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Discipline in Kindergarten: How to Teach Students to Take Responsibility for Their Behavior

An unruly kindergarten classroom can feel like a riot zone. Without the proper discipline in place, the behavior of young children can be difficult to contain. Teaching your kindergartners to respect one another and play peacefully starts with getting them to take responsibility for their own behavior in the classroom. Give your students the skills they need to play peacefully, succeed in school and develop into responsible young citizens.

Instructions

    • 1

      Communicate what constitutes good behavior to students and lead by example. Tell your kindergartners that it is up to each of them to behave respectfully toward one another and to play nicely. Use positive reinforcement for good behavior. If you praise a student for helping another child, for instance, he will begin to see the positive consequences of helping others.

    • 2

      Give students a chance to correct their own behavior if they do something wrong. Institute a system of warnings that allows children to know when they are crossing a line. For example, create a color-coded system where yellow means a warning and red means they have misbehaved. If a student looks agitated and about to hit another child, say the word "yellow" to her. Take the student aside and ask her what other things she might do to express her dissatisfaction. Give her a chance to make a positive choice instead of acting out.

    • 3

      Discipline by showing kindergartners the direct consequences of their actions and implementing a loss of privileges. If a student defaces another student's work with crayons, for example, forbid that student from using the drawing station for a set amount of time. Explain to a student very clearly why what he did was wrong and how it affected another student. Have the student take responsibility for his actions by apologizing.

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