Movement Breaks

One of my biggest challenges is always trying to figure out how to keep a child’s personality vibrant while helping them regulate to be an active learner. So for this student, who by all accounts should be on a behavior chart with all the distracting and sometimes unsafe behaviors I see in class, I’ve decided not to do a behavior chart and try something new.

Whenever I was brainstorming what would be the best fit chart for him, I kept feeling stuck. When we got back from winter break and I started seeing these behaviors again I started realizing that I’m stuck because this student doesn’t need reminders throughout the day about what’s expected and unexpected in school, he knows. He needs more direct instruction, practice regulating his emotions, practice listening to what his body needs to help him be actively participating each day.

I realized that he was already showing me what he needed – to move! When he is trying to wrestle with a friend, he needs physical touch and pressure. When he is rolling on carpet, he needs to get up and move his body around. So, on the first Friday back from break I pulled him aside and asked him what some body movements were that he thinks could help his body feel regulated.

After we came up with a list, we came up with a plan.

I can take a movement break every 15 minutes to help me stay in Green Zone.
I will do at least one movement 5 times before returning to my work.

Every 15 minutes, he will get up from what he is doing and make a movement choice. Instead of waiting until it’s obvious he needs these breaks, we are trying to catch the behaviors before they get too big to regulate.

When he picks a movement choice he will do it 5 times before moving on. He may come back to his work after one choice or he may need to make another choice if he doesn’t feel ready. The first time we tried this, he did all six movements 5 times before returning to his seat. The second time, he only chose one of the movements 5 times before joining us again.

In an effort to minimize the amount of times I need to say his name followed by a direction, we hung his menu on the back side of his table’s name tags (we don’t have name tags on desks, they hang in a protective sheet at the front of each table). The plan is for me to walk by and flip the name tag over, showing the menu. This is his way of seeing that it’s time to take a proactive movement break. We decided that he might recognize he needs the break before I’ve flipped the menu, in which case he can flip the menu himself. This way I can check his table first to see if he has chosen a regulation strategy when I see him looking off task.

At this point, I have no data to see if it has minimized his distracting behaviors during class time. But I do have high hopes for it because he followed through on it all the first day and he has already been choosing the amount of activities he needs at any given moment. Most of all, this has given us something to focus our conversations around in a more specific way while I keep working on teaching him why this is supposed to help. Ultimately, I don’t want him to rely on me telling him when and what he needs, I want him to recognize it himself and be able to tell me when he needs a break.

Although, these are strategies I offer the entire first grade class for any time they need a quick break to regulate themselves, having it typed up and made into a proactive plan for a student like mine will hopefully make a big difference. I’m hoping his and my cooperative planning and learning (combined with my excitement for this idea) translates into a positive change for this kid!

Let me know how you organize your movement breaks in the classroom or at home for individual kids so they are minimally disruptive to others!

The Whole-Brain Child

When a child does something that’s unfavorable, we tend to react without much thought. We know what’s right and we feel it’s in their best interest to tell them immediately what they need to fix. However, what I noticed about myself when I would immediately react was that I was stressed and unreasonably irritable at the end of the day. This then made it more difficult for me to enjoy my time with each child that was in my care. And in honest reflection, it wasn’t working for them either.

I began reading books about the brain, our language choices, and behavior management. As soon as I put even one new strategy into practice I had an instant feeling of relief and less burden at the end of each day. The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson was one of these books.

The strategies you learn in this book lend themselves more to a child’s difficult emotional moments, whereas a book like Love & Logic has more strategies for the day-to-day practices with your child.

Before assuming that every big emotional reaction from a child means something, Siegel and Payne point out that often one of these emotional responses could just be the child seeking a basic need. The acronym they use to help you remember to look for these needs is H.A.L.T. Is our child/student hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?

The book begins by explaining four sections of the brain and how they work together for a positive, healthy way of living. Being conscious of how these section integrate better allows you to use their suggested strategies more effectively. The strategies are to help teach children how to be in charge of their actions and emotions.

The Montessori Notebook made a great quick-guide PDF to these strategies. Since this book applies two-fold for me (teacher and parent), I’ve decided to recently listen to the audio book again. The first time I listened, I could not soak up the information fast enough. This time through, I’m stopping after each chapter to reflect and discuss with my husband. Have we noticed this with our two-year-old? What could we do differently next time he does ____? After these discussions, my wonderful partner is allowing me to take over our bathroom mirror as a way to store our new learning and remind us to practice it.

Understanding how to effectively deliver these strategies with care and compassion is not only a benefit to our children, but in turn gives us more patience when handling our children’s emotional reactions. This not only gives them life skills to help them lead healthy lives, one day independently, but also allows us to end our day more relaxed and excited to wake up and do it again.

 

 

Welcome

Welcome to my space! My name is Brianna and I’m a first grade teacher in Washington State. Although I could continue on to list accomplishments, degrees, experience, or my personal interests, I’ve instead opted to share the parts of my career that spark passion within me. These big areas are problem solving and working with other teachers. Of course, I love the students, too! But to truly put those kids and their needs first, I need to be ready to learn, share, and try new things.

First, it’s important to know that I define a problem as anything that a student needs help with – problems are not all bad. All students come to us with various needs. For example, one student might already know the content that I’m about to teach and another student might not know how to control their anger in a safe manner. I would need to come up with a solution to both of these problems in order to help each student grow and continue to learn.

Secondly, it’s equally important to know that when I use the term teacher, I am referring to anyone and everyone who has an active role in a child’s life – moms, dads, step-parents, grandparents, caretakers, etc. With all these problems being brought to us by kids of all ages, who better to help you come up with these solutions than other teachers? Whether it be talking one-on-one, being part of a small group discussion, or even leading a professional development class, talking with teachers is simply the best! I love brainstorming with other educators for the opportunity to learn and to share.

This space is for just that: connecting with other teachers to learn and share ideas that can enter our classrooms and/or our homes for the benefit of all of our children.

My Heart & Soul

Purpose

As I keep learning, my purpose for this blog may ebb and flow. This page will explain where my heart is and what my goals are for this space. It will help explain why I choose to share what I do.

Mixed and Blended Families

Literature can spark our imagination, connect us, and teach us. This is where I will post my favorite children’s books that can help children connect to their own culture and families as well as learn about others. These books will help spark conversations with kids around empathy, integrity, grit, self-discipline, and embracing diversity.

PD with Bri

As I said above, one of my favorite parts about being a teacher is problem solving. Each student has their own personality paired with their own story. The more we know about where students are coming from through building relationships and the science behind their development, the more patient and compassionate we can be toward ourselves and them while we work together to get them to the next level of success. Check this page for professional development books that can help you do that.

Leave comments, recommendations, or ask questions!

@seayitwithheart