Critical #TeacherFriends Twitter Chat: "Over the Top" Kids

"Over the Top" Kids

recap by Debbie Clement

This past Tuesday we had an incredibly insightful Twitter Chat!

Actually EVERY Tuesday is an amazing Twitter Chat! 

This one just resonated with me. Personally. 

Our #GuestEduCelebrity was Wendy Young. 

She is co-author of the forthcoming book, "BLOOM." 

I'm going to screen shot several of Wendy's tweets from our chat. 

She is a wealth of information, insight and support. 

My hope is to support you as you support children who have challenges.

At the same time I'd like lure you into our weekly Twitter chat!

WE HAVE PRIZES EVERY WEEK! 

I know. I know. You don't even have a Twitter account. 

Or you started one ages ago and then just couldn't see the benefit. 

Let me tell you. Honestly. Twitter is an acquired taste. 

You just have to find some tweeps that resonate with you and your experience. 

THEN you can have professional development 24/7! 

IN YOUR JAMMIES! 

I'm @Kweezlequeen on Twitter: long story, just follow me! 

Let me see if I can capture just a little bit of what you missed. 

I am the moderator of our Tuesday night chat. 

I ask our guests five questions over the course of an hour. 

Everyone that 'attends' also answers the question. 

For Tuesday, the first question I asked was: 

"TeacherFriends What's your favorite suggestion 

for helping angry, 'Over the Top' Kids?" 

Now here come some of Wendy's answers............

*****These are screen shots....

Just click on the images below 

to go directly to the article quoted.

We are working diligently to get the entire chat into an organized, archived format. 

Several tech gliches have kept us from having that ready at this time. 

I will add it here, just as soon as it is captured. 

In the meantime, come wading in the Twitter pool with me! 

Can you believe that the month of May has arrived? 

I think May and I think Mother's Day. 

A while back I created this 'subway' art of my mothering thoughts. 

I titled it, "Things I Learned in Mom School." 

Download and print: VOILA! 

Give it to your favorite mom.... or better still? 

Give it to your favorite GRANDMOM!

If we've arrived at May, then it is seriously time to  get your End-of-the-Year Program together. 

I have two songs that I've written and recorded that are each perfect for this time of year. 

They are each in digital format, with Mp3s included in the zip file. 

Start today and I *PROMISE* you will be performance ready in time. 

They are each THAT simple! 

Depending on the focus of your program, 

you can either go with the three tissue self-esteem anthem,

"You're Wonderful" 

or go patriotic and use 

"Red, White and Blue" 

which has also been known to incite tears. 

They are each available at our Early Education Emporium. 

Or perhaps you are more familiar with TeachersPayTeachers.

I've had a couple of AMAZING school visits since last month, 

to some of your favorite cyber-friend/bloggers. 

I just visited Mr. Greg in Nashville..... read all about it on my blog here or on Greg's blog there! 

I absolutely ADORE this picture of their preparation for my arrival! 

They are making quilt square art in response to my first picture book! 

Greg is going with the "no table" approach to his kindergarten classroom this year. 

Give the room a whole new feel. 

Opens it up and allows for my kinder-sprawl! 

Can you find my book? 

RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL OF THE ACTION!

Be still my heart!!!

AUTHENTIC ART IN THE MAKING!

As if that wasn't enough.... two days ago I visited with Cheryl of "Primary Grafitti" fame.  

Here's the tweet that she sent out right in the middle of #TeacherFriends chat. 

The mature students are 'freezing funny faces' in response to my song, "Jumpin' Jiminy.' 

If you EVER wanted to take a peek at an 'organized' classroom, 

come look over my shoulder as I mozy around the perimeter of her room! 

Prepare to be amazed! 

{Click pic below}

Here's one more FREEBIE for you for your End-of-Year gift. 

You can download it in pdf format over at our Early Education Emporium! 

I'll sign off with a HUGE sense of gratitude for yet another of my blogging friends. 

Mary, over at "Sharing Kindergarten" has embraced the Wobble Seats that we distribute. 

I don't have to put words in her mouth, as she's written at length about her excitement over our seating alternative. 

She started with a set of four WobbleSeats and then got a dozen MORE! 

When you order a dozen we can have them shipped for free. 

Inspiring Others to Inspire Themselves... the Art of the Question

WHAT WOULD THE WORLD LOOK LIKE IF WE INSPIRED OTHERS TO INSPIRE THEMSELVES?

THE ART OF THE QUESTION

• ASK
• EMBRACE THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWS (the sound of thinking!)
• ASK AGAIN
• BE PHYSICALLY ENGAGED WHEN YOU LISTEN
• ASK AGAIN
• EMBRACE THIS PROCESS (the byproducts will astound you!)

I used to use many more periods and !'s than the empowering ?  I finally started using more questions when I was re-introduced to my mentor Dr. Carroll Rinehart.  I asked questions and I THOUGHT I was listening.  I was listening... technically.... but I was uncomfortable with the silence that followed the question.  I thought that was a sign of confusion.  In fact, it was the sound of thinking.  When I read to children I ask many questions.  When I meet with colleagues, I ask lots of questions.  When I see my kids, I ask lots of questions... and the result has been truly wonderful.

At the early childhood program, Child-Parent Centers, Inc. in Southern Arizona, they ask lots of questions as well.  Whether we use the word inquiry, prompt or any other word, it is the quality and intent of the question which is critical.  Above you see a lovely "Snow Angel" made from wire that a preschool child made.  As beautiful as this product is, what is even more stunning is the process of learning that led to this product being made.... and it all started with a question.  Perhaps the question was "What is wire?"  "What can you do with wire?" After that question was asked, their was silence, followed by more questions.  It took patience and an engaged teacher who was willing to have an authentic moment or two with a young child.  I wonder if we realize how important not only questions are, but the quality of those questions?

What was the question that led to 7 leafs being posted on a board, with the written number "Seven" and the number "7" drawn as well?  What additional questions can you think of asking?

Above is a piece of artwork made with flower parts...amazing, right?  What was the question that led to this creation?  Ask yourself, what questions have I asked that led to the learners being so engaged, they couldn't wait for what was about to happen or what they were about to do?  When the learned is that engaged, there was a great question that led to it.

I wonder if the question that preceded the above painting was, "What is your favorite food?"  I wonder if the answer was "Pizza" or "Chili's?"  Or perhaps the first question was "What is your favorite shape?"  Either way, the question, followed by silence, authentic conversation and more questions leads to all manner of creations, along with a beautiful balance of critical thinking and creativity.

A Rocket ship made out of wire! What question was asked?  I bet it initially had little to do with a Rocket.  Our minds are super computers and yet, so often, we ask only linear questions of young learners...what?!?!  We need to remind ourselves of the simple, yet empowering, act of asking not only questions, but OPEN ENDED questions of our young learners.  The results remind us of how much the learner brings to the table of education.

Ah... the SUN!!!  We know all about that in Arizona, my home state, and the home of the national non profit organization, the F.A.M.E. Foundation.  Through the Context Method® we look for contextual ways of learning with young children all the way through high school students.  Above is the sun.  The question might have been "What do trees need to grow? or "What is summer like" or "How do you feel when you are at school?"  As guides of young children, we need to become masters of the question.

We also need to ask ourselves questions!  Above are two of my colleagues, the incredible bass vocalist and Artist, Juan Aguirre (left), and Rick Wamer, Program Director of Arts Integration Solutions and world famous Mime and Actor.  I know what question was asked because... I ASKED IT...lol...  The question was, "Can you show me everything you know about lines and curves?"  Their willingness to live and learn like a child, makes them both excellent when it comes to connecting with children...Bravo!

The creation of the doll above may have not happened without questions being asked first.

One of my favorite questions to ask is "What do you see?" Above you see the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus in China.  When we are encourage to see for ourselves, we can see both differences and similarities.  A city is city in many ways, but culturally there are also differences.

Here's one for you, the reader of this blog... look at the image above and write down everything you see.  Now that you've done that, look at the image and and write down some more things you didn't notice the first time.  Inspiration is in part related to looking for and expressing depth of meaning along with depth of being.  Sometimes we have to look more than once... sometimes we have to ask more than once.

In the above photo, we would not have witnessed the artistic process unfold in front of our very eyes if I had not asked this preschooler the question, "Can you draw some quarter notes?"  When we ask questions openly, without one particular answer in mind, we open the door to creativity.

Many days when I visit an early childhood classroom, I bring a small suitcase on wheels and inside are all sorts of things from puppets to books and more.  If I hadn't asked the question, "What do you think is in my suitcase?" and continued to ask questions as I slowly took out puppet Eddie the Elephant foot by foot, the above scenario might never had taken place; a child inspired to create an elephant out of clay!

Those children aren't sleeping... they are creating geometric shapes with their bodies.  This was preceded by all manner of questions, including:

• "Can you make a line with your body?"
• "How many ways can you make a line with your body?"
• "What else can you make with your body?"

We have to model what we teach in our own lives.  To the left is Dr. Carroll Rinehart, to the right Corey Ferrugia of MyTown Music, and myself in the middle and we are asking each other questions. Some of our answers were even questions.  This simple act has transformed my life and I hope you use it to transform yours.  When I ask my teenage kids questions, I receive responses.  It's quite different when I make statement...lol.

Asking a child "Who are you?" or "What do you look like?"  can lead to self-portraits and more!

Questions can lead to creation of objects and turning dreams into reality. 

Questions help us find and/or create paths to knowledge.  Questions help the learner create their own path to knowledge and the use of the knowledge.

"What can you make with a shadow?" is a simple question.  Simple questions can lead to complex understanding.

Another self-portrait... what is a question worth?  Certainly, more than any statement.  Think about it... how many questions do you ask and how many are open-ended.  I invite you to join me on November 4th on Twitter for a one hour intellectual jam on "Inspiring Learners".  My colleague Debbie Clement will post some questions and we can go back and forth on ideas.  Chat with you then!

Enrique

Founder/Director of Education, F.A.M.E. Foundation

2-Time Grammy Nominated Artist

Co-Founder, Context Method®

Redleaf Author

Four Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Discipline

Courtesy of photographer David Castillo
Dominici and Free Digital Photos dot net

In my work with parents and teachers on solving behavior challenges with children, I help them identify the problem, possible causes of the behavior, and then possible solutions for eliminating it. My goal is to send the adults away with a few simple step-by-step techniques they can implement immediately to bring about quick change at home or in the classroom. Here are four key questions to ask yourself to help you identify a current behavior issue and some common sense solutions to solve them.

QUESTION # 1: Why can’t the behavior occur? 

Adults react unnecessarily when children behave in ways that annoy or embarrass the adult, or add more chaos to their already stressed state of mind. Adults also react in this manner in response to feelings of fear that the child may fall down or get hurt in some fashion. Stop before you react unnecessarily and ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen if I don’t react?,” or “Why can’t my child do what she’s doing at the moment?” Let go of the urge to control everything and everybody. Avoid arranging the outcomes of everyone’s behavior.

QUESTION # 2: How would the child know not to behave this way? 

Children see the world from a different perspective than adults, and adults unfairly assume or expect children to see it from theirs. Carefully examine the models that your children have around them to learn from and be sure to set good examples that teach what you want them to learn. Encouraging a child to read frequently, for example, works best when they see the adult reading, too. Create agreements ahead of time and set up rules before activities begin, not in the middle of them. Yes, this will require you as a caregiver to think ahead and predict behavior situations that could be challenging.

QUESTION # 3: What unmet needs might the child be demonstrating? 

In many instances, both children and adults demonstrate surprising behaviors as a way of getting unmet needs satisfied. The little boy constantly drawing may be exhibiting his need to draw and create. Creating appropriate opportunities for him to draw and color may be all that is necessary to eliminate the problem. Giving a bossy child the opportunity to lead family activities may satisfy his need to be in charge. And relaxing over a tween's or teen’s experiments with her appearance that doesn’t endanger her, could satisfy her need to explore her own identity in a healthy way. Have you ever behaved in curious ways to satisfy any unmet needs of your own?

QUESTION # 4: Is there a purpose to this behavior for the child? 

Both children and adults find ways to act out to create more purpose in their life. A little boy picking fights with his brother discovered that it brought his busy grandmother into the room in hopes of her taking his side. The little girl who had once again become a baby was most likely responding to the jealousy she may have felt of having to share her parents with her new sibling. And my own son found a new way to annoy others by experimenting with sounds he could make with his voice.

Before you get angry, step back for one moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself these four questions. Perhaps the answers they offer may allow you to see the behavior differently and provide you with an opportunity to choose an alternate response that will get you more effective results.  Behavior is usually a result of what has been learned through imitation or getting unmet needs or purpose satisfied. Avoid the urge to react and think of ways you can be proactive instead, to avoid or eliminate challenging behaviors.