fighting

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fighting
By Julianne

I know what you mean. Even the best of friends can tussle at times. It sounds like you are approaching this correctly. Consistently reinforcing the rules and consequences should slow the fighting with time. A couple of
other things you might try:
A positive reward when students DON'T fight. When you see kids getting ready for a fight look for a pair who are working well together and point them out. "I love the way Ricky and John are playing nicely together."
Inform parents about the fighting if you haven't already. Have them reinforce the rules at home should any of the children come over for

play dates. I've seen parents who would tolerate "wrestling" at their house that I would have called downright fighting. If they know you're having trouble with this behavior in class they can help their children understand and reinforce appropriate behavior.

If you have another class you might consider moving some children around. I know this usually isn't an option in preschool because there's usually only one class on an age level.

Be sure your consequences are appropriate. One thing I've tried when very young students fight is to have them draw a picture of themselves and the other child playing nicely. Then we talk about three things they can do together that are acceptable. They can't go back to play until they can think of three things. Boy, is that hard for some of them.

Good luck with your group.