Musically Montessori: Day 2: Music Activities For Managing Behavior ~ Grace & Courtesy Lessons

DO YOU EVER STRUGGLE WITH GROUP MANAGEMENT IN YOUR PRESCHOOL ENVIRONMENT? TRY MUSIC!

This article is "Day 2," the second article in my "24 Strategies" series. Read "Day 1" at this link.

Watch for "Day 3," coming up next!

Today's activities feature my musical ideas for promoting grace & courtesy skills that encourage positive behavior.

Photo by J J Idarius Photography

A BIT ABOUT SOCIAL GRACES and YOUNG CHILDREN

*"Teach" by your example*

One of the most effective ways to teach children the social graces is by your own example. They will naturally and spontaneously act the way the adults around them act.

As teachers, we are trained to behave respectfully towards children, as well as other adults in the environment. A day in the Montessori classroom will have times for greeting & shaking hands, introducing ourselves to visitors, asking for things, apologizing, walking around others and their work, lining up, eating meals together, taking turns, and the list goes on and on!

*Don't force it*

My one rule of thumb in the classroom is not to force children to say "please", "thank you", and especially "I'm sorry."

However, consistently giving the children the language of grace and courtesy will be very effective. Songs and musical games can reinforce polite and positive interactions in a playful and fun way.

Also, I have seen that children retain information when they have little songs to remind them.

*Be aware of cultural differences
regarding social graces*

There are some families whose background may differ from the teacher's. (For example: Some cultures expect children to avoid making eye contact with adults, considering this to be disrespectful.)

It is important for us, as teachers, to find out about any cultural differences in our groups that influence the children's grace and courtesy practices. Then, we can give our Grace & Courtesy Lessons in mindful ways.

DAY 2:
MUSIC FOR GRACE & COURTESY

Personally, I love the classic Montessori lessons in Grace & Courtesy. When I was a classroom teacher, I always looked forward to giving these lessons during the first weeks of school. They are foundational in classroom management and the Lessons can be fun and effective, through music & movement!

My co-teacher and I would create little scenarios to present to the children. We would "dramatize" scenes like:

walking around The Circle as opposed to walking in front of others when children are gathered in a group
greeting each other and shaking hands
listening and waiting for your turn to speak
asking for things
sitting at snack or lunch
waiting in line
taking turns
walking around the work rug
and, most importantly: how to give a "message" to others who are being hurtful

Here are some musical ways to present and reinforce some of the Montessori lessons in grace & courtesy:

Strategy #5.
"WALK AROUND THE CIRCLE" SONG
FOR KEEPING ORDERLINESS

One of my favorite songs for reminding children to walk around the group when children are gathered for Circle Time, is a song from Frank Leto that I have adapted as a simple reminder.

"Walk Around the Circle" is a fun song to play for the children as they move to the actions of the words. Then, I use the melody to simply sing the phrase "Walk around the circle" when showing children how to walk behind the sitting children. Later, whenever a reminder is necessary, I spontaneously sing the phrase, instead of saying it to the child.

Strategy #6.
"PLEASE & THANK YOU SONGS"
FOR DEVELOPING RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION

The little "drama lessons" that are shown at The Circle are delightful for the children, especially when the children are given turns to act these scenarios out themselves.

Saying "please" when asking for something, then remembering to say "thank you" is so important in life! Children hear this over and over from all the adults around them.

What is even more effective for reminding children of these "magic words" is singing them!

You can view this little collection of short Youtube videos for ideas of how to remind the children in fun ways that will stick in their minds.

My groups LOVE using sign language for

"please" and "thank you."

This little song is simple and effective
any time throughout the day:

This is a traditional "please and thank you song" that is fun to do at group time. Here is a fun EXTENSION: You can pass around plastic veggies, fruit, and other play foods (or even butter) to enhance the song with actions!

Strategy #7.
"PLEASE DON'T PUSH ME" SONG
GIVING CHILDREN TOOLS FOR GROUP INTERACTIONS

*When children hurt others...*

For many years, I have worked at Fountainhead Montessori School, as a teacher, a site director and nowadays I am an AMS teacher trainer with their FMAE program.

A phrase that we use with the children throughout the day is: "Did you give him/her a message?" or "Did you hear her/his message?"

These are the phrases we use to remind children to speak up to the child who is hurting. (give a message) We go on to suggest words (messages) for the child to say. An example is: "Please don't push me!"

*Teach children how to give effective "messages"*

One of my favorite songs about this topic is Woody Guthrie's "Don't You Push Me." The recording is fun to sing along with. Then, you can sing this song without the recording and change the words a bit, adding "please," so the children sing, "Please don't push me, push me, push me. Don't you push me down."

You can easily incorporate this little song into your drama-demonstration during your Grace & Courtesy Lessons about what to do when someone hurts you.

And, you can substitute other words, such as "don't kick me", or "don't call me names", etc.

Strategy #8.
FOCUSED LISTENING
TO DEVELOP BETTER COMMUNICATION

An integral part of developing social graces is learning how to listen. Children deserve lots of practice with developing their abilities to listen attentively. And, this practicing is most effective when it takes the form of a game for the children.

Focused listening activities can take many forms, including an extension of the "Montessori Silence Game." Before going into the silence, you can ask the children to listen for what sounds they hear during the Silence Game. I like to open a window so that children might hear birds singing or the wind blowing!

There are many "What's That Sound" listening games, such as "Mystery Bags" filled with various everyday household items. The children close their eyes while the teacher makes a sound with one of the objects from the bag (ex: shaking keys). Then, the children guess what made the sound. You can vary the objects in the Mystery Bag, for example: using a variety of rhythm instruments. You can even ditch the bag and simply play the game with sounds that you make with the body (ex: coughing, clapping hands, clicking tongue etc.)

"What's That Sound" Games are some of the most effective strategies for helping children sharpen their listening skills.

You'll find complete Montessori lesson plans for these kinds of listening games (& more!) in my upcoming eBook.
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Strategy #9.
"WE'RE FOLLOWING THE QUEEN"
Movement Song
TO DEVELOP COORDINATION & CONSCIENTIOUS MOVEMENT WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT

During my Orff-Schulwerk training for children's music education, I learned a delightful song that works so well in the Preschool classroom. "We're Following the Queen" is a sweet and simple song with a lovely movement component.

Basically, it is a "Follow the Leader" sort of game. However, the children actually do follow the leader who is walking carefully throughout the environment. The leader becomes "the queen" (or "king") and moves through the classroom while the children follow in a line behind her. (or him) When the queen is leading the line of children, she is modeling to the children how to move carefully and not bumping into furniture or other people!

One group management goal of the Montessori Preschool teacher is to give the children skill in moving about the environment with grace and respect for others. So, this little movement song works beautifully for that goal.

Here are the words I sing: "We're following the queen. ~ Following, following. ~We're following the queen. ~Wherever she may go!"

The melody is from the song, "Following the Leader" from Peter Pan. You can hear/watch this scene from the movie at this link:"Youtube". I prefer these lyrics to the ones from the original movie.

More...

Here is a nice touch: add a crown for the "queen."

Here is a fun EXTENSION: Later, after the group has had experience following the teacher throughout the classroom, then one of the children can be the "queen" or "king," and the others can follow.

Thank you again for visiting my Blog today. I hope you have been getting some new ideas for your Group Management Strategies with a musical twist!