Did you stop at a Stop Sign today? Maybe you looked for your favorite coffee shop or Sonic by looking for the sign? As adults, we benefit from visual cues throughout the day every day! Imagine if you had to listen for someone to say “Stop” before you stopped at an intersection! That would be chaos! LOL! And what if your favorite coffee shop had NO signs anywhere and you just had to use the address to find it? Would that be a little harder and maybe cause a little bit of frustration?
Visual cues make our lives easier as adults but they also benefit our young students! So let’s talk about visuals in an early childhood classroom. Visuals include things like picture schedules, rule posters, routine posters, choice boards, social stories, etc. But visuals also include body language, sign language, and the environment itself.
What are the benefits of using visuals to support your young students?
Visuals reduce stress and anxiety in children. When children know what to expect they move into the higher brain states rather than shifting into survival brain all day. They know what’s coming next so they can feel confident in transitions rather than fearful and worried about uncertainty.
Visual supports help children develop independence, confidence, and positive self-esteem. When they can see your expectations for washing hands, cleaning up, or any other routine, they are better able to do things on their own. Those visual reminders allow you to reduce the number of verbal reminders you have to give to ensure tasks are completed correctly! When children successfully do things on their own, they feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment.
Visual supports reduce challenging behavior. When children can SEE their choices, it’s often easier to make a choice. Verbal processing is still pretty slow in early childhood so visual supports are so helpful in giving instructions as well.
Three of my favorite, must-have visual supports for children are:
A picture schedule! Put it at their eye level. If you can, I LOVE taking pictures of my students doing the routines throughout the day. Some children may need mini-schedules that they can carry with them so that they feel confident about what is happening next. Cut/paste these pictures on a piece of card stock, laminate, and DONE!
Routine books. Document your expectations for specific routines in a book format. How do we go to the playground? (Pick the routine that your class is struggling with the most!) Think through each step and take pictures of your students doing it well, then write a little book, laminate it, and keep it in your book center! Example:
Page 1: We love to play outside at school. When Ms. Monica says it’s time, we line up at the door with eyes looking forward and hands by our side.
Page 2: Then we walk quietly down the hall. We don’t want to disturb the other classes.
Page 3: Our door holder holds open the door and lets everyone pass by. Thank you!
Page 4: Once we are outside, we stay inside the fenced-in area
Page 5: We take turns on the swing.
Page 6: We ask our classmates if they want to play (keep adding pages with the right choices for frequent challenges that you observe outside).
Page 7: When it’s time to go inside, Ms. Monica will blow the whistle and we all line up at the wall. Sometimes it’s hard to finish playing, but it’s important to obey when we hear the whistle.
Page 8: Then we go inside, wash our hands, and get ready for lunch. I wonder what’s in my lunchbox today?!?!
Page 9: It’s so fun to play outside every day at school. I know exactly what to do!
Choice Cards. Giving young children an opportunity to make choices is HUGE in helping with classroom management. Everyone wants a sense of control over their choices! So…create opportunities throughout the day where children get to make choices. I had a set of morning greeting choices that students could choose from; I had a set of our favorite songs and chants on a ring by our carpet so someone could choose the song we sang to start circle time; a set of goodbye cards; a set of cheers for the end of our circle time. I’m sure you can think of lots of other places where you could put together a set of small cards with pictures that allow your students to CHOOSE what they want to do next!
For more ideas, check out:
This week’s podcast episode with Bobette Gore and the resources below!
“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.”
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