Closing time is a real headache for me. I've only been in 3rd grade since January. We have to release children to older siblings or an adult who comes for them. This class cannot handle any freedom, they just explode when allowed to move freely. I've come into classrooms in the middle of the year and found kids really test the limits. I have several bossy, boisterous kids, plus a couple who don't handle transitions well; and the only way I can see closing NOT being a total pain is to make them sit silently, heads down, till someone comes for them. Any ideas where it doesn't have to be so drastic?? Thanks.
Have a very strict dismissal schedule, and then an assigned task for when they finish. Honestly, for me, I let my kids fall into chaos... ONCE the room is clean to my satisfaction. They've had a long, tiring day and they don't have a lot of time to just be kids. If they can get the room clean and dismissal requirements are done, I appreciate them getting boisterous. It's them getting out all the energy that they had to suppress for the previous seven hours.
I feel the same way, g3, but we are also dealing with some issues of aggressive and out-of-control behaviors, so I do think that for the time being we'll do a quiet dismissal. Not all the kids want to go wild and it's stressful on those kids who are ready for some quiet! EDIT: We just had a "quiet close" and it was GREAT. Soooo much less stressful. I think even the boisterous kids were ready for it. :thumb:
