Kindergarten teachers know how important behavior management can be, especially at the beginning of the year. I remember shutting myself in the closet for a quick cry when I had a particularly challenging year. I wondered if McDonald’s was hiring. I realized I looked pretty good in blue, so perhaps I could become a WalMart greeter.
When young children enter our classrooms, they are excited, and for some kindergarten students, this is the first time they have not been the center of the universe. This may be their first experience with classroom rules and daily routines.
In this blog post, I’ll share practical and effective classroom management strategies that create a structured and positive learning environment without all the fuss. Let’s dive into what really works for our youngest learners.
I would love to say that I never had disruptive behavior and that my classroom routines were dialed in, but that would be dishonest. Making a classroom management plan can go a long way in your quest for classroom nirvana!
Let’s break it down!
At the beginning of the year, your young learners are still learning who is in charge. I’ve had students tell me that they are ready to go home at 11 am. Um… no, we are not doing that. Social skills are some of the most important things your students will learn in their first year, but they will need time and attention as you build a positive learning environment in your classroom. This is to say, it may take weeks and, at times, months for individual students to recognize and make good choices.
During that first week of school, you will set the tone for how your classroom will operate and your student behavior expectations. You will begin discussing classroom procedures; as they say, Rome was not built in a day. Successful classroom management does not happen overnight. Emotional skills develop over time. You will build your classroom community from the first day of school and reinforce positive behavior throughout the year!
I kept my classroom rules simple(because that is how I roll):
1. Bodies to ourselves
2. Try our best
3. Let Mrs. Wills teach and others learn.
Once you have decided on these simple rules, I suggest writing them down. You should also consider what positive reinforcement you want to use and how you handle behavior that falls short. Your lesson plans can look AMAZING! You can be up-to-date on the latest teaching methods, but you must also have a productive learning environment that works for you and your little learners.
After you have survived your first few days of school, you will now want to teach all of the everyday “little things.” There were times when I would find myself frustrated when I had to repeat myself again and again. Let me give you one of the first classroom management tips. If you find yourself repeating procedures again and again, create an anchor chart. These visual cues are a powerful tool and will help keep those consistent routines running as you want.
Here are a few examples of the classroom procedures you will want to teach and practice explicitly.
Every year, I could not wait to teach students this classroom procedure. Do you have students who walk into the room and they appear to leave a trail like Hanzel and Gretel?
It is hard to be organized and this chart is an effective way to get students on the right path!
This chart works in a similar fashion. It gets us out of the door and on our way without tears!
I had desks, and students used these binders.
Some things seem obvious, but not every student will come into your classroom knowing what to do.
We want to leave nothing to chance. These visual cues are very supportive.
You can post these as an 8 1/2 x 11 chart, build a chart with the individual pieces, or send the file to be printed at a print shop.
Oh, my, mercy! The things that can disappear inside a student’s desk. One day, I noticed an odd smell, and I found a half-eaten turkey sandwich crammed into the back of a student’s desk.
You guys… had I left it a few more days, it would have grown legs and walked out.
That moment was the day that this chart was born. Besides helping to clarify what goes into a desk and what does not, it also helps students find things quickly. This saves so much time during transitions.
We all know the best monkey business occurs during transitions, so keeping them short is essential.
In my head, I thought I would spend just the first 6 weeks of school going over the expectations during student center time. Then, as if by magic, students would automatically follow these procedures without fail… um… fail.
Yes, we practice these procedures again and again during the first six weeks, but we also review one of these charts a few times a week. It takes a minute to review them and it will save your sanity!
This is a game-changer. It seemed like it did not matter what type of tiara, hat, or the depth of my stink-eye; students would still come to my small group table. UGH!
I first posted this coloring rubric on my blog back in 2011. I was frustrated when students would rush through their work in order to be the first to chant out, “I’m DONE!!!”
If you have not heard of CHAMPS, it is a great evidence-based framework that helps students anticipate activities and routines. This visual chart supports students as they move from one activity to another.
You can read more about the research behind the CHAMPS framework here:
Here is a close-up of each of the letters.
I hope you have gotten a few new ideas for your classroom management routine! I tried to show you what I used so you can duplicate them for your own classroom.
If you would like these charts done for you, I have a set that you can purchase.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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5 Responses
Thank you so much for your all star work rubric. I adapted it for myself and did it on the Promethean board today with my kinders. It was perfect for the first day of school and I was SO impressed with how hard they worked!!!!
Yay! That is great!!!! My class always loved those punch cards!
Hello, I’ve enjoyed all your online webinars. I’m excited for the new center webinar tomorrow. I’m busy setting up my literacy and math stations for next year seeing what I have and what I need to buy . I want to label my tables next year with 2D and 3D shape signs and also to label the center finish bin with the same labels as the tables (like in your Centers like a Boss web.) Do you offer your 2D and 3D signs in any of your organization packs? I looked briefly and didn’t see them mentioned in any of the packs but could have missed them?
Thank you!
Thank you so much!
You can find them in this link: