Help! Teacher Of 8 5 Year Olds

[babygirl]

I am a teacher of the 5 yr olds in my ward... and they r um...lets just say a handfull. the dont listen, they talk and laugh and its not quite or even avrege noise they r loude and everyone around r room can hear them, i have people pop there heads in or look through the window and give me a look of gosh keep your kids quite, i have even had some parents (not of the children mind you) pop in and just sit there, and act like they know everything and can fix it all, which they dont they just make me uncomfortable, and the kids r still noise i just dont know what to do, iv even gone to langths of bribing which i am totaly against and it doesnt work for very long...does anyone have some sugestions on how i can get controle of my class?
thanx a bunch

Dancergirl

[moptopfan50]

Ah...again I stirke with a post. This could be habit forming... well, since I obey the Word of Wisdom I need some form of habit to live with...

dancergirl....I can help. I have not mentioned this yet, but back in 1978 (before your time) my very first calling was a Junior Sunday School teacher to -- you guessed it -- those cute adorable Mini Me sized 5 year olds. What a joy it was. I learned what is meant by "Out of the mouth of babes". They thought they were the boss and ruled. It was not easy getting them to sit and be quiet. Not sure I can remember exactly what I did since it was so long ago, but I do remember sitting down in a chair like they had and put them around me in a circle. I think I had like 10. I spoke in their language. I belive it was Pig Latin or some derivitive thereof, and we got along great. But they always loved the old bribe -- candy. Nothing like loading them up with sugar and sending them back to their parents. Not sure you can do that today, but it worked back then.
You can always pray HARD before you start class, and if nothing else, remember the 23rd Psalm: "Yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me".

[babygirl]

thanx...but like i said bribing isnt working at least not very long maybe 20 sec. and i do put them close around me but half of them dont stay there. and im not sure what u mean by there language?

thanx...but like i said bribing isnt working at least not very long maybe 20 sec. and i do put them close around me but half of them dont stay there. and im not sure what u mean by there language?
[/b]

Sit down with your Primary Presidency and tell them of your problems and ask for solutions. That is their job- to help you to be a better teacher, to help solve your problems.

I was 1st Councilor of the Primary Presidency, and many times I had to sit in on the classes and even take the disruptive children to their parents. We worked with our teachers to make sure that their classes were respectful, that the children were quiet and not harming the other students. One teacher found that by taking them for a walk around the church grounds half way through the alloted class time really calmed them down. ALL three of the Primary Presidency helped her with this too. It did work, and we started it will all of the classes!

Nix the candy and treats - do not reward them for bad behavior. Give them stickers instead. Stars on a chart to show that they are being good. Involve them in your lesson. By the time you get them in class they should have had plenty of Wiggle songs to get the wiggles out of them.

Ask the most disruptive child to please say a prayer for all of us to be respectful, quiet, to listen to the lesson and to learn what Heavenly Father wants us to learn, to bring the Holy Spirit back into the class room.

You may need a helper. It is nearly impossible for one person to keep more than 5 children in line. ASK for help from your Primary Presidency!! ASK for a helper, then co-ordinate with her/him with each lesson and both of you teach, take turns!

Pray before you enter the classroom - go into an unused room, close the door and pray for Father to be with each and every child, to guide you to teach what He wants the children to learn.

We would have the teachers get to the Primary Room before that block started and we would have a prayer just for that purpose. To bring Father into the classes and our hearts.

[Gwen]

i agree with mrss go to the presidency that is what they are for. this is their problem too. and if you have a big enough ward where the presedency isn't having to teach that is what they have to do is help the teachers.

i was the primary pres. with one councilor and just enough children to make it difficult, but not enough to have different age group classes. we had everyone, 11 yrs to 18months in the one group. we had several under eight who i don't think ever had any dicipline. one sunday i cued up the cd player to "reverance is more than just quietly sitting", i hope you know which one i am talking about. anyway, everytime i couldn't talk because of their noise i would start it up and start singing. when they got confused as to what was going on and got quiet it i would stop the cd and continue. after awhile some figured out what was going on and started singing with me (i can't sing mind you). now i will admit that the first couple of weeks we didn't hardly touch the lesson, but it did work.

another possibility is to bring in some small cups, with their names on them, and some marbles or something tangable. when you see good behavior stop thank the child for the specific behavior put a marble in their cup and then continue. don't correct the bad unless it is really bad only acknowledge the good. keep a chart of how many they earn each week (it could be on the wall or in your roll book) and at the end of each month give a reward. i agree with mrss again on no candy, stickers or something (check the dollar stores if you have one they are great for that). don't put a number on how many marbles they must earn, just if they earned more than they did the week before. that way you are rewarding their improvement not a quota. i hope that makes since. the goal is to give as much constant positive feedback as possible. we all like to be told good job. don't be shy with the reward, if john has been wandering the entire class time don't tell him to sit tell everyone who is sitting thank you for sitting in your chair and then give their cup a marble. john will see and hear this. when he does finally sit give him a marble within the first 30 sec. or less. be quick. even if he only gets on marble this month give him a reward anyway, however next month he must earn at least two to get the reward. must show improvement. tell them that they are working to show personal improvement, so they know what the expectation is to earn the reward.

i hope that made since, these things have worked for me. but you will have to find what will work for you. pray, heavenly father will guide you, he knows what to do, they are his children.

good luck
ALmom

[babygirl]

[/quote]You may need a helper. It is nearly impossible for one person to keep more than 5 children in line. ASK for help from your Primary Presidency!! ASK for a helper, then co-ordinate with her/him with each lesson and both of you teach, take turns![/quote]

I have asked for one and should be getting one next week. thank you all for your help, it is greatly appreceated(sp?)

dancergirl

i thought i did the quote right...but its not working oh well

[lisajo]

Poor girl i feel for ya! some times i think God gives us these callings when we are young to show us we don't need to grow up to fast, i know when i did this age group i waited till it was right to have kids, they scared the heck outta me LOL

[Dr T]

A "bribe" is when you give something for doing bad-not good. Just thought that was important.

Dr. T

[LionHeart]

I sometimes teach little children. I guess the best thing that works for me is first of all, like was mentioned before "I speak their language" In other words, I try to speak in a tone that is more on their level. Not baby talk or anything, but more like a children's bedtime story than a business lecture. This makes the lesson more interesting for them and helps to keep their attention. And if their attention is focused on you, they will not be noisy. On some occasions, however, you will come across the brat who just won't do what he's told. In this case, don't be afraid to be stern. Talk in a stern voice. If he talks back, get more stern, and even point a finger at him and take a step or two towards him. Let him know you mean business. And don't back down. If you show weakness, he will use it against you. If you handle it this way, he will realize that you are bigger than him and that if it came right down to it, you could take him out.

I wish you the best,

L.H.

[Princess3dward]

This is almost sad to say....
In my class... (Yes... we do this in a class of 16 year olds, but trust me, they are immature) we have stick figure stories, and the teacher has already gone through the story, and made it easy to understand, and illustrated it with talk bubbles and everything...
It keeps the boys quiet, and we know what it is about.
I notice when she is trying to read or get people to read quotes or from scriptures... she has a harder time getting everyone quiet...