School Goals
Be Safe. Be Respectful. Be a self-manager
We Use the Caring discipline approach for guidance and discipline
We want The Strawberry Patch to exemplify cooperative and pro-social values. We aim to build strong bonds between the children and us, as well as between them, and in doing so, establish a harmonious and care-free environment. The impressions left by their time here should carry them into the world with positive habits, greater awareness, stability, joy, and love of learning.
Be safe
Keeping the kids at the Strawberry Patch safe is of utmost importance! They should feel safe physically and mentally around our teachers and the other children. Children will be expected to keep hands and feet to themselves. We will discuss and model ways to play both indoors and outdoors that keep us safe. There are strict boundaries around toy weapons and play fighting. There is zero tolerance for toy weapons at school. I understand, and respect, that this is permitted in many homes. Please respect that it is not allowed at school, and keep these toys at home (especially if it is your child’s sharing day).
be respectful
We will always respect your children. Kids are such wonderful little people, often with so much to teach adults! This is something we are reminded of daily as teachers! At The Strawberry Patch, we will continually work on respecting each other. This will include: Using kind words, communicating, socializing, problem-solving respectfully, including everyone in play, listening, and taking turns/sharing.
Be a self-manager
We will help students learn to manage and control their own behaviors. With clear expectations and a structured/predictable school week students will learn to monitor themselves. We will discourage “tattling” unless it is a matter of safety, and instead encourage the children to communicate with each other if something upsets them. We will always have a quiet area in the school where kids can choose to go if they need to rest or have some individual play time to find their calm. Outside of behaviors we will work on many self-management skills, which will include: washing hands, putting on shoes/jackets, putting away your own toys/activities, eating/drinking in a respectful way.
guidance & Discipline Policy
Miss Jeanine is highly trained in a classroom management program called Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) and has taken the educator training series for Caring Discipline. PBS does a fantastic job of teaching children school expectations, building positive-self esteem, teaching children to monitor their own behavior, and pre-correcting to prevent disruptive behaviors before they happen. When challenging behaviors come up, Caring Discipline provides a toolbox for parents and teachers to help kids be joyous and free while, at the same time, teaching them how to behave in respectful and non-indulgent ways. These programs never use any hands-on (spanking, corporal punishment) or take-away (withholding snacks, toys, activities, etc) punishments.
Our guidance and discipline policy takes into the account the welfare of all children and emphasizes respect for others. We strongly encourage parents to listen to the Caring Discipline podcast or read Caring Discipline: Practical Tools for Nurturing Happy Families & Classrooms. This will benefit both the child and family. We are happy to recommend local parenting classes that teach strategies we will be using in our classroom.
We will be using the following techniques:
1. Teach/Model: I will take the time to teach and model expected behaviors and use fun role-play games to make sure children understand!
2. Autonomy: We will have friendship/community agreements that we make as a group, so the children will help come up with some of our school rules. They really enjoy this!
3. simple Directions: Communications are clear and simply stated.
4. Pre-Correction: Clearly stated behavior expectations for all activities before activity.
5. Neutral & Positive behavior recognition: Giving children attention during neutral behaviors helps children feel loved and valued just for being themselves. We also focus on/recognize the positives not the negatives.
6.Encourage self-management: I will encourage students to work out problems using their own words. This helps them to build their own problem-solving skills, communicate with each other, be respectful, and be respected by their peers. If children are still developing their ability to problem-solve using words, I will always be there to support them in communicating their feelings.
7. calming time: A period of time apart from a child’s activity may be necessary to help the child use self-control when they return to the activity. We have three comfy areas in the school with calming activities available at all times.
8. Ask "why": Sometimes kids do things for reasons that make sense to them, even if others do not understand. I will always ask a child why they did something so I can help them build new strategies.
9.Clear, quick responses: If I need to guide and/or discipline a child my response will be immediate. It will be kind, respectful, and firm.
10.age-appropriate choices: Choices encourage children to develop self-control and decision making skills.
11. Guidance: If a child has constant disruptive behavior I will work to find the purpose of the behavior, the settings it occurs in, and the triggers for the behavior. From these I can find a way to help the child have fun in a way that is safe and respectful towards others.
Our goal is to help the children at The Strawberry Patch develop self-control, positive self-esteem, and respect for others. We will have clear boundaries to help keep kids happy, safe, and learning while at school! Any intentional behavior that causes injury to another child or adult will result in the child going home. Hitting, kicking, biting, or punching will result in a child being sent home.