I thought Stacy brought up a good question in regards to the Dinosaurs Invade the Block Area activity. I thought I’d share it with you and get some of your great ideas as well.
I have issues with putting dinosaurs out in my classroom. Everytime I do it deteriorates into the children using the dinosaurs to bang or hit on each other. Do you have this problem and if so how do you handle it?
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In general, if a child is using anything to hurt someone or make others feel unsafe, I would state very clearly that what they are doing is hurting others, and that I can’t let that happen at school. (I often point out that that means I won’t let people hurt them either.) Then I tell them they need to play something else for a while and maybe try again later, when they’re ready to use the toys properly. Then lovingly walk them to another area to play. (Of course, if the behavior is more violent, sometimes I need to remove them from others for a short time.)
More specific to your question, if you’re finding that every time you put the dinosaurs out, the overall play deteriorates, you may need to be more involved in directing or redirecting the children’s play. You may suggest other plot lines for example, introducing a unifying crisis like a storm where the dinosaurs have to work together to build shelter (specific to the block area). The children may be having a hard time coming up with any story line for dinosaurs besides fighting. Reading stories about dinosaurs (like Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp) will introduce new ideas.
You may also want to take a few minutes to discuss the issue during your large group time or morning meeting. Be very specific about the kind of play that you’re not happy with and why it isn’t appropriate for school. Ask the children to introduce suggestions for appropriate ways to use the dinosaurs and demonstrate with them. Let them know that you can only use those toys in your classroom if you know they can use them properly and keep each other safe. Don’t be threatening, just be very clear and specific.
I hope that helps!
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So now I pose the same question to you! What do you suggest for redirecting this type of behavior?
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