In our Montessori classroom, we have a very interesting bunch of kids. Each of them have a distinct characteristics and it's amazing to watch them grow. There is no such thing as a perfect Montessori classroom, and we do have our "challenging" kids.
What I love about Montessori is we look at every INDIVIDUAL child and address their needs and nner idesires. We have a couple of children in our class who have been diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder. I had never heard of this term before, let alone knew it even existed. As far as I understand (although I need to do more research) some children receive too much input from their senses and others receive too little. Depending on each child's situation, various outcomes can occur. One of our students who is very sensitive will begin to loose control when he receives too much stimulation, and it's very hard for him to process things at a "normal" rate. He doesn't like to be touched, and is very particular.For example, if the classroom is too loud and there is too much going on, he'll run to the corner and put his hands over his ears and completely shut down. Another student of ours, who also suffers from Sensory Integration Disorder constantly craves attention and needs to stimulate his senses which in turn makes him disruptive. For example, while we are in a reading circle, he'll roll around on the floor and touch the other kids to get attention.
I really respect my Supervising Directress. She could of handle the situation like a lot of other teachers: yell, scream, time out, ect. But she has taken a different approach. She created the "jumping circle". We used some color tape and created a circle in the corner of the room. Any time a child feels like they need to move or let go of some energy, they can go to the jumping circle and let off some steam. It amazes me how well the children have responded to this. One of the little boys in my class was on the verge of a mental breakdown, right before he was about to let it all go, we reminded him about the jumping circle. His eyes lit up , and immediately he went over and began to jump away. After about 5 minutes, he was back to his normal self.
Time-out chairs are soooooooo OLD SCHOOL! Really, what are we teaching the children?? Half of the time, when they get out of time-out, they don't remember what they were in there for! They say an empty "SORRY", and are off! I think that if a child is modeling incorrect behavior, we need to sit down and talk with the child, and give them opportunities to let their frustrations out. Offer them an outlet to unleash their frustrations. If you have space in your house or classroom, create a quiet corner with peaceful objects (crystals, pictures of peacemakers, flowers, ect.). If you do want to give your child a "TIME OUT", have them go to the quiet corner. Let them read a book, meditate, whatever! Afterwards, TALK TO THEM. Explain to them why their behavior was wrong. If you look at the situation differently, you'll see new results!
7 comments:
Hi Montessori Secrets!
Thanks for commenting on my blog :)
I love what you're doing here. Your landforms post was great (I enjoyed how thorough it was) & I like how you give great insight into the behind the scenes workings of the classroom and directress.
Keep up the great work!
p.s. I loved what you said about your daughter's room - I too can keep my childrens playspace very ordered but my own cupboards can get outta control! ;) I've gotta work on that!
I love the jumping circle and I agree about time outs. At school we have a mantra, whenever a child behaves in a way that is beyond the normal "lets just stop and think and say sorry". Our mantra is "hold the child close". To begin with I didn't get this at all. Now it makes perfect sense. If a child is being disruptive we have them sit beside us. We carry on teaching as if the child wasn't there and s/he works on whatever they were working on before or on something we choose for them. Often it is a practical life exercise as this tends to be calming. By bringing them close we are limiting their independence to what they can cope with without being disruptive. We are lucky that we have a supervised outside classroom so that the more physical children can get out there and learn in a more ....exuberant way. But for the times when they need to know that their wrong action has a consequence - they are brought close. Once they have calmed down and completed a cycle of work we have a little chat, send them off to apologise and back to work. Sometimes a child is kept close for longer - it depends on our observation of him/her. I am so convinced it is better than a naughty chair or time out.
Thank you for this gentle reminder that there's so many different ways that we can use to creatively handle "challenging" situations. I love the idea of the jumping circle... jumping is certainly a physical activity that can quickly consume lots of energy. I think it will be a success in our classroom. The quiet corner is perfect as well. I think modeling use of the quiet corner by the teachers can also be helpful for them (a little quiet time for the teachers), as well as for the children to see it is a valuable resource.
Thank you!
@Anna...That's a great idea. I like the idea of having a mantra. I definitely agree with you in regards to Practical Life calming down students. We have one student in my class who has Sensory Integration Disorder, and whenever he is going through one of his episodes, we direct him to the practical life area, and he just zones out and is in his world. He seems so peaceful when concentrating hard! I was surprised when I witnessed it first hand, but it worked!
@Suzanne...if you have place in your school...I highly recommend it! Also, buying fidgits the children can use while in the circle. Fidgits are like little balls that are squishy or rubbery. Some children need to touch things to calm down.
There use to be a great message board on Babycenter.com for sensory integration. I use to go there frequently. Sensory processing disorder is a really interesting. DH and I beleive that if people would have known about it when we were children we would have been diagnosed. My kids all have it. But, with a lot of work we have worked through the bulk of their issues regarding their SPD.
Nice website, Valerie. Welcome to the world of Montessori, and I applaud your passion and ambition. You did not have a category for semi-retired school owners/directors, so I did not participate in your survey. :)
In my school, we call it "Thinking Time," not timeout. "Please sit here and think about your behavior, and try to think of a different behavior that would have elicited a better outcome." This is not punitive, and we have a rule that thinking time must never exceed one minute per year of a child's age. At the end of that period, we go ask them what they had thought of, and if they need help we talk them through some alternatives. Once they agree, we suggest that they find some productive work, etc. ◄Dave►
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