AnonyMouse_56750 Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 Hello everyone I am looking for some tips and advice! In September we had a new intake of 2s into our 2-3 room, 4 or 5 of these children took a little while to settle in. Since September there has been a member of staff leave (there are only 2 - 3 staff in the room) which has caused things to be a little unsettled for the children as we have had to use supply staff. Because of this the new intake of 2s and the 4 or 5 children who struggled to settle are now a little bit all over the place! Although rules, boundaries and structure is enforced the staff are struggling as the children will not sit down at group time for a story or songs, they aren't playing properly and are almost doing everything they shouldnt. The staff are struggling as there is 4 or 5 of these children and once one of them does it the others copy. We have time out in place but this doesn't seem to phase any of these children. Does any body have any advice...Please! As I feel the other children in the room it really is unfair on them. A soon to be grey, Nursery Manager 1
Guest Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 I think the thing that made the biggest difference to our setting was appreciating that the children are only two and that perhaps we were expecting too much. For example instead of trying to get the children to "sit" for story time a member of staff sat with a group of 4 - 6 two year olds and a box of books for the children to explore independently. Those children developmentally ready to engage with a story told by an adult do so in another group. We are a mixed aged setting and use 3 developmental groups for story and small group activities. Initially getting the youngest ones to stay with the group and engage with a book/activity is all we focus on. It isn't still, it isn't quiet but it does work eventually!! We are now at the stage of sharing a simple story with them but it still involves lots of sounds, noise and movement that they can join in with!! It really helps with speech development and also getting used to boundaries and routines. Time out is something that we wouldn't use as I would question if the understanding is there for it to have any effect at all! We use a simple rule board with pictures of "kind Hands" , "listening ears" "walking feet" etc, etc, which we continually model and reinforce. It does work eventually and some days are better than others!! Good luck - and remember, grey is the new blonde!!!!
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 What do you mean 'soon to be grey' - I am already grey! This isn't my work - can't remember where it came from (this forum almost certainly!) Anyway hope it helps! 20 tips for good behaviour.doc 4
AnonyMouse_35577 Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 Group time needs to be really short - I think you are setting yourself up for failure to ask for anymore than 5 minutes. Group time also needs to be interactive, don't expect them to sit and listen-they need to be 'doing' Also I'm not sure about the term 'playing properly'-each age group plays in the proper way to them, even though we might not like it!
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 How many two's do you have in the group? i'm assuming up to 12 ...penny Tassoni has an interesting take on having all your two's together....as she says God only give you one or two at a time!!! My top tips would be ...... Time IN not time out.....if you have an issue that needs to be dealt with can you support the children by having the one who is doing the 'wrong' thing on your lap whilst you give them a cuddle and support the good behaviour that you would like to see. Comment on lovely behaviour and play often....oh I can see you are doing lovely painting , good sharing, playing with the animals etc Don't expect them to do any whole group activites! Why do you want them to do this???? Repeat things often (again and again and again!) and let them dip in and out of activities ...they may want to paint for 30 seconds then have another go later and then again etc. This is how they scaffold their ideas. Keep backgrounds clear and uncluttered ...think calm and neutral not primary and bright....otherwise all you are doing is winding them up! Can you split the room into lots of little spaces....look at Communication friendly spaces Work on floors and low benches not at tables lots of outdoor play if possible lots of open ended resources....water/sand/transporting/bricks/playdough/paint etc remember they are tiddlers! they shouldn't and can't do the same routines as the older ones. ...oh and ensure staff say hello to the parents before they say hello to the children! 6
AnonyMouse_16163 Posted November 18, 2015 Posted November 18, 2015 Hi riseandshine Some bedtime reading, hope it helps. Helping children with their behaviour (5).pdf Toddlers and very early learning (12).pdf Good luck M 3
AnonyMouse_33031 Posted November 19, 2015 Posted November 19, 2015 Just wanted to say thank you for the bedtime reading they look very useful to use in staff training. We are also feeling like we are chasing our tails on a daily basis as we have had 10 new two years olds start with us since september including triplets.
AnonyMouse_29641 Posted November 19, 2015 Posted November 19, 2015 ...oh and ensure staff say hello to the parents before they say hello to the children! What's the story there then? I don't really know what I do, but I think I try to make the children feel important so I greet them first. Interesting stuff. H
AnonyMouse_23964 Posted November 19, 2015 Posted November 19, 2015 I thought Finlaysmaid was talking about her canine 'children'????? 1
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted November 19, 2015 Posted November 19, 2015 What's the story there then? I don't really know what I do, but I think I try to make the children feel important so I greet them first. Interesting stuff. H if you watch babies they will look at their parents when the parents greet you....if the parents smile and look relax the babies will accept that you are trustworthy and will (in most cases) smile and make eye contact with you. Toddlers still do this.....it is really important to greet their carer first.....once they have accepted you the child is much more likely to do so. Even when children know you well it is still more comforting to greet adult then child Easy to freak little ones out if you don't follow language rules! 3
AnonyMouse_12805 Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 Well, you learn something new every day! I consider myself (after 20+ years of working in this field and umpteen courses, qualifications, workshops, training etc) to be pretty experienced with small children and have always greeted the child first- as HP says on the basis of trying to make them feel important. However after reading FM's post I can honestly say ping, a lightbulb moment. Cant think why i have never thought or been told this before as it makes perfect sense. So will be doing this from tomorrow thank you Finleysmaid 3
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted November 27, 2015 Posted November 27, 2015 Well, you learn something new every day! I consider myself (after 20+ years of working in this field and umpteen courses, qualifications, workshops, training etc) to be pretty experienced with small children and have always greeted the child first- as HP says on the basis of trying to make them feel important. However after reading FM's post I can honestly say ping, a lightbulb moment. Cant think why i have never thought or been told this before as it makes perfect sense. So will be doing this from tomorrow thank you Finleysmaid Has it worked??? Love to hear your feedback!
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