Discussion Appropriate Expectations (2/6) Page 7

8/14/2015

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The preschool class in Little Oak Childcare Center is getting ready to go out on the playground. Miss Lisa, the new assistant teacher, wants the class to stand in a straight line with their jackets zipped, mittens on, bodies still and voices off. Lucas is bouncing around, Sheila is playing with Emmie's hair, Charlie and Teddy are making rules for the game that they will play, and Molly is twirling her arms around impatiently. Miss Lisa becomes frustrated and tells the class that they will not go to recess until they are standing still with voices off.

1) Do they have appropriate expectations for the children in the scenario above? Why or why not?

49 Comments

shandra swidecki

1/9/2018 09:22:22 am

Part of her expectations are too high for her being a new TA... The fact that she is new will result in the children not being in routine to match what she expects.

Ingrid Abdelnour

2/1/2018 01:50:59 pm

As a new TA, it is a good time for her to let the children see her as an authority figure, however, becoming frustrated will not help this. The expectations that preschool children can stand still in a line waiting to go outside is not unrealistic, but perhaps she would be better off singing a song or having them create a “train” with hands on the shoulders of the kid in front of you so they don’t get bored while they wait. If one kid starts to stray, more will follow

Cassie Deszo

2/17/2018 04:08:47 pm

I think that the expectation of being appropriately attired for the weather in not unrealistic. However, I feel that most preschoolers are not quite ready for standing in a straight ,quiet line while waiting for one of their favorite parts of the day is unrealistic! Always remember to pick your battles!

Michelle Nugent

12/28/2018 11:06:17 am

I believe that the expectation is unrealistic. Also minimizing transition times is important factor.

Sheila

2/18/2018 04:58:58 pm

To achieve what Ms. Lisa desires, there several steps that should have been followed prior to getting the children lined up in a straight line with jackets on and zipped up.
Steps that should have been followed:
1. Bring all the children into circle time.
2. While one teacher is engaging the children, either with a "Show and tell" session, or music or reading a story, the second teacher can get 2 students to fetch their jackets, get ready and return to the circle.
3. Once everybody is ready, then the children should be told what is expected of them, such as that they need to stand in a straight line, hold a bubble in their mouth (we use this technique to get the students to keep quiet, while exiting the classroom). Use rings for the kids to hold on to, so that they know they need to follow the student in front of them.
4. Instead of a single file system, it is always easier to pair the children, so that they walk in a straight line.
5. Douse the lights down, which further helps calm the children down.
6. Don't keep the children waiting too long, once they are in line, but exit quickly.
7. Setting expectations and outlining the rules plays a vital part in regulating behavior as well.

Michelle Birdsong

2/18/2018 05:57:28 pm

This is too much to expect preschool children to do. She should have them sing a song or have them do a finger play while helping get the other children ready to go outside.

Vicki DeGaetano

3/16/2018 01:58:10 pm

A teacher should be ready first then help with kids while keeping them entertained with songs

Susanne

4/2/2018 08:02:45 pm

It's considered inappropriate to make a child wait, so many of us Family home providers struggle with this very problem especially when we have a variety of ages and only one of us! This teacher has too high of expectations for her preschool class. It states that she is a new assistant and may not know what the usual routine is for these children. She will need to become more informed on routine of the children, I imagine she is not only frustrated but a bit overwhelmed as these students are not attentive to her but to their friends.

Sofia

4/3/2018 10:04:59 am

I believe the new assistant teacher should help kiddos get their coats, if there is more than one teacher there she should hold hands with the kiddo that is bouncing around, dim the lights down to get the rest of the kiddos attention and sing a song with them.

Leila

4/24/2018 09:40:48 pm

Their expectation is not appropriate because children will not wait that long, teachers will have to give up and go out anyways. Doing a circle and dismiss students in pairs to get ready would be the best option.

Pattapak

4/25/2018 08:57:09 pm

For preschoolers, Miss Lisa should helps her students get ready.
she can start with a soft music and circle time....

After a circle time, when they are line up or start loosing their interest in the line. She should sing or play games at the line such as 'eye on me' or 'hands up' or 'head, shoulder knee and toe' to bring their interest back.

Nivedita Thakkilapati

4/25/2018 09:35:26 pm

first the TA should let the children call them one at a time to go and get their jackets on and then sing a song once all the kids are in the line to get their attention.

Emily

6/9/2018 04:22:31 pm

I think the expectation is fair for training kids on what they should be doing. There's always going to be a couple of kids bouncing around no matter what, so you have to find the middle ground and wait for the majority of the class to be listening and then go outside. A teacher has to establish these expectations before the time when they are expected to do such things. Practicing lining up or giving rewards such as stickers to the students who are meeting the expectations can help. Or, depending on the facility, a consequence for any child not listening after several warnings, such as time out can help.

Gabriella Mahoney

6/27/2018 10:41:26 pm

The longer she waits and the more frustrated she gets, the less attention span the children will have. She should make sure the children are all ready with their clothing, get them into a line. And then count to ten, or sing another song to keep the children engaged. Her behavior is not appropriate.

sarah

7/10/2018 01:29:31 pm

I don't think this is a realistic expectation for preschoolers. however I think it is a very common mistake that new teachers soon learn from. Preschoolers need assistance in many fine motor skilled activities such as zipping up jackets putting on mittens etc. before transitioning to the playground Ms. Lisa with appropriate vocabulary and tone of voice explain to the children her expectations of what a quiet line means, getting dressed (she will explain she will provide assistance if things are too difficult) and how they should be walking to the playground. While children are waiting their turn, they can sing songs.

Sylvia Johnson

7/20/2018 01:37:51 pm

Standing in a straight line with no voices for preschoolers would be very hard. We do songs and eyes on me, and if they are still too fidgety then we do hands on head or head, shoulders, knees and toes.
I was that new TA 54 yrs ago and using a soft voice with children gets more attention.

Sarah Petrucci

8/1/2018 11:42:03 am

Those expectations would be appropriate for older school-age children but are somewhat unrealistic for preschoolers. Developmentally, they have less control over their bodies and less understanding of how to meet expectations. A more appropriate expectation might be that the kids all sing a song softly together with fun hand gestures as they go out to recess. This will hold the preschoolers' attention but still allow them to move and use their voices.

Preciosa

8/25/2018 08:18:26 am

I think they have a realistic expectation but needed time and practice. Ms.Lisa is a new assistant teacher and it looks like she needed time to get to know the children and vice versa.It looks like she needs to show the children how standing in line looks like and gives praises to those who are following her instruction. I do not agree with her that she needs to wait until everyone's voices is off it will be hard for all the children to wait. I suggest that she sings with the children a song while lining up and when the song is over then they can all go out in the playground.

Crystal C.

9/7/2018 12:20:46 pm

I don't think those expectations are realistic for preschoolers. I think it also depends on the teacher. Since she is a new assistant teacher I think that they will test boundaries and feel like they don't have to listen. I think that there are other ways that children to line up and transition into going outside that doesn't require them to stand still in line. The could move like a certain animal or pretend to be a quiet animal. i think if you make it fun and engaging they will be more receptive behave in line and transition smoothly outside.

Taylor

9/13/2018 07:47:37 pm

The scenario doesn't state if they had gone over the expectations ahead of time. I think her expectations are appropriate but the teachers should be ready first and coats, mittens, hats, etc should be on prior to lining up. If more than one teacher is present, one should be at the front of the line doing a line up song or chant while the other is in the back making sure everyone is there. Then immediately start walking out the door. If just one teacher is present, it's important that everything and everyone is ready before getting in line, then a reminder of expectations or a song/chant and start walking.

Sophie

9/15/2018 11:27:46 am

I do not think this is a realistic expectation, preschool aged children cannot be expected to stand still in a line in silence. The teacher should sing a song or play a counting game to keep them busy while they wait.

Andrea

9/15/2018 12:10:06 pm

These are unrealistic expectations for preschoolers. If she wants them to be "at attention" she should put it in a song, but expecting a group of preschoolers to be silent is a bit silly.

Sophie

9/15/2018 12:14:00 pm

Misty

9/30/2018 05:39:46 pm

These are definitely unrealistic expectations. Children cannot sit still for longer than 5 minutes. She should do an activity like sing a song while waiting for everyone to be ready. It gives the children something to focus on.

MIsty A Sauceda

10/6/2018 11:24:04 am

Standing in line is even out of the realm of these little people. Tell, a story or sing a song or do another activity that will help the children while they are waiting for the other children

Carol link

10/30/2018 06:50:58 pm

I think that this is unrealistic for pre-school children. It would help the transition if they sang a song or played a game while waiting.

lexi

11/4/2018 04:36:56 pm

I don't believe this is a realistic expectation for preschoolers. Standing completely still and quiet in line for any amount of time would be extremely difficult. Advice for her to make her transition smoother would be to have them grab their things and get ready to go while in circle time. This would give them the least amount of time in line,

Jessica

11/12/2018 02:45:20 pm

I think its realistic to have her students line up to go outside, but unrealistic to think her students will be quiet and still without gaining all of their attention. She can sing a song or use an attention game. The longer she "waits" for her students to settle their bodies, the more frustrated she will become.

julie

11/15/2018 08:53:44 pm

absolutely not realistic.....army sergeant material there....she should not be in charge of little children

Norma

11/18/2018 06:56:53 pm

I think these expectations vary ok the circumstances of the classroom and the teacher. It's important that students have the time and place to practice what they are expected to do since they are so young, so if this becomes routine, the teacher could uphold these higher expectations if the children are not following along.To get them to settle down, lining up could be turned into a game or music and song can be used so students can then focus on that rather then being so distracted.

Courtney

11/20/2018 03:22:16 pm

No, Because the longer she waits for the children to stop talking the more frustrated she will get along with the children which will make it harder to get there attention. I find it easier to have all the children meet at circle and dismiss them one at a time to get there jackets and to come sit back down at circle. Once all the kids have there jackets on we line up so there is no pushing or shoving. To get there attention we do 1 2 3 eyes on me .

Perla

11/23/2018 10:51:34 am

The TA expectations are not appropriate for this age group. Preschoolers are very active children and cannot be expected to be ready to go outside on their own . Making children wait and becoming frustrated can make things worse. Singing a song while in line to keep them busy can help or asking children to pair up and help each other put their jackets on to go out before getting in line at circle can make things smoother. keeping them busy and making them stand in line for as little time as possible can go a long way in this situation.

Nichole

11/25/2018 02:22:02 pm

her expectation would be better if given time, her being new. If she had a transition activity they could engage in she would be able to control more efficiently

Anna Vosk

11/27/2018 12:40:54 pm

I believe it's an unrealistic expectation for 2-5 year old children. At our daycare, we usually have one teacher engage the already dressed/ ready children in a discussion about weather or a song, while the other children get ready/ dressed. Similarly with hand-washing, since we have one sink, to prevent goofing off in the line to use the sink, a teacher will point to the hand-washing routine on the wall, remind them how to wash their hands, or sing our hand-washing song. It's unrealistic to expect perfection from children this young as they are still learning. However, we can achieve some level of ordered chaos (!) within our routines and transitions.

Kacey Rhodes

12/2/2018 07:28:23 pm

While I think having high expectations are great for children I also have to remember what is appropriate for their age. Getting frustrated isn’t going to make the situation any more helpful. It’s important to breathe and remind your self that the are excited and you need to help give them the skills they need to complete such task. Making it fun helps also, it catches their attention. I often will speak softly and that seems to catch some kids attention. They are curious to what I’m saying. Then I will say “ if you hear my voice pat your tummy twice.” I will come up with a few fun or silly tasks and then I bring it back down too “ if you hear my voice, face forward as quiet as a mouse.”

Kathleen Nicole Co

12/7/2018 11:29:30 pm

It is probably too much to ask for, especially because she is new. Children likes routine and so they know who their teachers are and they know who to listen to. If you are new, they need to start becoming more comfortable around you first before they even listen to you. She should try to be more patient with them and start thinking of a game to make them listen to her.

Hermelinda Mendoza

12/13/2018 08:57:14 pm

Yes they do have great exceptions for the children to do and the care givers to do things with the children and yes I see that they do have appropriate things to do with the children

Hermelinda Mendoza

12/13/2018 09:20:33 pm

This is too much to expect preschool children to do. She should have them sing a song or have them do a finger play while helping get the other children ready to go outside

Maria Till

12/21/2018 06:40:05 pm

It is hard to have the children stand quietly in line without waiting. Important that the children know what to expect, but the children need to be engaged, in a song, an activity something to occupy them until the class is ready to all go out.

Abbi McNett

12/22/2018 03:31:59 pm

I think the expectations are realistic, but maybe the teacher should come up with an easy game for the kids to play like Ispy while the other kids are doing what she asks.

Jacqueline Robirts

12/27/2018 02:31:23 pm

Being that she is a new assistant teacher I think her expectations are too high for this group of children. If she wants them to stand straight with jackets zipped, mittens on, and voices off then she would need to go through each of these steps with them and practice them regularly to have children meet these expectations. I don't think these are appropriate expectations because since the children are so young they will need practice to learn these skills and it may be easier to achieve what she wants by making it fun for children to do by having them sing a song that goes through all the steps and then leads to them being quiet when everyone has gone through all the steps. You can't expect preschoolers to be quiet or to put all their outdoor wear on correctly while standing in a straight line. These are skills that will take a long time for them to master which is why she needs to start teaching them her expectations step by step and practicing each aspect of them so that they children will be able to eventually grasp what she wants. However, she needs to make this process engaging for them as well as understanding that they are in preschool and will not be perfect at doing all these things on their own right away. They will require lots of practice and mastering one thing at a time for it to be effective.

Hailey Lindborg

12/28/2018 02:31:31 pm

This is too much to expect preschool children to do. At this time it is their outside time which means they already have all the pent up energy that needs to be let out. Delaying this will only make things worse. If i were Miss Lisa I would tell them all we are going to be ants marching all the way outside while we sing the ants go marching it. This way it engages all the kids, gets their attention and listening ears, and allows them to march and get wiggles out.

Catherine

12/29/2018 08:33:33 am

Miss Lisa is a new face for these kids and they don’t know her. If she is not using the same routine that those kids ar eased to, the expectation of them lining up all ready to go is unrealistic. Getting to know her is going to take some time, she might want to use a fun game for them to focus on her and maybe pair them up to go and wait in line (this way they can have fun and be in line). Transitions are always kind of chaotic and loud because kids have opportunities to talk to their friends and plan their free play.

Sarah

12/29/2018 07:25:57 pm

As the the new teaching assistant, the students may not see her as an authority figure and therefore may think they can get away with certain things. Preschoolers are always excited to go outside and have as much fun as they can, so, lining up quieting and in a straight line will prove to be difficult for them. it is best for the TA to either do a signal that the lead teacher do with them, or have them play the quiet game while walking in the hallway.

Megan Mayfield

12/30/2018 02:08:51 pm

I think the expectation is reasonable as long as they aren't expected to stand still and voiceless for too long. And sometimes they just need to "re-set." Maybe it's taking far too long to get everybody's mittens on and so some students are getting fidgety. Maybe playing a quick wiggle game after everyone is dressed and then lining up quietly would help?

Kristina

12/30/2018 02:24:47 pm

This is not realistic, honestly you can't expect a child to stand completely still. I feel like the whole class should not be punished like that when it was only 4 or 5 students goofing off. I feel like realisiticly the teacher should of let all the other children go play and then had a talk with the ones who were not listening. And to remind them to show you how they can accomplish it.

Tabatha

12/30/2018 04:29:27 pm

The expectation of standing in line quietly is ridiculous! Preschoolers move, they are noisy and they have pent up energy and excitement about going outside.

Kristy Duell

12/31/2018 06:26:34 pm

This is not a realistic expectation for kids this young. There is a basic lack of knowledge as to developmental ability, especially without teaching. Much has been missed with this lack of teaching.

Gary Duell

12/31/2018 08:33:05 pm

no, it is not realistic for the age group. they just need to get the kids attention more.

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