Episode 10

Written By Caylee Carullo
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EPISODE 10- THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT in your day/how to handle tattling


SHOWNOTES:

Do your students seem to have no control of their bodies and move around like tornadoes?

Do you have students that can't sit still and focus during whole group lessons?

Do you dream of a classroom where kids can control their bodies and move around your classroom with focus and purpose?

HE HIT ME. SHE TOUCHED ME.

Do you feel like you’re going to lose your mind if you hear another tattle?

In today’s episode we are going to talk about the importance of movement AND we are going to give you some ideas for handling one of the toughest behaviors- TATTLING…

First, let’s talk about the wiggle worms.. Here we go….

When I first started in the classroom I had an idea in my head of what a classroom of children should look like. I imagined it something like in the movies….  All the kids are nicely sitting at their desks and the teacher is in front talking.  Ha ha ha As we all know that doesn’t happen nor should it.  The more and more I tried to push students to sit for long periods of time the more and more behavioral problems arose. I knew I had to change something. We started to learn about the importance of movement in the classroom especially in the preschool classroom.  Kids need to move! Not only is it beneficial for physical development it also helps with self awareness, non-verbal communication , attention span, helps with behavior and so much more. It is also proven that movement paired with language increases learning by more than 80 percent!  SAY WHATTTT?!?!?!  I needed to get my kids moving more….. And this is how we did it. 

And it’s more than just moving fast and getting energy out… we also use movement to help kids regulate their bodies and learn to control and move with purpose.

So we were not a montessori school but our classrooms were montessori inspired. The way the Montessori classroom is set up provides ample opportunities to be moving.  Children are in charge of their working environment. Kids are constantly walking  to and from work, setting up works, and so on. The children are also able to work on little rugs on the floor or at a table. Kids are moving with purpose and are learning. This all has to be taught but when it's done it's amazing to watch your classroom run on its own. 

and we taught them how, specifically, to move with purpose, what it looks like—not wandering--looking up at the ceiling when they're trying to walk from one place to another… walking directly to the place you’re going, getting what you need and coming straight back… once you can teach this simple skill to kids, you will have a whole classroom full of little worker bees, all moving with purpose around the room getting what they need and taking control of their learning and their classroom materials.

  • it's a simple thing to practice, and although it seems like this is SO SIMPLE, you might just assume kids already understand this concept--but it’s one of those things, that once you practice it… you will be AMAZED at how awesome it is to see all your students moving purposefully around the classroom…. No more of that sort of wandering lollygagging stroll… once you teach this skill, all of the sudden your kids will be like little soldiers marching from place to place.

  • They like this kind of a thing because it makes them feel kind of important and may we practiced it together and then I pointed out and I noticed them doing it in there I just feel like it's something I can do that I know what to do

And we always started our day off with movement… kids have been sitting most of the morning, riding in the car to get to school, sitting at breakfast, before we make them sit to learn, it’s a good idea to let them get their wiggles out.

here are a few of my favorites (we will link to them in the shownotes)

--but we will show you a few previews real quick-- this first song is by David Kisor from Songs for Developing toddlers, becoming my own me -- it’s called self control (This one is the toddler version) here’s a clip and then we will talk about it:

Fast fast fast fast I go slow slow slow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xFdusT2BE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j24_xH5uvdA

Here’s a clip for you of that one -greg and steve --listen and move, you can find both of these on youtube and we will put links in the show notes. 

    • They learn to regulate their body by moving in different ways and following along with me who is leading the entire lesson and it it's not OK for them to just flop around ignore grab their friends it's something that we practice and that they start to master and having control over their body

Do you have Alternatives for making kids sit criss-cross apple sauce? 

I kind of felt this out and adjusted it for each kid… I might start out the morning meeting asking them to show me how we sit...and modeling for them how I sit criss cross but if some kids would stretch out a leg or adjust in some way, I wouldn’t automatically correct that one kid… if they were still paying attention, not distracting their peers.. I’d let it go… I didn’t feel the need to be a drill sargent about how kids sit, unless they were doing it to be a distraction.. If they start laying down, and making a big scene about it, I’m going to have to intervene… 

HOWEVER, did you realize that having kids do things in the “tummy time” position is beneficial? I learned from our OT person, that having kids lay on their tummies strengthens their core - 

I Looked it up to find some of the formal wording.. Here’s what one website said some of the benefits were:

  • When in this position the neck is in extension which activates the brain stem, and this is very regulating for the nervous system. 

  • Facilitates shoulder girdle strength and stability which is essential for fine motor and visual motor development. 

Yes, So what I would do is say, “Hey we’re going to watch a quick video about rhyming or whatever we might be watching a video about”...and I’d tell them, you can either sit up or lay down for this video… Just being given that choice, makes them so excited.. I found that almost all of them would choose to lay down, out of pure excitement about the new option… and then, after a few minutes, most of them would be back in the sitting position because it was tough for them, that’s how I realized, this is something they need more practice with! And I continued to make it an option regularly to keep building on those muscles for my kiddos.

Ok, we want to give you more support for movement songs, so I am linking my whole movement playlist in the show notes, so if you just click on that link, you will get to see all the songs we like to use for movement… 

And there’s also gonoodle, which, if you haven’t used in your classroom yet… that is one YOU HAVE to start using… we’ve talked about it before there are tons of awesome guided momement videos to get your kids dancing and moving while having lots of fun. 

Ok, part two if this episode we are going to talk about tattling!

Tattling can be so annoying!! Kids come running up to tell what another child has done… and they are usually reporting that another child has broken a rule… we spend a lot of time teaching our kids the rules-- how to share, hands to ourself, raise your hand to talk, etc…and rules are important becaue kids are egocentric-- they are focused on themselves, what’s happening to them, what they are feeling-- it’s not easy for them to empathize with peers and put themselves in other’s shoes, these are skills they are developing, and are super important, but they don’t totally have the concept of empathy yet… so it’s natural for a child to feel the need to call attention to another child breaking that rule…

So, what we’ve done, is to basically add another rule to the list - and that rule is, “we don’t tattle”... but we say it in a more creative way to get the kids on board and help them understand the why behind it.

What we do, is we explain the difference of being *helpful* vs. hurtful. It’s helpful to say “stop touching me please” it’s hurtful to say “MOM HE’S TOUCHING ME.”

It’s helpful to say “please don’t grab stuff out of my hands” it’s hurtful to say “mommm she just took my toy!” Does that make sense? You can give kids lots of examples as these situations are happening, and they will start to understand…. And as you are giving them ways to be helpful instead of hurtful, they will learn how to take control of the situation with their own words, instead of tattling. As they are learning, and you hear them tattle, you can ask them, “are you saying this to be helpful or hurtful?” And once they realize the difference you can say “ya, that’s hurtful, what could you say to be HELPFUL?” And help them figure out what to say to the other child rather than telling you about it…

And we also feel it’s important not to become sarcastic and dramatic about tattling.. Saying things like, “tattling hurts my ears” (I think I used to say that).. Doesn’t help the child understand what to do differently..so it’s counter-productive to ending the tattling problem. 

Once you can get kids to understand the difference between tattling and using their words to handle a problem, it will be a whole new world… and it’s important not to shame or downplay kids using their words to tell you something… we want kids to know that telling is ok… kids need to feel safe with adults to let them know when a situation is not safe or if they need help managing a situation.. 

We want them to realize the difference between tattling to get a peer in trouble, and telling an adult something when they need help. You want to remember, if they are tattling with the intention of getting someone else in trouble, don’t let that work for them-- don’t intervene and call the other kid out...make sure to stop, help the child find the words to tell the other child what they want to happen… whether that’s “don’t grab things out of my hands” or “please don’t pull my arm”... when you jump in and just say, “HEY, quit pulling his arm” you rob them of the learning experience that will better them for the future… 

Now a lot of these stages vary as kids grow… when they are super young, you have to intervene because they don’t have the words to say to the other child but once you see them getting to the age that they are old enough to tattle, then you can be sure-they are old enough to learn how to use their own words and be “helpful” instead of “hurtful.”

Hopefully this strategy will help you with the tattling problems, and remember we love hearing from you so if you have questions or need more help, we’d love to brainstorm with you-- send us a message on instagram!

And as always, we have room for you in the Pre-K Teacher Family… the most recent resource we’ve added is a folder full of support for distance learning… there are tons of videos I’ve created that you can use with your students and I show you exactly how I made my videos -- remember to use the promocode PODCAST when you join for 30% off your membership… AND, there are SO MANY fun resources in the May and JUne folder-- I share my graduation hats with you, my mother’s day and father’s day  projects -- which I am convinced, those projects are the reason I am remembered as a Pre-K Teacher… they secure my legacy and ensure I will never be forgotten, if you’d like to learn more about what I did for mother’s day with my students, SO yOUC AN DO IT WITH YOUR STUDENTS, visit my website, triedandtrueteacher.com and click on tab that says join the pre-k teacher family… can’t wait to hear from you.. THANKS FOR LISTENING!!

REVIEW FROM ITUNES: Answered Prayers!!! “Just like the title says, “tips and tricks” that you will love! I am SO GLAD I stumbled upon this podcast!! It has such great ideas for me to implement in my classroom. Keep them coming ladies! —-Amyimom

Caylee Carullo
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Episode 9