HOW TO HANDLE THAT REALLY BAD KID (The Answer You’ve Been Looking For)
I bet it was the title of this post that brought you here… amiright?
I am willing to bet you have some strong emotions right now.
You probably feel one of two things:
OVERWHELMED 😩
Maybe you’re a teacher who is overwhelmed by a student who is exhibiting tough behaviors… (FYI— I wrote this post specifically for you.)
INFURIATED 😡
Maybe you came here just to see what kind of terrible person would ever write this kind of blog post…
Either way, I’m glad you’re here.
And, I’m happy to share the good news:
There are no bad kids. 👏🏼👏🏿👏🏾
Hi, I’m Caylee… the author of this blog. I hope we get to chat soon! 💚 (Keep reading — you’ll see what I mean!)
Let me say it again, for the people in the back…
THERE
ARE
NO
BAD
KIDS.
BUT WAIT!
Before you go…
THIS WAS NOT A TRAP - I PROMISE!
I sincerely believe some teachers will click on this post, out of sheer desperation. (In fact, that’s what I’m hoping for.)
Because being a teacher, in a classroom, where a child is exhibiting behaviors that you can’t manage… is a terrible feeling.
In fact, I will venture to say, it’s the worst possible feeling a teacher can have.
I have been “that teacher”… where I struggled to handle a child’s behavior that was so out of control — it became a safety issue…
Like, KEEPING THE KID’S SAFE, is #1, right?
What about when you can’t stop a child from hitting or kicking their peers? 😳
Or, what about
when you have a “runner”…😮
Good Lord, that might even be worse than that last “worst possible” I mentioned… Ya, it’s definitely worse…
Hand to God, I had a “runner” that ran..
out of my classroom…
out of the school building…
and into the parking lot.
If that doesn’t make you puke a little bit inside your mouth,
then, you’ve clearly never been there.
Like, pit of your stomach, gut wrenching, on-the-verge of vomiting…worse than the WORST feeling ever.
I was FAILING to keep my students safe…😑
AND there is no low, lower than that.
No feeling worse than that. 😞
I certainly felt like A BAD TEACHER… but the kid? Bad? Nope, not even a little bit.
What I Tried (And Why It Didn’t Work)
What did I do to try and help myself when I was overwhelmed with tough behaviors?
I cried a little bit.
I googled stuff… like “how to deal with challenging behaviors in preschool” or “strategies for disruptive behavior”…
“I googled stuff — and sure, the internet has thousands of behavior management tips to offer… but the fact of the matter, is that I NEVER FOUND *the tip* that I needed right then… I never found THE answer, telling me what I should do differently the next day based on MY SITUATION, MY STUDENT. Generic tips don’t help you when the people writing them don’t know your kid. Don’t know you. And don’t know anything about the situation you are facing...alone... that next day!”
I Became The Expert I Was Looking For…
Yup, it’s true… after struggling for some time, I finally had to grab the bull by the horns… (or however that saying goes.)
Basically, I stepped up, to the curve-ball-behaviors kids were throwing at me.
(Again and again and again and again…)
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
I read a lot about Conscious Discipline and Love and Logic. I took most of my ideas from them and started trying things…
Here’s how it usually went:
New behavior pops up.
“Hmm… this one’s tough”… try this, try that, try something else…
UNTIL… Finally, something kinda worked…
NEXTTTTT!!!
Another new behavior rolls in…
“Hmm… this one’s REALLY tough”
… try this, try that, try something else…
UNTIL…boom, something else, kinda worked.
Now, we’re getting somewhere.
And you know what?
After you do it enough times, you start to find patterns…
I started to be able to see a bigger picture… and I noticed similarities that I could transfer from one situation to the next.
After a few years of this, I had “the behavior management” thing down.
I became the go-to person for behavior management ideas and I helped other teachers in my building.
Then, I Started Helping More Teachers...
I wanted to connect with other teachers so I started something new - a support group for Pre-K Teachers, like us.
It’s all about positivity.
Teaching Preschool is HARD.
I share all the documents I’ve created with a close group of teachers who support each other.
If you’d like some new activities that your students will enjoy AND that will teach them the important concepts, we’re the teacher family for you. 😊
I’d love to GIVE YOU IDEAS, ACTIVITIES and SUPPORT to make your LIFE easier.
Join our family today, we’d love to have you.
I dare you to take a chance on me.
Or better yet, take a chance on yourself.
And, in case you need to hear this, I'll say it...
This is worth it.
You.
Are.
Worth.
It.
💚
In 2019, I started a support group for Pre-K Teachers called the Pre-K Teacher Family.
The Answer You’ve Been Looking For…
In 2020, I had my first child.
Now, I work from home supporting teachers in the Pre-K Teacher Family.
BUT, let me explain why there’s still something for you here…
I could discuss behavior management, all day long…
It’s safe to say that the fire inside of me… has been lit.🔥 (In fact, it’s raging.)
But baby June doesn’t have much to say about it… so I need you to help me keep my fire burnin’.
I’ve spent years mastering behavior management in the Preschool classroom…
(You don’t just wake up one day and lose the passion that you relentlessly studied, practiced, and perfected for years.)
***I truly believe, there are no bad kids…
I can say that, and mean it — because I’ve faced the hard behaviors that throw the whole classroom off - and I came out on the other side.
I conquered them.
And it’s only then, when you get past the bad behaviors - that you see the child for who they really are… and who they’ve always wanted to be.
If you can’t get those behaviors under control — it’s hard to distinguish the “bad” from the “behaviors…” and it’s tempting to put those two words together, create a label and stick it on a child.
It shouldn’t be that way.
It doesn’t have to be…
And I’m going to help you conquer the tough behaviors, too.
I’m going to help you get past whatever behaviors are in the way of you enjoying your kids.
I’ve set aside time in my day to make struggling teachers A PRIORITY.
YOU CAN BE ONE OF THOSE TEACHERS! (It’s super easy!)
You are able to tell me, the things I couldn’t tell the internet back when I was searching for suggestions…
Because when you’re in the trenches and you don’t know what to do about a child’s behavior… and you’re searching and searching for answers — It doesn’t help anyone to be reminded that, “You should have clear expectations” or “Remember to stay calm when behaviors escalate.” 😞😖😤
Follow Me On Instagram
Here’s how it works…
(AND YES, it’s free!) 👍🏻👍🏿👍🏽👍🏾
You send me a short summary of what’s going on.
This is where you get to tell me any important info there is to know:
about the child
about you
and/or about the situation in general
When you are able to tell me exactly what’s going on, I can send you quick ideas to try and usually teachers see the behaviors improve immediately.
And, in fact- I’ve made a nice little form to make it easy for you:
(This will come as an email straight to my inbox and I will usually write you back by the end of the day!)
MORE BEHAVIOR RESOURCES
💛 To: You
💚From, Me
EPISODE 2: Get them back on your team.
We’re giving you our number one GO TO behavior management strategy we try to get some of those really tough behaviors under control.
Episode 4- the behavior management system that will be the solution to your behavior problems.
If you’re still using the color system for behavior management, this one is for you.
Episode 6. Behavior Management Problems?
We’ve got 3 Strategies for you to try!
Today’s episode is going to be PART 1 of a two part series that will give you LOTS of behavior management strategies to help turn things around in your classroom.
Episode 7. Behavior Problems? We’ve got 4 MORE Strategies for you to try!
This is PART 2 of a series that will give you LOTS of behavior management strategies to help turn things around in your classroom.
