Discipline Policy

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2Timothy 3:16

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

As teachers, we must be PROACTIVE. We must set a tone, an atmosphere that helps each child to enjoy and benefit from our lessons and activities. We want to maintain a reasonably orderly environment and yet not be too behavior focused. Behavior is an outflow of the heart. Basic discipline:

• Relationships. Know your students. Listen to them. Learning styles. Family background. Abilities and interests. Use their names often.
• Establish a few simple rules the first week and review them often. Post the rules. Examples: Be kind. Be still and listen during story time. Raise your hand to ask a question. Share. Be safe.
• Use praise and positive reinforcement. Reward good behavior with attention. Sometimes you can ignore a negative attention seeker.
• Prevent problems. Separate two children. Sit beside one. Put your hand on his shoulder. Make eye contact.
• Those who are not telling the story or leading from up front should be actively maintaining order.
• Be well prepared to teach. If you are disorganized or unprepared, you invite disruptive behavior.
• Pray! Pray! Pray!
• Give choices. “Mary, you may not talk to Sarah during the lesson. You may sit by Sarah and be quiet or you may sit here by me.”
• Use logical consequences. If Sam won’t share the blocks, he loses the right to play with the blocks.
• Make sure the child understands what he or she did wrong.
• Correction should be private when possible.
• Remind once, then promptly provide consequences or correction.
• When discipline/punishment is over, the slate is clean and all is restored and forgiven. Make sure the child knows that you love him!!
•  Be consistent, fair and follow through.

Discipline options – when other tactics aren’t working

Time Out – In a specific place for a specific time. Enforce it. Tell Coordinator.

Tell Parents.
Use an outside “authority figure”.

Remove child from the classroom.

*In the nursery and preschool areas, biting is a special case and should always be handled by a coordinator, rather than teachers or paid workers.

Classroom Discipline Made Easy by Barbara Bolton; Standard Publishing