1. Positive Guidance: A Well-Stocked Tool Box for Effective Classroom Management

2. Why Do Children Misbehave?
Curiosity
Boredom
Illness
Anxiety
Need for Attention / Love
Angry
Confused
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3. Age-Appropriate Environment
Set Up an
Age-Appropriate Environment
Adult Interactions Are Critical
Child-Friendly Environment
Challenging Equipment and Materials
Toys and Materials Rotate with
Theme
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4. Keep Children Busy and Involved
Transitions are critical
Whenever possible, avoid making
children wait!
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5. Give Children Responsibility
Toddlers & Twos
Pick up and put away toys
Set out napkins
Help to feed fish
Put on socks
Put on coat with help
Take cracker from plate,
pour with assistance
Preschoolers
Assist teacher readying
materials
Water plants, feed animals
Set up table for lunch/snack
Pour own milk, serve self
Put on coat, zip & button
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6. Set Age-Appropriate Rules
These help children manage their own behavior
Focus on what to do and not on what not to do
Offer gentle reminders
Acknowledge children’s efforts
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7. Model Expected Behaviors
You are a model—whether intentional or not
Explicitly model the behavior you desire--especially social skills
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8. The Three Ways to Reinforce Behaviors
Positive: Paying attention when children are doing what you want, expect them to do
Negative: Paying attention when children are misbehaving or not doing what’s expected
Ignoring: Disinterested, paying no attention to a child’s attempts to be noticed
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9. Positively Reinforce Behaviors
Acknowledge children’s appropriate behavior
Spend quality time with
a child when he’s doing
what you want him to do
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10. What’s In Your Tool Box?
Just as you can’t use a hammer for every household problem, you can’t approach every behavior challenge with the same technique. 
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11. Distract or Divert Attention
Direct the child’s attention to another toy or activity
Especially effective
with very young
children
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12. Offer Choices Allows child some control over the situation
Be prepared to follow through with any choices offered
Effective with toddlers and preschoolers
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13. Ignore Stop the undesirable behavior by not paying attention to it
Use “active ignoring” by making casual statements about it
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14. Redirection
Often the problem isn’t what the child is doing but how she is doing it
Suggest an acceptable behavior to replace the unacceptable one
It shows the child that you accept her and her ideas
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15. Keep Your Sense of Humor
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16. A Word About Time Out Ineffective with toddlers and young preschoolers
Using it is prohibited in our schools unless parents have signed permission for it.
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17. Help! Come Rescue Me! Know Your Limits
Call Director or Assistant Director for Help
“Out of Sight / Out of Mind” techniques give up your authority
Moving to another classroom
Sending to Director’s Office
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18. The View from the Little Chair in the Corner Cindy R. Bess (2010)
References
National Network for Child Care -NNCC. Oesterreich, L. (1995). Guidance and Discipline. L. Oesterreich, B. Holt, & S. Karas, Iowa Child care Handbook (pp ). Ames, IA: Iowa State University Extension.
Positive Child Guidance Darla Ferris Miller (2006)
The View from the Little Chair in the Corner Cindy R. Bess (2010)
Ages and Stages Karen Miller (1999)
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