MAC Islamic Centre: Rahma MosqueTEL 780 443 3200 / FAX 780 443 7774
6104 172 Street, Edmonton, AB, T6M
Creative Minds Discipline Policy
The aim of the Creative Minds Preschool is to have a child develop inner discipline through choices, consequences, responsibility for behaviour and limits (logical, respectful rules). Our classroom is a non-threatening environment where the students take control of their own learning; and where social development and cooperative learning are valued. Punishment and rewards are highly discouraged.
We will spend the first month teaching students mannerisms that will help students to become responsible for their own actions, in school and at home. We need you, the parent, to be consistent in following through with the same mannerisms at home. A parent is the most important teacher in a child’s life. Parents who are respectful and kind to others, especially their own children, are likely to see that same behaviour develop in their children. Demonstrating a variety of healthy responses to frustration and set-backs, as well as modeling effective problem-solving techniques and non-judgmental communication are especially valuable to young children who are still learning to establish their own self control.
At Creative Minds, we value:
1. Respect for ourselves, others and the environment.
3. Courtesy and exceptional manners.
4. Empathy for others and respect for differences among people and cultures.
5. Accepting responsibility for personal decisions and actions.
6. Working cooperatively with others, which includes listening, sharing opinions, negotiating, compromising, helping the group reach consensus, and taking a stand.
Inappropriate behaviour will be dealt with re-direction to alternative activities, and verbal conflict resolution while promoting and teaching Montessori values and techniques of positive discipline.Positive Guidance Techniques will be presented to the child by:
- Modeling: Children will observe and imitate the behavioural responses that are used by the significant adults in their environment.
- Encouraging expected behaviour: will discuss ways to show respect, build trust, show empathy, manage anger, and practice forgiveness
- Redirecting: will be offered alternative choices, acknowledging and praising positive behaviour
- Setting clear limits: please refer to the Rights vs. Responsibility excerpt
- Offering alternatives: will be given more than one choice
- Logical consequences: please refer to attached Article
- Natural consequences: please refer to attached Article
These management techniques, called positive discipline will help children: learn to make good choices, learn problem-solving skills, learn basic values of respect, trust, responsibility, honesty and caring for others, learn to communicate their needs, be encouraged in self-control, and be enabled in self-discipline.
If a student is not meeting the standards of behaviour expected in the CM classroom, a notice will be sent home to notify the parent/guardian. This notification will be a positive channel of communication between home and school. We will work with the parent to formulate and monitor an effective and consistent strategy to deal with the child’s misbehaviour.
The behavioural expectations we have for the children are:
- Respect yourself, others, and your environment.
- Demonstrate responsibility, respect, and self-restraint.
- Treat all classroom materials with great respect and care.
- Return all things to their proper place.
- Keep the CM environment clean and orderly.
- Keep bathrooms neat and clean at all times.
- When in the classroom, be "engaged" in an activity/job at all times.
- Work quietly in the classroom.
- Use walking feet at all times except when on the playground.
- Respect your teachers and your classmates. No Bullying will be tolerated.
A child’s behaviour becomes a problem when his/her negative actions disrupt the schoolenvironment and affect the positive values and culture defined in the CM Policy.
For the safety and well being of all individuals in the CM environment, the following will be consideredunacceptablebehaviours:
- Talking back and arguing.
- Intentionally disrupting the learning environment.
- Misuse of CM materials.
- Encouraging others to misbehave.
- Disrupting or impeding the work of others.
- Showing rudeness or disrespect to classmates.
- Spitting or Biting.
If a child exhibits unacceptable behaviour, the following disciplinary actions will be taken,according to the severity of the misbehaviour.
- Child will be redirected to another activity.
- Child will be sent to the peace table to reflect on his/her choice, or think about writing an apology letter with the help of the teacher.
- Child will be removed from the incident to protect other children and/or materials. An incident report will be filed which the parent will have to sign at the end of the day.
- Child will be removed from the incident, parents will be called, and a meeting will be scheduled with the director.
*Absolutely no form of bullying, disrespect to teachers, disrespect or harm to classmates, or destruction of the classroom materials is tolerated.
Dismissal from School
A student may be dismissed from school for the rest of the year if one or more of the following behaviours are exhibited by the student and/or their parents:
- Consistent aggressive behavior.
- Physical abuse (Biting or spitting).
- Verbal harassment.
- Cannot work in a group setting.
- Excessive disruptive behavior.
- Destruction of school property.
- Throwing objects that endanger other children.
- Parent/guardian is unwilling to modify daily schedule to fit child’s needs.
- Parent/guardian is unwilling to work collaboratively with CM Staff.
- Parent/guardian is unwilling to seek an assessment or counselling when recommended by the School.
Changes in a child’s home life may affect his/her behaviour and performance at school.
Please notify the office and your child’s teacher if any significant changes occur, such as:
1. Extended vacations or business trips by a family member.
2. Child staying somewhere other than home (relative/friend’s house) for more than a day or two.
3. Loss of family member, including pets.
4. Moving.
5. Change in family environment (separation, divorce, new partner, and new baby).
* This information will be strictly confidential
------Tear along dotted line------
If you understand and agree to adhere to the Creative Minds Preschool discipline policy, please sign where designated and return this section to school.
Student’s Name ______
Parent/Guardian’s Printed Name ______
Parent/Guardian’s Signature ______
Rules for our Classroom
• We speak quietly inside.
• We use walking feet inside.
• We handle materials gently.
• We wait for our turn.
• We are polite to one another (never hurt each other’s feelings).
• We line up (with no pushing to others) when the teacher claps hands.
• We use the good manners wordsPlease and Thank you, Excuse me etc...
• We respect others while they are working (no interrupting).
• We ask permission before touching another's work.
• When we make a mess, we clean up every time.
• We tap the teacher's shoulder one time to get her attention.
• We are polite, respectful, and cooperate with our parents when they visit or when it is time to go home.
• When new rules are needed, they are discussed at community meeting with the whole group. (Circle time)
Difference between Right and Responsibility:
[Excerpt from Oak haven Montessori]
Right: The child is free to work with any material displayed in the environment thathe/she has had a lesson.
Responsibility: He or she must use the material respectfully. The child has responsibility for thesafety of themselves, others and the material.The material may only be used in away that refrains from disturbing the activities of others in the environment.
Right: The child may work on a table or rug, whichever is suitable to the work chosen.
Responsibility: Working at a displayshelf would obstruct access to the other children in the classroom.
Right: The child has the freedom to use the room as his or her needs dictate within theconstraints of the rules...
Responsibility: The child will restore the environment during and after an exercise. The child isresponsible for mopping spills, roiling up used rugs, placing the chair to its space atthe table and returning his or her work to the appropriate place on the shelf.
Right:The child has the right to work undistracted by others. She or he may initiate,complete or repeat an exercise along and without a break in concentration.
Responsibility: A child must ask permission before touching another's work. A child must observeand respect another’s learning cycle. If the child must leave the work temporarily,he or she may continue at a later time with confidence that it will be as it was left
Right: The child may continue working with individual exercises during group activities ormay stand apart as an observer of group activities. There is no forced participation.
Responsibility:The child is allowed to observe or work quietly to avoid interfering or disrupting an -activity she or he has chosen not to join. This teaches responsibility to the group.
Right: The child has the right to work alone.
Responsibility: The child is not forced or encouraged to share his or her work. With appropriatematerials and reasonable respectful ground rules sharing comes as part of thenatural process. Generosity of spirit develops from within as the child matureswith a sense of self, grounded in confidence and security.
Right: The child has the right to do nothing. Invariably in "doing nothing" the child islearning through observation, thinking and resting.
Responsibility: The child's idleness is allowed without disturbing or distracting others in theclassroom.
Clear, Consistent Consequences Motivate Cooperative Behaviour
“The long-term goal of guiding children’s behaviour is to prepare them for adulthood. One of the keys is teaching them how to behave so they ultimately become adults who can manage their behaviour independently. Learning selfcontrol and how to interact respectfully with others supports children’s self esteem and benefits society in general. Children are more cooperative when they clearly understand what parents (and others) expect of them. The more specific parents can be about expectations, the more likely children will behave appropriately. But there’s more to guiding behaviour than that. Human behaviour isn’t controlled by instinct. We have free choice over behaviour decisions. It’s a privilege and a responsibility to have that choice. The sooner we teach that to our children, the safer we’ll all be.
One effective way to teach acceptable behaviour is to require children to experience the consequences of their actions. Consequences operate along the lines of cause and effect. If a child behaves a certain way, then there’s a specific response. If we shelter children from consequences and distort true cause and effect, children rarely become accountable. Instead, they become confused and go through life blaming the other guy for all their misfortune and “bad luck.”
When children experience consequences, they gradually become responsible for their own behaviour choices. Enforced consequences motivate children to develop self-control. In parenting books, you’ll frequently read about two types of consequences: natural consequences and logical ones. Natural consequences are outcomes that are directly related to a child’s exact act or behaviour. If a child breaks a crayon, he colors with a shorter one. If she dawdles during supper, she might not get enough food before siblings eat it. If they delay picking up their toys, they miss their favourite television program.
Experiencing natural consequences is a good way for children to learn; unless the consequence could threaten their mental or physical health. For instance, if a child plays with a sharp knife she could get cut badly. If a child wets his pants on the way to preschool the truly natural consequence would be for him to attend in wet, uncomfortable, smelly pants. Neither of those natural consequences are positive guidance alternatives.
If a natural consequence is dangerous, demeaning, or counter-productive, the parent must think up an alternate outcome for a specific behaviour. Such a solution is called a logical consequence. Logical consequences are not all created equal.
Some that parents think up are pretty good ones, others are rather poor ones. Wisely chosen logical consequences teach positive behaviour. For instance, when children are required to take the time to fix a torn book page with tape, they learn to be more careful in the future.
Poor logical consequences are downright destructive. No good ever comes from hitting kids or locking a child in the closet or worse. (And yes, for some children worse does happen in the name of child guidance.)
When children experience consequences, they gradually become responsible for their own behaviour choices. To make sure you choose consequences that do children more good than harm, take a tip from Jane Nelson, author of the book Positive Discipline. Apply the “3 R” test to any consequence before enforcing it. Consequences that result in a “yes” to each question in the “3 R” test leave children’s self esteem intact. They help children become well behaved and responsible.
Consequences that pass the “3 R” test teach appropriate behaviour without dehumanizing children. Here’s the “3 Rs” for consequences. Keep them in mind during the heat of any child guidance moment.
1. Is the consequence related to the deed? Can your child understand the relationship between the deed and the consequence? If not, they’ll be confused and distracted.
2. Is it respectful? If a consequence humiliates, demeans, or embarrasses a child, it’s not a wise, respectful consequence.
Disrespectful consequences build resentment, not cooperation. They undermine your parenting relationship and damage your child’s self esteem.
3. Is it reasonable? Consequences should be appropriate for your child’s age and level of understanding. If a wise, caring, calm person wouldn’t enforce the consequence, you shouldn’t either. If you’ll be ashamed of the consequence once your anger and frustration fades, don’t use it.
A consequence that is related, respectful, and reasonable is only effective when it is enforced consistently in a timely manner.
Consequences should be predictable and reliable. If consequences aren’t consistently enforced, they are useless. Enforcing consequences takes enormous stamina. Unfortunately, kids don’t need guidance only when we have enough energy.
Children are persistent and curious by nature, so they occasionally test our limits and consequences. The more wishy-washy and inconsistent a parent’s response, the more a child will push the envelope of acceptable behaviour. He or she may misbehave just to see how much they can get by with, what they can get out of, or how far they can push before you explode.
Sometimes children even take advantage of parents. For instance, if they know you’re very tired, stressed out, or there’s company around, they’ll misbehave and try to get out of consequences. Family reunions can be the worst; children know you don’t want to reprimand them in front of gram and gramps! And I haven’t met a child who doesn’t act up the minute you get on the phone.
However, if you want children to listen to you the first time you say something, you must consistently follow through on consequences right away. Children who are warned ten times to “behave” will not listen up until the ninth warning when your teeth are clenched and forehead is beaming like a stoplight. Consequences that are applied three days after misbehaviour occurs don’t work either. Kids literally forget what they did wrong.
It pays to consistently communicate expectations and enforce consequences. Kids who don’t learn to be responsible for their behaviour in the preschool years just tire you out. But during adolescence, their behaviour can reel out of control, hurting themselves and innocent others. It’s common sense to practice being clear and consistent today so your family can have a smoother tomorrow.”
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To learn more about expectations and consequences, see Parenting Exchange columns: “The Fundamentals: 7 Steps to Well- Behaved Kids” and “Reliable and Predictable Discipline: Tips for Enforcing Consequences Consistently.”
Resource Books
• Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson (New York: Ballantine Books, 1987).
• Positive Discipline for Preschoolers by Jane Nelson, Cheryl Erwin, and Roslyn Duffy (Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1995).
About the Author — Karen Stephens is director of Illinois State University Child Care Center and instructor in child development for the ISU Family and Consumer Sciences Department. She writes a weekly column for parents in her local newspaper. Karen is author of two books and frequent contributor to Child Care Information Exchange.