(Part 2) Best products from r/ECEProfessionals

Some of my very favorites:

ELL/Immigrant:

The Name Jar

My Name is Yoon

My Name is Sangoel

Ability:

Jessica's Box

My Brother, Charlie

ZOOM!

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay

LGBTQ+:

And Tango Makes Three

Worm Loves Worm

Introducing Teddy

My Princess Boy

Things are definitely not over and you can turn this around. I am a college professor
Who trains student teachers so I know what you're going through. I've written a book for new preschool teachers called the Positive Preschool: http://www.amazon.com/The-Positive-Preschool-Hands-Smooth-Running/dp/0988276623 This books goes step by step in getting your classroom to run smoothly and how to work with challenging behavior.

I agree with the other responses here. Also you can turn things around with your TA. Be sure to ask for her advice and give her positive feedback when she does appropriate things. Kill her with kindness and show her you can be worthy of her respect.

I've definitely seen them work! Doesn't work so much for aggressive biters, but does help for kids who seem to always want something in their mouth. I've used all sorts -- depends on the kid and what sensation they are seeking. I had one kid who used to chew on his shirts, and cloth necklaces really worked for him. He also used ones that essentially looked like stretchy phone cord.. I've had other kids have more success with the "typical" hard rubber chewies, and other kids who it didn't seem to benefit. Basically the answer is: it depends.

Honestly, I'm an adult who tends to bite her nails especially while driving in the car. I've tested out some chewies for myself...

OXO Good Grips LiquiSeal Travel Mug! I've had this for 4 years. Still going strong. The best thing ever. A little steep for a mug on a teacher's budget, and would very much be appreciated as a gift.

I'm sorry you experienced this.

I'm also a tropical fish hobbyist so naturally I had my betta in a 10 gallon aquarium with filtration in my classroom. The kids adored the fish tank. I also kept a couple of mickey mouse platies with the betta. I had the kids be a part of the process of cleaning the fish tank with me. They would help with taking the water out of the aquarium, holding the hose to fill up the bucket and then count the number of cups when refilling. And during the whole process we are all talking about fish, plants, cleaning and so much more. It was a lot of fun. I don't think teachers realize what a learning experience it can be to have the whole class take care of an aquarium together.

I've also raised tadpoles with my class in a separate tank. That was a lot of fun too!

I think if teachers are looking for a fish tank experience without the responsibility of real fish, they should look at something like this.

I'm not sure how to best explain it, but I came across a cute book the other day which is easily interpreted as an analogy for somebody being transgender. It's called Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall. I haven't looked into if it's actually about being transgender, but it could be of use to you?

Otherwise, if you don't get the help you want here, maybe you'd have some luck asking somewhere like /r/transgender or something?

It sounds to me like you need some music and movement games. Also, is it possible for you to take a walk outside each day? My school does that, and it's a great learning opportunity for the students. If you have free choice activities, one punishment could be to not allow that student to choose his activity for the next 10 minutes or so. Instead, he will have a "teacher chosen activity," and you can give him counting bears or a toy that he doesn't usually use. Another solution is to use some [http://www.amazon.com/Duck-281973-Despicable-Printed-Inches/dp/B00CYQ36GS/ref=zg_bs_256160011_3](Duck Tape) and create different patterns on the carpet for the children to walk on (zig zags, etc). Yet another something to help them would be allowing them to create their own stories (write them as they tell you) and then have the other students act out these stories.

Finally, have you tried some indoor yoga? They love it!

Remember that rough and tumble play is okay, but be sure to monitor it and know the difference between an angry child and a playing child.

The kids in my class loved the Little School Bus. It has rhymes, sequencing, and a whole sub-story in the illustrations about a fox stealing a pig's wig which sparked lots of interest and conversation in my kids.

I also suggest Spoon and Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It's about being proud of who you are and encourages kids to think about what makes them special. You could also do all kinds of things with different kitchen utensils to go along with it - maybe bring in some unfamiliar ones so the kids can guess what they are, use them to paint or with play-dough, make patterns (i.e. spoon, fork, spoon, fork), sort, etc.

How about bamboo?

You could also try tempered glass, with a silicone cover to help prevent breakage. Or just silicone, if it's not too flimsy.

I also agree with Corelle! They're pretty tough to break and pretty cheap.

Todd Parr's The Feelings Book would be perfect for this! Little Monkey Calms Down would be another great one to include, and also comes in board book format.

>once they're sitting down for lunch they dont wanna stay seated, they will get up to go play in the middle of eating

I got a timer from amazon that we use during our mealtime. While the light is green, it is time to eat/drink (or at least stay in their chair). Once it's flashing yellow, they can either continue to eat or pack up their food and move to the reading corner. Once it's red, it's time for everyone to pack up. This is for a class of 3/4s so it may have to be adapted somewhat to fit your kiddos, but it's been a huge improvement for us over last year without it!

You're definitely not an outlier! Stress and burn out are huge issues in this profession, and as caregivers we are notoriously bad at self-care.

I would recommend reading Finding Your Smile Again by Jeff A Johnson. Full disclosure: I haven't read it yet myself, but Jeff writes great books, and he is very knowledgeable about the topic. So I'm blindly recommending his work, because I believe it will help you :)

Personally, I struggle with stress a lot. The past few weeks I've been up past 2am every day because I am too stressed to sleep. Combined with a 7am shift, I'm not sleeping much! I know for myself, I need to get back to my self-care routines. For me, that includes journaling, screen-free evenings, and working out regularly. Everybody's different, so take some time to figure out what works for you!

Water and sand are the main staples. You can change out the accessories to keep their interest renewed for a long time. Some things we have done:

Water:
Adding soap to make bubbles
Measuring cups, funnels, pipettes, etc.
Sea animals and seashells
Materials to test for sinking and floating
Sponges and dishes from dramatic play center

Sand:
Same measuring cups and funnels as above
Dinosaurs and/or dinosaur bones
Glass gems like these
Coins or other "treasure"

We also have used other materials like beans, rice, dried oats, etc. but they never seem to be as popular as water and sand.

I had an issue with that in my preschool class. Typically reinforcing using words should work but have you also tried to figure out the emotion behind the aggressive behavior?

It does take some time to stop the behavior as we are teaching our children how to deal with their emotions. Many times they hit, kick, and grab because they don't know how to deal with anger, hurt, or sadness. I like to ask why they hit and I explain why it isn't appropriate. I always say to the kids to tell their friend, "No thank you, I don't like that." Although I was having to repeat this A LOT, it was amazing to hear kids begin using this phrase instead of immediately reacting with aggressive behavior.

When we were having a particularly difficult time with one child, it was brought to the mother's attention who then brought a book to share with the class. You may have heard of it. It's called Hands are not for Hitting.

I'm not sure how well the book works for children. From a child development standpoint, it's best to help the child acknowledge what they are feeling and provide them with tools (words) for how to deal with it or express themselves in a positive manner.