I think of tips, tools and strategies all the time so for this page I am going to randomly add thoughts and ideas..check back often.
Keep in mind often children are not giving you a hard time. They are most likely having a hard time. A hard time dealing with emotions and feelings. They need you to help guide/model and bring through those behaviors and “big feelings”
Be someone a child can trust, respect and love-be their safe place to land.
Relationships are a key component to having success with any student. If they like you they will do their beet for you. If they aren’t doing their best they may be experiencing a difficulty or lagging a necessary skill….help them discover what it is and teach strategies to help them grow and learn.
“Our innate capacity for empathy is the source of the most precious of all
human qualities.” – His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
Don’t poke the bear- be respectful of the child’s need for space during upset -ask permission to come closer, wait until the child is calm to talk about negative behaviors and actions-when a child is in an agitated or having a “melt down” they are unable to access the area of the brain where logical thinking is located…they are in survival mode. Help them through to calmness …many times it’s about giving space.
Drop the power struggle! These students need
love, nourishment and they need their needs met so they can get out of
flight, fight, or freeze mode. Then the learning can happen!
“To nurture and educate a child it’s essential to honor the whole child so
that they can rise to their potential.” – Unknown