toys/privileges/activities, etc. that are not feasible in a school/care environment at this age to the extent that it can make a difference.

I viewed this as a non-compliance issue. It devolved into a power play. He was going to run, and I was going to put him in time out for it, especially when he started taking out his frustration at the situation on the other children.

Obviously what I was doing was not working, and what he was doing was unacceptable.

I discussed it with the parents viewing this as a comprehensive issue for both family and school.

PLANNING PROCESS:

I could see this issue was not going to go away anytime soon, as I had been dealing with this for weeks, it was increasing, and it needed to be curbed immediately. It was a safety issue. Even if he was doing it at home, I needed a solution NOW for school.

Questions:

• Why is he running inside after spending a minimum of three hours outside in constant motion? Probably not getting enough high energy activity.
• What would I have done if he were younger? Environmental changes.
• What would I do if he were older? Same as I was doing: explain, offer 3 chances to choose the correct behavior, then time out, encouraging good choices.
• What is the goal? Stop running inside

I tried environmental changes. However, when they are older than two, they have the dexterity to move around obstacles with ease. Any further changes would block emergency paths. It almost seemed to offer more challenge and more incentive for him to run.

Putting him in time out just bottled up and fueled his energy reserves and led to other issues.

Identifying that the goal is not compliance, but to stop running inside, I focused on that. Compliance and the need to be "King of the Hill," are issues, but I always want to focus on one issue at a time, separate from others, the most significant issue first. Significant meaning it impacts other children or their families, and especially if it has any safety concerns.

I always counsel the parents to begin with the end in mind. Rather than focusing on getting a child to STOP doing something, focus on getting them TO DO something else. A positive green light is always better than a negative red light.

While the goal in this case is compliance with the rule to not run, to change the behavior of running inside, what does the goal LOOK LIKE? What do I want to see him DOING, rather than not doing?

The goal: To choose an appropriate behavior when full of wiggles.

Discipline means to teach.

Literally.

What could I teach him that would keep him from choosing to run when his energy kicked in?

What were acceptable behaviors that he could choose from, when walking wasn't cutting it?

SOLUTION:

Jumping, twirling, crawling.

• Jumping takes enough coordination he couldn't really push others at the same time at his age.
• Twirling has no leader.
• Crawling on all fours means that even if pushing ensues, the children are stable, low, and unlikely to be harmed if pushed over, and he would be more likely to make himself unstable in the effort and less likely to act upon that behavior.

So far it's working. He LOVES jumping, and readily and HAPPILY transitions to it. Hopefully he'll begin to choose that behavior over running. 

Rather than saying "walk," when he/they begin running, I say, "jump, twirl, crawl." 

I'm also having him running more outside to get more of his wiggles out. 

Update. It's been a couple of weeks now, and I see him choosing to jump when his wiggles set in. Even when he gets frustrated, he seems to be cluing his body to jump rather than pushing or hitting out at others. A side benefit I didn't anticipate.

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