31. What Behavior System Should You Use in Kindergarten?

What behavior system should you use in kindergarten? Classroom economy, Dojo points, desk pets, prize boxes, reward systems...there are SO many options. But just because a behavior system works with older students doesn't mean it's the right fit for five- and six-year-olds.

In this episode, we're talking about how to choose a kindergarten behavior system that is developmentally appropriate, manageable for teachers, and actually supports strong kindergarten classroom management. I'll share some popular behavior systems I would think twice about using in kindergarten, why taking away something a student has already earned can create problems, and the questions I want you to ask before choosing a behavior system for your classroom.

I'll also share the two behavior tools that became my go-to choices in my own kindergarten classroom and how they helped me reinforce positive behavior without creating another complicated system to manage.

And if you're looking for more support with classroom management in kindergarten, Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint gives you both the training AND the tools to build strong classroom management through simple, consistent systems.

►►► Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint is $97 through August 5th. Today is the LAST DAY to save $50!

Resources Mentioned:

🍎 Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint

✨ Glow & Grow Behavior Notes

🏗️ Build-a-Reward Behavior Charts

🔗 Show Notes: https://kindergartentoolbox.com/what-behavior-system-should-you-use-in-kindergarten-episode31/

Transcript

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What behavior system should you be using in your kindergarten classroom? Maybe a classroom economy, those adorable desk pets, dojo points, a prize store, maybe a treasure box. And what happens when students misbehave? Do they lose points or get fined? Do you start taking things away? I see kindergarten teachers asking these questions all the time during the back-to-school season. So before you choose your behavior system this year, let's talk about what actually works with real five and six-year-olds and what might be making classroom management a lot harder and more complicated than it needs to be. Welcome to the Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast. I'm your host, Amy Murray, here to help you simplify kindergarten with tools and strategies that actually work with real live five-and-six-year-olds. Let's dive into your shortcut to calmer days and more confident writers. One question I keep seeing pop up in Facebook groups is what kind of behavior system should I be using in kindergarten? Or sometimes I see more specific questions like, I used a classroom economy in fourth grade. Do you think it would work in kindergarten too? Or what do you put in your prize box? Does everybody use dojo points and should I take away points when students misbehave? There are so many questions about choosing the right behavior system, but I think we're asking the wrong questions. Maybe instead of asking what behavior system should I use, we should be asking what kind of behavior system actually works with kindergarten students? Because kindergartners are different. They're five and six years old, many of them are brand new to school, and developmentally they are not ready to understand more complicated systems that might work really well for older students. Let's take classroom economies, for example. A classroom economy might work great in an older grade, but it's complicated, it's layered, and honestly, it's complicated for the teacher too. You have to have a way for students to keep track of what they've earned. You need some kind of store and reward menu, prices. You need to keep track of when students earn money, when they're going to spend it. Even if your rewards are totally free to you as the teacher, it's still a whole system to manage. And students need to understand the concept of saving and how many dollars they need to earn, what they want to earn in the store. Now, my second grader last year loved saving Claire Classroom dollars. She could buy things like show and tell, a stuffed animal pass, a pen pass for the day. She understood it. She could look for what she wanted, figure out how much it costs, know how much she needed, how much she could save, and understand all of those things that she needed to earn the points and get the prizes. But think of a kindergartner at the beginning of the school year. We haven't even taught some of them what numbers are, right? We don't even know what one, two, three, four, and five look like, let alone what those numbers represent. And now we're going to ask them to keep track of classroom money, understand how much they've earned, save it for something they want, figure out what they can afford or if they have enough, and maybe even fine them and take money away if they make mistakes? That's asking a lot of a five-year-old. So I think we need to pump the brakes a little bit and ask ourselves: is the system actually developmentally appropriate for the students sitting in my classroom? Because just because a behavior system works in third or fourth grade, even second grade, doesn't mean we can shrink it down and use it in kindergarten. Kindergarten behavior systems need to be designed for kindergartners. And that brings me to another part of these systems that I really want us to think about. Taking away something a student has already earned. Whether that's classroom money, dojo points, or something else, I don't recommend using what a child has already earned as a punishment or a consequence if they make a mistake. And there's a couple of reasons for that. You see, developmentally, the fine or taking whatever it is away is a little bit too disconnected from the behavior. They need consequences that make sense in relation to what actually happened, and it needs to be immediate, not an abstract financial penalty. And two, it can undermine trust. If you've told them you've earned this ticket or these dollars for doing XYZ, and then later you take it back because of a behavior or a poor choice that they made, the original reinforcement isn't as secure anymore. And they might be less likely to want to work for it because they don't trust that they will get to keep the reward. And you see, as adults, we can understand what fines and penalties are and you know delayed consequences, but five-year-olds, not as much. And I don't love taking away something a child has already learned because now we're moving away from teaching and moving toward punishment. And consequences don't always have to feel like a punishment. And I really want my students to trust me. I want them to know that I'm on their team and that we learn from our mistakes and not worrying about losing something that they've already worked for. So often when I see teachers taking away points or penalties or fines or things that feel more like punishments, it's more of punishing the behavior that we see because we are frustrated and we don't like it, and less about teaching the behaviors that we want to see. And it's just a trap that I myself have fallen into as well. So as a rule, I try not to take away what students have already earned within reason, of course. Okay, so I've told you what I don't love as far as behavior systems go in kindergarten, but what should a kindergarten behavior system actually look like? Well, first and foremost, it needs to be simple enough that you can use it consistently. No matter what type of behavior system you use, that is the key. Even the best behavior system isn't going to work if it's so complicated that you forget to use it. By October, you're burnt out and you're looking for something different. If you're being honest, if you have to keep track of 20 different point totals and remember who earned what and update a chart and stock the prize box and somehow remember that every Friday you need to have school store, even if you have an early dismissal that day. Oh yeah, and you're actually also supposed to be teaching kindergarten. That's a lot. Your behavior system should make your job easier, not become another job you have to manage. It also needs to be easy for your students to understand because we are talking about five and six year olds here. They shouldn't need to do math or remember a complicated set of rules to understand how your system works. This is where strong visuals make such a difference. If you've been around Sierra for a while, you know visuals are a non-negotiable in your kindergarten classroom. And that goes for your behavior system as well. You see, kindergarten students need to be able to see what you mean. They need clear, concrete reminders of what the expected behavior looks like, what is the goal, what are we working towards, how many more things or points do we need until we get the reward. All of those need concrete visuals. And I think the next piece is really important. The goal of your behavior system should be to help students succeed, not catch them misbehaving. We're not sitting around waiting for somebody to mess up so we can take a point away or move a clip or issue a fine. We want to be looking for the behaviors we do want to see and reinforcing those. And sincerely, even with the most difficult classes, when you start to focus on the positives and the behaviors you want to see, a snowball effect happens and you start to see more positives everywhere instead of harping on constantly correcting behavior. Because we're teaching behavior just like we teach everything else in kindergarten. We show students what we expect, give them opportunities to practice, and reinforce them when they're successful. We've got to take the time to celebrate that success as well. So when you're choosing your kindergarten behavior system, I want you to ask yourself a few questions. Is it simple? Can I use it consistently? Will my students understand it? Does it have strong visual supports? Is it easy for both me and my students? And most importantly, will it help my students to be successful in my classroom? Because your behavior system shouldn't feel like a gotcha system, it shouldn't feel like an extra job for you. It should be another tool to help five and six-year-olds understand what's expected of them and help them to be successful in your classroom. And remember what we talked about last week. Your behavior system is just one piece of classroom management. It's not the whole thing. In fact, behavior systems are only the B and our BRIC method that I teach inside the kindergarten behavior blueprint. BRIC stands for behavior systems, relationships, independence, all built through consistency while we keep it simple. Built simple systems that work. Because you can have a great behavior system, but if you haven't built relationships with your students, if they don't understand your expectations, or if you're depending on you to manage everything instead of a simple system, that behavior system isn't going to hold your classroom together. And on the flip side, it is so important to have those relationships, but you're also going to need a behavior system to keep things on track. Those positive relationships that you work so hard to build with your students and the behavior system and building student independence are all the pieces that you need to go together to build strong classroom management in your kindergarten classroom. And that's exactly what I teach inside the kindergarten behavior blueprint. KBB is a classroom management course and a toolbox of resources designed specifically for kindergarten teachers. So I'm not going to tell you, hey, use visuals and then send you off to Canva to spend your Sunday making them. And I'm not going to tell you that you need a simple behavior system and leave you scrolling Pinterest trying to figure out what that should look like. Inside the course, I'll teach you the strategies and systems so you understand what you're doing and why. And then inside the toolbox, you get the actual resources to help you put those strategies into place and the training to teach you how to use those tools. So if you're listening to this episode because you've been trying to figure out what behavior system you're going to use this year, I really want you to think bigger than choosing just between dojo points in a classroom economy or a prize box. Instead, ask yourself, do I have a classroom management plan that I understand and I can actually use consistently? Because that's what I want you to walk into the school year with. Not 147 classroom management ideas that you've saved on Facebook or a complicated behavior system you're hoping that you'll remember to use. And definitely not a classroom economy that has you running a kindergarten store every Friday when you already have enough to do. I want you to have simple systems that work together so you can walk into your classroom feeling confident and in control. And if you've been thinking about joining KBB, today is the day. It's the last day to get kindergarten behavior blueprint for just $97. So when this episode ends, head down to the show notes, click the link, and join us inside KBB before that $97 price is gone. You get immediate access to the course and the toolbox so you can start putting your classroom management systems together right away. Grab the kindergarten behavior blueprint for just $97 before the end of today. And some of you are sitting there thinking, okay, that sounds great, but what behavior system would you actually use in kindergarten? All right, I've got you. There are two things that I use that changed the game in my kindergarten classroom. First are glow and grow behavior notes. We use glow notes to celebrate success. And we have other episodes of the podcast all about those. If you want to check those out, I'll link them in the show notes as well. And grow notes to address unwanted behavior in a more positive way. Parents were way more receptive of that. And it made communicating behaviors a breeze. And the other thing we use for our whole class system was our build a reward behavior system. They're also on sale on TPT. They're included. Everything that I've just mentioned is also included inside the kindergarten behavior blueprint as well. So don't feel like you need to go running all over the place to find these things. But our build a reward behavior charts have built-in visuals so you can see the characters or see the scene that you're filling up and know how many more pieces you need to complete that in order to earn the reward. And there are pictures for specific behavior goals and rewards. Many of them are totally free to use. So you can have all of the visual supports you need. If a substitute walks in the classroom, they can understand the system. Principal walks in, they can ask a student, hey, how many more pieces do we need to earn here until we get our extra recess? Or it looks like we're working on working quietly at our tables. How are we doing with that today? It makes everyone accountable for their behavior and it's so, so easy to implement, and they're adorable. You can use all the different scenes all year long. So glow and grow notes and builder reward charts were my go-tos. I will drop the links to those down below too. But like I said, they're inside KBB, so don't feel like you have to go hunting for everything. You can get it all in one place. And before we go, if you take one thing away from today's episode, please let it be this. Don't choose a behavior system just because everyone in a Facebook group says they're using it. Those desk pets, adorable. Way too complicated. What are you going to do with them? What happens when kids lose a piece? And distracting for kindergartners. Think about five and six-year-olds who are actually going to use it. Keep it simple, make it visual, make sure you can use it consistently, reinforce the behaviors you want to see, and choose a system that makes it easy for your students to be successful. Because your job is not to catch kids misbehaving. Your job is to give them the tools and support they need to get it right. Alright, my friends, if you are ready for help putting all these pieces together, don't forget today is the last day to grab Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint for $97. The links waiting in the show notes, along with all the other resources I mentioned today. And I'll see you next week. Thanks for listening to the Kindergarten Toolbox. I'm Amy Murray and I'm so glad you're here. Be sure to check the show notes for all the links and resources from today's episode. For even more tips, tools, and support, head to teachingexceptionalkinders.com or connect with me on Instagram at Teaching Exceptional Kinders. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow along and subscribe to the show and take a minute to leave a review. It helps other kindergarten teachers to find us too. Teaching kindergarten is tough, but you're not alone. Here's to calmer days and more confident writers. You've got this.