In reflecting on
any conflicts I have had lately, one comes to mind. I coworker and I had a
disagreement about nap time routine. What had been happening is that one of the
children at nap had been consistently disruptive so the teacher gave the child
a toy car to wheel back and forth to keep him from disrupting the other
children. A very innocent gesture that turned into chaos because then other
children wanted to have a toy at their mat, so now all sixteen children had a
toy on their mat. When you walk into the classroom you can hear loud noises and
the environment is not peaceful or easy to relax. Now there are no children who
need naps sleeping during naptime.
I approached the
topic with the teacher by saying when I walked into the classroom at naptime yesterday
I observed that the atmosphere seemed to be chaotic and louder than usual. I
then asked her what her thoughts were about the environment at naptime. At
first she was defensive and then as we talked about alternative to toys at the
children’s mats and different techniques to work with the child that was being
disruptive and coming up with a plan to help provide support. After talking
about different supports the teacher felt better and more confident about nap
time and I felt better that the children would be able to rest in a calmer
environment.
Hi Alysse, great post! There was an issue about a child in a classroom that I used to be in that was disruptive during naptime. She was either laying down singing to herself or trying to get up and walk around. There were several times where she woke up the other children. Mind you this is a toddler room, so still til this day the child still does it. I am glad that you and the teacher were able to come to a conclusion about your situation. Other than our situation, regardless she still makes noise while others are sleeping!
ReplyDeleteAlysse,
ReplyDeleteThat's great problem solving skills. I prefer to give the children a book or a puzzle when they cannot sleep on their mat, instead of a toy. In other cases, we may let the children sit at a table and color also.
Sheymirra
Great approach, Alysse! When teachers think together, better alternatives are agreed upon which help in making the atmosphere pleasant for both young children and adults.
ReplyDelete