Episode 50 - AVOIDING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR THROUGH ACTIVITIES AND GAMES

Rae Pica returns to discuss her new book, Acting Out: Avoid Behavior Challenges with Active Learning Games and Activities 
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Preventing Challenging Behavior Through Movement and Games

Episode 50

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​Reasons for Increasing Challenging Behaviors

  1. Not allowing children time to play
  • Dr Peter Gray found lack of play is linked to depression and anxiety
  • ​Depressed and anxious children do not always behave in a way we like
    2.  Unrealistic expectations - asking them to do things they are not developmentally ready to do
  • Do not have words to express how they are feeling
  • When children please important adults become frustrated anxious depressed
  • ​​Children often  act out as a result

     3.  Asking them to sit
  • Think of sitting as a method of keeping kids under control and managing behavior,  but is counterproductive

​Nature Has a Plan
  • There is a process that begins with movement
  • Teachers are increasingly seeing children falling out of chairs because they are not getting enough movement and do not have a sense of balance and space
  • First grade teacher reported counting  it happening 47 times in a week in her classroom 
  • Preschoolers are not meant to sit still 
  • Have to develop that ability and comes from natural movement

Research
  • Great amount of research supporting the idea that children need to move
  • Moderate to vigorous physical activity feeds the brain
  • Brains will not function optimally without it
  • John Ratey book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain talks about the connection physical learning and brain development

Play and Curriculum Connections
  • Example - emergent literacy
  • Song with lyrics, chant or poem that inspires movement/activity helps with emergent literacy
  • Circle game like pass a rhythm involve active listening and rhythm, components of emergent literacy
  • Curriculum connections in the book help support teachers using movement and play
  • Even without explicit  curriculum connections, breaks help making future learning more effective
  • Sitting increases fatigue and reduces concentration

Preparing Children for Movement and Play
  • Understanding of personal space ex. Make challenge not to touch one another through activities such as cars on a highway that never touch
  • Teach children that they take personal space with them wherever they go
  • Move with as little noise as possible. Want children to hear instructions so have signal or secret code such as double clap
  • Problem solving - show me how slow a turtle moves
  • Putting as challenge is easier than asking them to stay quiet

Reluctant Children
  • Some are just shy and takes longer
  • Forcing children to participate is not helpful
  • Should still watch if not participating
  • Can learn a lot by watching
  • Can be developmental thing
  • Movement exploration ex. Show me how you can make a crooked shape. Observing child can see there is not a right way to do it
  • Sometimes children use nonparticipation as way to get teacher’s attention
  • Find out why they are not participating

Cooperative vs. Competitive Games
  • In life more opportunities and need for cooperating and collaborating vs. competition
  • Competitive activities promote anti-social behavior and skills, and cooperative activities promote prosocial behavior and skills
  • Cooperative atmosphere lead to fewer behavioral challenges
  • Want friendly classroom atmosphere
  • Focus on competition at exclusion of cooperation
  • Cannot expect children to cooperate as adults without practice
  • Live and work with people and need to know how to be part of a community
  • Teams that know how to cooperate will have better results
  • Competition not definitely appropriate for preschoolers
  • Business leaders are faced with young employees who don’t know how to work as a team
  • Game Examples
    • Switcheroo- Stand back-to-back and when the teacher calls out a body part, partners briefly connect those parts and then return back-to-back. When teacher yells switch-a-roo and they find a new partner. Keep a lost and found area for children who are having trouble finding a partner.
    • Thunder and Lightning- Children are paired up and decide who will be “lightening” and who will be “thunder.” They will later switch roles. When the teacher gives the prompt, pairs separate and move around the room while watching their partners. Lightening is then called on to move how they think lightening moves and thunder the moves in the way child thinks thunder moves

Self-Regulation
  • Developed by around age 6
  • Self-regulation is not imposed by someone else
  • Statues or freeze games can help develop skill
  • If children want to be still and is fun, they will then learn how to be still
  • Can put lines in floor and children can pretend to walk on a tightrope. Moving slowly requires more control than moving quickly. Give them a reason to practice the skill
  • Beanbag  freeze where walk around will beanbag on back of hand and wait for other player to retrieve it when it falls
  • Learn to hold still by moving

Taking Breaks
  • Shorter more frequent breaks are better than long infrequent breaks
  • Finland since the 1960s schools have included brain breaks as part of daily schedule
  • 15 minute recess after every 45 minutes of instruction
  • Finland is a world leader in literacy and numeracy
  • 40% of elementary schools have eliminated recess
Show and Tell
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Serving Cary and Morrisville since 2010
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