Navigating Classroom Noise: Purposeful Play vs. Excessive Clamor

Hey Reader!

In a recent podcast conversation with Dr. Beverly Alford of Curating Play, we talked about NOISE in our classrooms. When children are engaged in lively, active, age-appropriate play…there’s probably going to be some noise involved. Would you agree with that?

How do you feel about noise in your classroom? I think we have various levels of noise tolerance based on our own life experience. For example, I raised three very active, rambunctious boys so what I consider “too loud” is probably different than someone who has experience as a librarian.

Let’s talk a little bit about sources of noise in our classrooms, how to curate purposeful noise, and how to create some quiet when it’s time!

1. If your classroom feels noisy to you, stop for a moment and just listen. Do you hear purposeful noise – children talking and laughing, blocks crashing, pounding playdough, etc? Or do you hear a lot of extraneous noise – maybe background music that seemed like a good idea when you turned it on, maybe a vacuum down the hall or construction outside? Recognizing that sometimes you have some control over noise (like turning off/down the music) and sometimes you don’t (construction) might be helpful. I think you would agree that when noise is “purposeful”, it might be worth increasing our own tolerance levels a little bit.
2. You can intentionally create quiet spaces in your classroom like the book/library center or an art center. Teach children that these spaces are for quieter voices and smaller body movements.
3. As you reach afternoon rest/nap times, you have another opportunity to control the sound levels in your classroom. I always encourage some fun upbeat, dance music in the minutes leading up (or maybe leading down) to naptime. Get one big burst of energy out and then slow the music down in volume, in tempo, and in excitement! Eventually, all that’s left is maybe a white noise machine or app.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to consider how noise in the classroom effects you and the children in your classroom. How can you manage/direct/focus it in a way that benefits children’s learning as well as meets the needs of everyone in the room with both quiet and noisy spaces and times? We’d love to hear your ideas! Reply to this email or click the button below!

Cheering you on this week!

-Your ECCN team

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Listen to this podcast episode with Dr. Beverly Alford now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. ​

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Colossians 3:16

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”