Polly answers the question: “One of my 4th graders refuses to come to morning circle. I give him plenty of encouragement, but he just stays quietly in his seat and will not join in. My next move is to make him do the circle activities during his recess. Do you think that would get him to come to morning circle?”

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When kids start talking out, don’t ask things like, “What should you be doing right now?” Instead, say “Talking out right now is disruptive.”

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Polly answers the question: “Do you have any recommendations for avoiding and/or getting out of power struggles with high school kids? I’ll admit, sometimes they suck me in and it’s hard not to lose it!”

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Most of the time, when we need to remove a preschooler from a situation so they can take a breath, it should be really quick. Our littles shouldn’t be sitting in time out for twenty minutes.

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Polly answers the question: “Our middle school students are using the most appalling language in the hallways this year. What can we do to curb it?”

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What can you do when you have a child who can’t keep it together?

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Polly answers the question: “The kids I teach don’t behave at all. I mean, they can’t sit still, they can’t work independently, they whine, they argue with each other, and they don’t play nice no matter what I say! I want it to stop! What can I do?”

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I love using transition times to enhance conversation skills!

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Polly answers the question: “We have high schoolers who wander the halls all day. When someone tells them to go to class they make explosive comments. How can we address this problem?”

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School is mostly receptive language learning. But in the age of technology, this is not the way most kids learn. So, what should we do? Teach the skills needed to learn from lectures!

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