Building Powerful Connections with Infants and Toddlers

If you are a parent or teacher chances are that you have felt like this at some point in your life!
 

There are so many things demanding your time, attention, and energy.  If you don't get some relief quickly you might just short circuit, explode, or errupt into flames! 

This might be especially true if you have infants and toddlers or children with special needs in your care!

Let's watch as Dr. Becky Bailey describes this problem and the solution she has created through Baby Doll Circle Time.

 

Baby Doll Circle Time is a real gift to parents, teachers, and children alike!  The program is very user friendly.  The amount of training and resources that are included in the curriculum are priceless!  

 

 



Although this program is designed for the Toddler and Twos population, the concepts and practical application are appropriate to infants, children with special needs, and children up to about four years of age. 

In the back of the book there is an instructional DVD with many helpful tools.  Dr. Bailey spends some time instructing viewers on the importance and basics of the attachment relationship, attunement, and social play.  There are also many sample lessons and examples of how this might look in instructional settings.

The resource guide is packed full of tons and tons of helpful information and suggestions to help you set yourself up for success!  There is a supply list, implementation plan, ideas for modifications and adaptations for children with special needs, tips to ensure success and further information about the structure of the program, attachment, attunement, and social play.

I have been using Baby Doll Circle Time with my three-year- old class this year.  It is so easy and fun to use and the children are just delighted when they see that it is time to get the babies out!

This is a memorable moment from the very first time we got the babies out with this little guy.  He has special needs and, at that time, very limited imitation, joint attention, and social play skills.

Before beginning this play session, I was very conscious of the critical importance of attuning to his lead.  My goal was to find a connection that would be familiar to him.  The curriculum was my guide, but he was my "dance" partner.  It is so important that we adjust our instruction to the specific needs of each child in our care.  When we do, a beautiful "dance of attunement" is the result. 

Wouldn't you know, after learning to "kiss the baby" at school he went to the babysitter's house and started kissing the baby dolls there.  It didn't stop there!  Before you know it he was giving kisses to mom and dad and other familiar adults and demonstrating other imitative skills!  Just from one "lesson"!

For more information about Baby Doll Circle Time head on over to the Conscious Discipline website at:  www.consciousdiscipline.com.  It is definately worth taking a peek!

Preschool Classroom Structures: Turn Transition Chaos Into Calm

You know the scene...it's center time and all the little preschoolers are so engaged in their various play activities UNTIL...dun...dun...dun...it's time for clean-up!  Oh no! 
What now?

 



Never fear!  Super S.T.A.R. is here!  This superhero helps us (not just the kids, but the teachers too :)) remember to pull ourselves together when when the room could potentially errupt into chaos.  In Conscious Discipline S.T.A.R. means "Smile, Take a deep breath, and relax.  Each time we have a major transition, we take a moment to be a S.T.A.R. (3 times) before we move on.  Check out this short video of some of my pre-kinders using their S.T.A.R. power!

 

 

Another helpful tool for all children, especially those on the Autism Spectrum, is a Time Timer.  We set the visual timer when we have at least 5 minutes left so the children have a visual and auditory (it beeps when the time is up) cue to help them transition.  Our timer is the largest (12 inch) size so it hangs nicely on the wall. 

 

 

I also noticed that my students were having some anxiety about which centers they were going to be able to use each day and how many they would go to.  So, we made a simple picture chart on the wall to help them out.  As soon as we come back in from the playground they look at the chart, find their picture and head straight to their center.  Boy, does that make everyone's life easier or what!

 





By adding a little more structure to our transition routine, we have been able to turn chaos into calm.  Now instead of screaming and crying when it's time to clean up we have this...

Creating Positive School Climates with Conscious Discipline: Responding to Tattling and Aggression and Preventing Power Struggles

Ignite Learning LLC is happy to announce that we are sponsoring a Two Day Workshop with Karen Hickman on July 19-20, 2013 in Anderson, IN.  Karen is a National Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor and Loving Guidance Associate.  She provided a two day workshop in 2012 to a large group of educators, parents, and care providers from around the state! 

Our focus this year is the "why" behind Conscious Discipline.  In this engaging and interactive workshop you will practice assertive communication, fine-tune your responses to tattling, learn how to empower victims and teach aggressors how to get their needs met appropriately.  Not only will you learn to identify factors causing aggression, but you will also learn how to eliminate power struggles. 

Visit my Downloads page for more information and to get registered.  If you register and pay by July 1st the cost is $125.  After July 1st registration goes up to $140.   Check out the video below to learn more about our presenter, Karen Hickman.

Shubert Teaches about "LOVE-ABILITY" for Disability Awareness Month

 

Meet Shubert the Firefly!  He's the mascot for Conscious Discipline and he was a special guest at our school this past week.  He came to help students discover the tools they have that help them with LOVE-ABILITY.  Love-ability you ask?  What's Love-ability?  Love-ability is something we ALL have. 

Since beginning my Conscious Discipline journey my perspective has shifted on many different things in life.  One particular area of shift has been in my view of the varying abilities of children and adults.  Often, as a society we tend to group people according to various features.  One of those "categories" that is especially close to my heart is people with disabilities. 

This year, as Disability Awareness Month (March) approached, I challenged myself to "think outside the box" and go at it with the new insight I have gained through Conscious Discipline.  Traditionally, people think of Disability Awareness as an opportunity to focus on learning more about the various challenges that people face and educating children on specific disabilities, their causes, and characteristics.  One of the Seven Powers of Conscious Discipline is the Power of Attention.  This power reminds us that "what we focus on we get more of."  This power gets to the heart of the matter. 

That's where the term LOVE-ABILITY came from.  Love-ability is being able to see the best in others regardless of their ability.  So, we called on our friend Shubert to help us out with the announcements each day this week.  One of my favorite Shubert books is called Shubert Sees the Best.  In this book, Shubert learns how to help his classmates turn hurtful situations into helpful situations by seeing them through the eyes of love. 

 

 

 

Each day this week, Shubert captivated our whole School Family in the morning announcements with one of my Kindergarten Teacher friends.  He taught the school about their Love-ability tools.  On Tuesday he brought his toolbox with a pair of heart shaped glasses.  The teacher put the glasses on while Shubert explained the importance of seeing the best in others.  The other classroom teachers were encouraged to help their students make a pair of heart shaped glasses of their own from the Conscious Discipline website.

 

On Wednesday Shubert brought a fluffy heart-shaped pillow in his tool box.  The pillow reminds us how warm and cozy kind words feel.  It also reminded the children to use their BIG voice when someone says hurtful words to them.  The final tool that Shubert brought in his toolbox was a hand-shaped clapper.  This tool reminds us that it is our job to cheer on our classmates regardless of their ability.  We can always lend a helping hand when someone is having a hard time at school.  Ultimately, Shubert helps us uncover (or remember) the tools that we all have within us to create a school climate that is loving and accepting of all members.

 

Head on over to my download page to print out the script for Shubert and a friend to help your school learn about LOVE-ABILITY.

 

Mrs. Masterson (AKA SHUBERT) and Mrs. Cookston posing for a quick photo before they go live!

You can download the script we used each day by following the links below:

 

Monday Script

Tuesday Script

Wednesday Script

Thursday Script

 

The Safe Place: A Self-Regulation Station

Think of the last time you were really upset.  I mean so upset that you just didn't want to talk to or even look at anyone.  Now, think of how you would feel if someone that you love very much either told you to "calm down", "stop it", or dismissed your feelings all together.  Maybe you don't need someone else to give you those messages because you're pretty good at it yourself.  When you are upset what messages do you give yourself?  Do you tell yourself your over reacting, being silly, or that no one really cares how you feel anyway?  Do you allow yourself to actually feel the anger, sadness, or fear?  It is important for you as a parent, teacher, or caregiver to be aware of how you handle your own emotional upset. 

 

 

Look at that cute little baby!  Bet you can't guess who that is!  That's right!  None other than yours truly as a red-headed, spunky, determined, "strong willed" two year old!  Boy oh boy there sure are some good stories about this tantrum throwing two year old!  Over the past several years I have come to realize that when the world didn't go my way I was still handling it like that two year old.  Here I was in my thirties throwing adult-sized tantrums.  Does that sound familiar? 

 

As I integrate the Seven Powers of Conscious Adults into my life, I am noticing that I perceive my upset differently and have new tools to help me handle it.  These tools are the ones I desire to hand down to my two precious children as well as the children in my care at school.  One thing that always sticks out to me in Conscious Discipline is the statement, "You can't teach something you don't posses."  The skill of Composure is so essential to how we function in life.  For our very young children it is the essential ingredient to self-regulation and impulse control.  A good friend describes it like a "pause button".  In Conscious Discipline we like to use the skills of Active Calming and Pivoting to help us create that "pause" so that we are more likely to respond  to life events from the higher centers of our brains than react out of the lower centers.





One of the structures we use in Conscious Discipline is the Safe Place.  The purpose of the Safe Place is to give a child (or adult) a space where they can calm down and regulate their feelings safely.  This structure helps us teach children the necessary tools so that they can have the "pause" button that I'm referring to.  They have the opportunity to calm down, name their feelings and then work toward a solution either on their own or with the help of an attuned adult. 

Space for Calming Down

 

The Safe Place looks very different for Infants and Toddlers as well as children with special needs.  With the youngest children the Safe Place is created on the chest or in the lap of a composed adult.  The adult must possess the skills to calm themselves down so that their state can regulate the state of the baby.  As the adult breaths and begins to calm it will allow them access to higher centers of their brain so they can give the best of who they are to helping the child regulate.  We break the process down into much simpler developmentally appropriate steps according to the age or needs of the child.

 Feeling Buddies Curriculum

 

The Feeling Buddies Curriculum by Dr. Becky Bailey helps teach children and adults the skills necessary for self-regulation.  Once you have introduced necessary skills for children to begin using the Feeling Buddies and understand the Five Steps to Self-Regulation you will really begin to see a difference in not only how the children handle their upset, but the adults as well!

Check out our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.  This little boy is one that has had quite a journey toward learning self-regulation.  He was very resistant to any type of calming technique that we used with him, but with lots of patience, teamwork, and creativity, we have moved forward to a place of celebration because he now has skills he can use to help him manage his emotions.  We gave him the honor of cutting the ribbon and giving the children a tour of the Safe Place not only because he has become such a pro, but also because it was a great opportunity to increase his skills.  Teaching and learning go hand in hand. 

Stay tuned for more details about our Safe Place like what tools we use, breathing techniques, class books, and more great video clips!