Guidance Skills

Affirming Behavior

Affirming behavior acknowledges the child's behavior and encourages them to repeat it. It can be used for both positive and negative behaviors.

Prompting

Children need prompting either to stop an unacceptable behavior or to start an acceptable one.

Modeling

Modeling happens whenever you speak or move in the classroom.

Warnings

Remind children that they are misbehaving and their behavior will have consequences.

Pro-social Behavior

are acts of kindness that benefits others and demonstrate cooperation and helpfulness

Natural Consequences

are those experiences that follow naturally as a result of a behavior. They do not require anyone's intervention.

Logical Consequences

are those that are deliberately set up by an adult to show what will happen if a limit is not followed.

Overstimulation

can occur when a room has many children and families in it, when there is too much noise. If a child is tired, hungry, or getting sick.

Guidance

consists of direct and indirect actions used by an adult to help children develop internal controls and appropriate behavior patterns.

Frustration

happens when a child does not feel in control, they feel defeated or discouraged and cause tension in young children.

Redirection

happens when the teacher diverts or turns the children's attention to a different direction.

Time Out

is a guidance technique that involves moving a child away from others for a short period of time. It is used when a child's disruptive behavior cannot be ignored.

Positive Reinforcement

is a method of guiding children's behavior by rewarding positive actions such as holding a door, saying please or thank you.

Consequence

is a result that follows an action or behavior and can be very effective in shaping behavior.

Effective Praise

is sincere and constructive. It acknowledges the child's progress and actions.

Stress

is the body's reaction to physical or emotional danger signals.

Discipline

is training that develops self-control. In early childhood this should be used in a positive way.

Active Listening

is when a teacher first listens to what a child says, then responds by repeating what was just said.

Suggesting

means placing thoughts for consideration into children's minds.

I-message

tells the children how you feel about his or her behavior in a respectful manner. It states the child's behavior, the teacher's feelings about the behavior and the effects of the behavior.