⏱️ 3-minute read

Purpose

To familiarize parents with some of our group behaviour management strategies & techniques.

Policy

We encourage a positive environment for the children at KidHub and we hire qualified, patient and caring staff members who are confident in working with children even through difficult situations. We train our staff on a variety of positive behaviour management techniques to use when trying to get the attention of the whole group. We also encourage our staff to bring in their own positive techniques that they feel will meet the needs of the children that they are working with.

Examples of group behaviour management strategies:

• KidHub HEROES Program: read more about this program here.
• “KidHub High Five!”: A teacher shouts out in a fun and positive tone “KidHub High Five” and the children respond with the sound of a high five (”tshhh”). The excitement and noise created from the children’s responses will catch the attention of other children who may not have originally heard the teacher. This gives them a moment to end their conversations and listen to the KidHub teacher.
• “1-2-3, Eyes on Me!”: The KidHub teacher will shout out in a positive tone “1-2-3 eyes on me” and the children will respond with ”1-2 eyes on you!”. The children who respond will grab the attention of the other children who didn’t originally hear the KidHub teacher’s request for attention.
• “If You Can Hear Me...”: This strategy promotes movement and allows the children to burn off a little energy while trying to gain their attention. The teacher will then lead the children through several different actions such as:
  • “If you can hear me... touch your toes!”
  • “If you can hear me... give someone a high five behind your back!”
  • “If you can hear me... pretend you’re a snowman melting to the ground!”
  • “If you can hear me... sit nicely and listen to the instructions for our next fun activity!”
• Other Examples of Attention Getters:
  • “Hocus Pocus; Everybody Focus”
  • ”Are you Ready Kids?; Aye, Aye Captain”
  • ”Macaroni and Cheese; Everybody Freeze!”
  • ”Andy’s Coming!; Kids all Freeze in Place”
  • ”Scooby Dooby Doo; Where Are You?”
  • ”Holy Moly; Guacamole”
  • ”If You can Hear me, Touch Your nose, Stick Out Your Tongue, Make a Silly Face, etc”
• Silence: If, after using several of our fun methods of trying to gain the children’s attention (this is rare but it can certainly happen) and the whole group is still having a difficult time listening or transitioning, the KidHub teachers will implement another group behaviour management technique to help the children relax and prepare for listening (stretching, reading, quiet reflection, etc.). This will only be for a couple of minutes until the KidHub teacher feels that the children are ready to listen as a group. If, after this time, it is only select children who are having difficulty listening to the teacher’s instructions they will be separated from the group to talk to a KidHub teacher privately and the rest of the group will move on to the activity. When deemed appropriate, teachers will fill out a Feedback Report (see Forms and Reports) to be signed by parents.