What to Do When Your Students Wander Around the Classroom and Dump Toys
01/16/23 • 33 min
If you’ve ever wondered why your students wander around the classroom and just... dump their toys on the floor, then you’re not alone!
Let's face it, we've all had children in our classrooms wandering aimlessly from center to center pulling tubs of toys off the shelves without ever playing with them.
The truth is, this is a fairly typical scenario in the early childhood classroom.
The question then is: Why oh why do toddlers (and preschoolers) do that?
And most importantly, how can you teach them not to do it?
To answer this question, I’ve invited the brilliant Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green.
If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while (thank you for that), then you know this isn’t the first time I’ve had Carolyn over.
And this won’t be the last either!
Listen in as she and I try to answer the age old question: Why do toddlers do what they do?
Are you ready?
Let’s dive in!
Key Takeaways:
Why do toddlers wander around the classroom and dump toys? (00:00)
Dumping is a milestone (06:33)
This behavior is totally... okay! (09:36)
How to support your students through this stage (11:37)
Advice from Carolyn (17:02)
How Carolyn introduces centers to her students (20:54)
Additional Resources:
Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.
Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.
Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.
Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.
Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green’s work here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Instagram here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Facebook here.
Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.
If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
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Onward & Upward!
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Disclaimer:
Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.
As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.
You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.
Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers
If you’ve ever wondered why your students wander around the classroom and just... dump their toys on the floor, then you’re not alone!
Let's face it, we've all had children in our classrooms wandering aimlessly from center to center pulling tubs of toys off the shelves without ever playing with them.
The truth is, this is a fairly typical scenario in the early childhood classroom.
The question then is: Why oh why do toddlers (and preschoolers) do that?
And most importantly, how can you teach them not to do it?
To answer this question, I’ve invited the brilliant Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green.
If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while (thank you for that), then you know this isn’t the first time I’ve had Carolyn over.
And this won’t be the last either!
Listen in as she and I try to answer the age old question: Why do toddlers do what they do?
Are you ready?
Let’s dive in!
Key Takeaways:
Why do toddlers wander around the classroom and dump toys? (00:00)
Dumping is a milestone (06:33)
This behavior is totally... okay! (09:36)
How to support your students through this stage (11:37)
Advice from Carolyn (17:02)
How Carolyn introduces centers to her students (20:54)
Additional Resources:
Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.
Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.
Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.
Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.
Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green’s work here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Instagram here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Facebook here.
Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.
If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
--
Onward & Upward!
--
Disclaimer:
Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.
As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.
You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.
Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers
Previous Episode
Help! All My Students Want to Go to the Same Center!
If you’ve ever taught young children (and my bet is you have, since you’re listening to this podcast) then you’ve probably had your fair share of daily fires to put out.
I feel you, I’ve been there too.
It’s no secret that the daily life of an early childhood educator isn’t always sunshine and roses. And sometimes, it’s just really, really hard.
One of the issues many pre-k teachers struggle with is what to do when all their students want to go to the same center at the same time!
As you know already, some centers are simply more popular than others (like the dramatic play center, for example), so it makes sense that everyone wants to participate in it.
When that’s not possible, you may have to limit the number of students in a center.
How do you do that?
Tune in now to find out!
Key Takeaways:
What to do when your students want to go to the same center (00:00)
How I manage my classroom (00:56)
How to get students interested in other centers (03:22)
What if your class only meets a few days a week? (08:10)
What to do when there are too many kids in one center (10:09)
A few practical tips for you (14:23)
Additional Resources:
Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.
Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.
Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.
Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.
Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.
If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
--
Onward & Upward!
--
Disclaimer:
Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.
As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.
You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.
Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers
Next Episode
How to Say “No” to Preschoolers Without Meltdowns
Friends, I have a question for you: Do you ever dread saying no to your students because you’re worried they might have a full on meltdown?
I get you, I’ve been there too.
Trying to say “no” to a child without having them throw a temper tantrum is a whoooole lot of work.
In simpler words, it’s hard.
But as you know if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, it’s not impossible!
Every preschool classroom problem has a solution. Yes, even this one.
And to discuss this, the brilliant Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green is back on the podcast for a second episode of the Behavior Bites series.
Today, she’ll be sharing with us why those meltdowns happen, how to prevent them, and what to do in case one of your students decides to go full Hulk anyway.
Are you ready?
Let’s dive in!
Key Takeaways:
How to say “no” to your students without meltdowns (00:00)
Why children hate being told the word “No” (02:52)
Why we need to teach children to deal with their emotions (07:48)
How to say “no” without saying “no” (11:38)
A real life example (17:13)
The tools you can use to avoid meltdowns (24:09)
A quick review (29:22)
Additional Resources:
Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.
Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.
Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.
Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.
Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Bobb-Green’s work here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Instagram here.
Follow Training U To Succeed on Facebook here.
Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.
If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
--
Onward & Upward!
--
Disclaimer:
Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.
As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.
You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.
Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers
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