Discipline Strategies at Wild Roots Preschool

Disciplining a young child is a very important topic for teachers and parents and is achieved most effectively when the child is receiving consistent forms of discipline at home and school. In the holistic atmosphere of Wild Roots Preschool, children are encouraged to form inner discipline rather than expected to simply “obey” without understanding.  Following are some discipline strategies that we employ here at Wild Roots.

There are several key factors for forming inner discipline and it is essential that children be respected and understood for their current age and developmental stage throughout the inner-disciplining process.

• Environment

  • Orderly- Every material and classroom item has its place and children are taught how to keep that order

  • Consistent- materials remain in same place with minimal changes and disruptions

  • Child Size- Materials and items in classroom are child size and at child height in order for maximum independence

  Calm and Quiet (comes with gradual internal peace and discipline)

• Freedom

  • Choice of Work but always after lesson has been given with materials

  • Responsibility of using material properly and placing back where it was taken

  • Natural Consequences – If choices are not made appropriately

Example:

• Behavior: a child misuses a material and it breaks.

Natural Consequence: The classroom does not have that material for use anymore. (We wait a substantial amount of time before replacing or do not replace with exact same item if possible)

• Logical Consequences of actions taken

Examples:

• Behavior: A child chooses not to put away his work.

Logical Consequence: That child is unable to get out another activity.

• Behavior: A child hurts her friend’s feelings in a conflict

Logical Consequence: The child is involved in a conflict resolution discussion of how her actions or behaviors hurt her friend or the classroom (without forcing an apology)

• Minimal Praise and Rewards

  • Allowing a child to form inner discipline is the goal of the classroom. By giving constant praise and rewards for good behavior or work well done, the teacher is instilling a need for outer recognition, which inhibits inner discipline

  • Instead of giving praise or rewards, the teacher encourages desired behavior, allows the child to feel a sense of pride in work accomplished, and discusses the feelings this brings to oneself and the effect on his or her environment

• Grace and Courtesy

  • Young children need to be taught simple lessons on how to treat one another, and take care of themselves through practice and role play

    • How to greet a friend

    • How to shake hands

    • How to ask for help

    • How to use table manners

    • How to cover a cough

    • How to help a friend

    • How to ask for something nicely

    • How to interrupt politely

• Role Model

  • Teachers and older children will role model proper behaviors in the classroom such as:

    • Using materials properly

    • Speaking quietly

    • Communicating politely

    • Treating others with respect

    • Behaving and moving graciously

    • Demonstrating patience

    • Carrying materials properly in front of children (even if in a hurry)

• Care for the Environment

  • Demonstrate how to care for everything in the environment

    • children no not automatically know how to do this

  • Treatment of materials, dishes, plants, animals, furniture, friends, etc.

  • Explain that the classroom belongs to everyone and it is everyone’s responsibility care for it by being gentle, replacing work back in proper place, cleaning tables, watering plants, preparing snack, cleaning their dishes, etc.

  • Role model this behavior and be consistent

• Communication

• Communicate to children how the actions of all children in the classroom affect one another, materials, plants, animals, etc.

• Explain the natural and logical consequences of actions and how positive vs. negative behaviors give different results and why

• Use kind and encouraging words

• Demonstrate active listening to children and they will do more active listening of others

• Encourage conflict resolution

• Do not demand obedience, but encourage inner discipline

• Practical Life Work

  • Offer enough intriguing practical life that will keep children actively busy

    • Wringing a cloth

    • Scooping beans

    • Pouring water

    • Preparing snacks

    • Watering plants

    • Feeding classroom pets

    • Folding laundry

    • Washing tables

    • Washing windows

    • Dusting shelves

It is important to remember that inner discipline of the child is a process and not something that can be demanded in a short period of time. Maria Montessori believed that there were steps of obedience, which ultimately lead to joyful obedience or inner discipline.

A toddler cannot simply obey by command because children under 3 years are run by an intense will of their own mind. It is important rather, to funnel the will of the child at this age through available work that is vital for his or her developmental growth. In addition to giving appropriate work, the child under three should be encouraged  to explore his surroundings as much as possible with healthy limits. Very young children need to exercise their will to develop their minds.

Once a child is old enough to understand his or her actions, behaviors, and consequences, he or she will begin to explore boundaries. This is not a terrible thing. By allowing the child to discover safe natural and logical consequences, the teacher or parent is allowing that child the freedom to chose, make mistakes, feel the outcomes or be proud of his or her correct actions.

By allowing children the freedom to chose and discover their own outcomes, with all of the proper tools provided, they will naturally form inner discipline without the need for demanding obedience. Instead, taking these patient steps will lead to a joyful, peaceful, and constructive classroom of children caring for themselves, their peers, and their environment.

Reggio Emilia Component of Wild Roots Preschool

The staff at Wild Roots Preschool in Temecula, is dedicated to the children and families they serve. They desire to offer the best curriculum for children so that they can learn in an atmosphere that is not constricted to only one school of thought or educational philosophy.

The Reggio Emilia component of Wild Roots Preschool is essential for the children to feel empowered and encouraged to create, construct, and learn in a free flowing, child directed way.

The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education began in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy after World War II. The community of men and women desired to build an educational institution based on collaborative ideas, which brought forth new peaceful and fresh ways of teaching young children.

The most important elements of the Reggio Emilia component are: allowing children to follow their own direction when given certain materials; allow children to fully explore their environment and surroundings with all senses; and allow for spontaneous expression through creations and projects.

Another important element of the Reggio Emilia philosophy that the Wild Roots program incorporates is documentation of children’s work processes displayed in photographs, quotations of children speaking when working, or exhibits of the children’s products.

Wild Roots Preschool also includes the aspect of community building and collaboration with families, community members, and businesses. Wild Roots is an environmentally friendly school that uses donated recycled materials for creative projects and provides locally grown organic foods for snack time. The school enjoys collaborating with like-minded natural and organic businesses and community members in order to help provide a holistic approach to education in Temecula.

The Importance of Creating Independence in the Montessori Classroom and at Home

When most people think of preschool or kindergarten aged children, they think of vulnerable and dependent young people. It is astonishing to many parents how capable, independent and responsible their three or four year old children can be, once given the opportunity to display these qualities.

All parents love their children and want to nurture them by giving them lots of love, attention, affection, and assistance. However, sometimes by doing too much for a child, we take away their ability to learn efficiently. A child has dozens of opportunities each day to become independent and by doing so, he learns how to think and problem solve for himself, which creates intelligence, cognitive development, and coordination.

Maria Montessori believed that children develop most efficiently and effectively when given the opportunities to create independence in the Montessori classroom according to their sensitive periods. For instance, children typically go through a sensitive period for order between 18 months to 2.5 years. This means that the child during this stage, will have a strong desire for order, repetition, and consistency in his or her environment. Often times when a child will have what people call “tantrums,” he is displaying the need for order in his environment. With order and consistency, also comes independence and personal achievement.

The sensitive period for refinement and coordination of movement is from 2.5 to 4.5 years. During this sensitive period, it is important that the child is given the opportunity to learn to control his own movements. This can be achieved in such exercises as pouring his own water, washing his own hands, opening his own containers, dressing himself/pulling up and down pants, taking out/ cleaning up work activities or toys, watering the plants, washing off dishes, folding laundry, etc.

By allowing the young child to become independent, he or she will develop fine and gross motor skills, build coordination, and refine his mind for future thought processes, academia, and problem solving techniques. Empowering children to develop independence will also build confidence, self esteem, and increase grace and courtesy.

At Wild Roots Preschool and Childcare, we understand that children have a strong desire for order, consistency, and independence. We try to empower children to chose for themselves whenever possible, have natural consequences, and achieve independent milestones, while also giving them love and encouragement.

Welcome to Wild Roots Preschool and Child Care Center

Wild Roots Preschool and Childcare in Temecula Ca, has been open for 3 beautiful months now and is revolutionizing early education! This new holistic early learning center, that first began as an in home day care, is growing in size and popularity. Due to its innovative curriculum and all encompassing style to early education, this preschool/kindergarten has gained the attention of many parents as well as the education community and holistic community of Temecula and its surrounding areas.

The school opened its doors in February 2013, serving ages 18 months to 6 years of age. The community style school, which consists of 3 classrooms, a music room, and a beautiful natural playground, is nurturing all aspects of the young child’s development.

Wild Roots Preschool offers a unique program, which is inspired by and encompasses the rich learning experiences of the three greatest European styles of education– The Montessori Method, Reggio Emilia Approach, and Waldorf Education.

The children at Wild Roots Preschool have daily exposure to all activities which are impressionable to a child at the age of what Maria Montessori called the absorbent mind.

In each of the classrooms, the children are given Montessori lessons, which focus on the development of each child on an individual level, while guiding the children through Language, Mathematics, Sensorial, and Practical Life activities. Through this Montessori work, children’s minds become refined, their manners become gracious, and their independence grows.

The children also have daily exposure to creative art, science, and play-based small group learning, inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach through various projects and spontaneous activities. These activities are based on the children’s interests, the season, the weather, the mood/affect of the children, or a long term project idea.

For imaginative play, the classrooms offer a Waldorf inspired play area where children are offered natural wooden toys and structures to inspire their natural imagination. In this area, the children choose to play peacefully with or without friends.

Wild Roots Preschool and Child Care Center believes that all children should have exposure to music in any form possible. The music program currently offers group music classes for two age groups, private piano lessons, and voice ensemble classes. Performances are scattered throughout the the year.

The staff at Wild Roots Preschool is growing in order to accommodate increasing enrollment. The teachers, assistants, and director alike are extremely passionate and dedicated professionals who have the like-minded admiration for holistic early education. They strive for excellence and personal growth through stimulating reading, sharing of ideas, attending workshops, furthering education, and observation of various programs.