talking child

[Caroleigh]

I am so discouraged with my own child right now. I am a teacher, too. My kindergarten child is quite a talker. She has gotten several naughty notes sent home for talking and not listening. She is a sweet little thing. Not malicious and does not have any other behavior problems. She just cannot shut her sweet little mouth. We have taken her TV priviledges at home and all the toys in her bed have been removed for 3 days. I know that talking has to be under control in K, but I don't know what else to do for her. Sometimes I don't even think she realizes what is going on around her and that she is even talking. She is in her own little world. I am not making excuses for her, because we have to get this under control. BUT what can I do for her. We have talked, handed out consequences. She hates the consequences, but I don't think that she remembers them when she is at school and in the moment. Could it be that her class does too much sitting and quiet time? I am amazed at what the K students are learning these days. Is it too much? I jsut feel bad for her. I don't want her to hate school because she is in trouble all the time for talking. Any suggetions for this "parent of a k talker" please help me out.

 

[kali]

talking

I teach kindergarten and have several students who talk non stop too. The happy news of that is kindergartners learn so much by talking with their peers and being engaged in discourse, so from that side of it, its hard to get upset with those students. I have one student who is......I'll describe her as wide open, silly, loud, talk non stop, and a few other hyper habbits for toppings! Her mom was telling me that in pre school she was always getting complaints from the teacher about all those things.
This little girl is funny and smart and is who she is. I told her mom that while I agree that her loud voice and active behavior of the mouth were at times distartcing and hard to handle IN A SCHOOL SETTING, her daughter was who she was and maybe those traits are not all that negative anyway.
I am not sure this has helped any or really answered your questions but............In my oppinion, I would not punish her for it nor would I worry that this is something that will carry on and get her into trouble in later years. Like you mentioned, Kindergarteners need to move around and switch focus, often. last year I had long morning meetings, this years grouop can only do about 20 minutes of one activity. there are tons of effective teaching startegies to get children engaged enough to stop talking when you, as a ateacher need them to hear you out. i would let the teacher work through those. Maybe you could ahve your own POISTIVE chart at home. Turn int inot a game with her. If she only is talked to the teacher once or none during the day she gets a sticker for example. maybe when she gets to ten stickers, you and her watch a movie, eat popcorn, and TALK all you want!! good luck

 

[PattiMSKteacher]

talking

I can picture your child in my class. My kids stop talking when they have someing in their mouth. So during especially crucial quiet times (test taking), I pass out a peppermint. I have a very talkative class. I let them today during big group have ten mins of chatting with themselves. The only time I wish they were quiet is when I am talking at the beginning of big group. I can totally relate to the "I was talking so I missed directions."

Find out from her teacher when she has talking times, each kindergarten class should have some loud areas, and some quiet areas. That way you can explain when its okay to talk. "When you're at the red table its okay to talk, but when we are in our yellow chairs or on the carpet, we have to be quiet and raise our hands."

 

[kteach]

I was one too

I am a Kindergarten teacher, and I totally remember being "the motor mouth" student, starting as early as K. I also had several siblings, which creates the need to compete to be heard. You don't mention your child's birth order.

Lately, in my own class, I have started using a technigue I learned at a workshop led by Gene Bedley. It's called the mute button.
Most of my students are "remote control" savy. They know what it means to hit the mute button. So, I've talked with my class about it, and we decided we all needed our own mute buttons( most of ours are on our noses) When a particular child gets motor mouthy, I'll simply say, oh, you better put your mute button on. They usually smile, and then they quiet up for awhile.

 

[kinderfriend]

You said it, it's kindergarten!

Well, I am wondering, when is she talking and about what? Usually "the talkers" will be quiet when asked if they know there is a designated time for talking (such as centers). I would be concerned if she was being rude and interrupting, etc..then it would be the matter of being disrespectful in her community and caring for her other friends who are trying to listen or want to talk, too. But if in the classroom, she is always expected to be quiet, I would be concerned about the early childhood program she is in. I am a kindergarten teacher in a low-income school with tons of pressure to push my student’s way over where they need to be or what is developmentally appropriate. But I try hard to be creative through play. Having the children talk as much as possible. That shows they are engaged. If your child's class is learning about plants, and your child is talking about the strings on the bottom of a sock, well, most likely she is not engaged or interested. Thus, not being the Childs fault but the adult planning lessons. If the child is excited about plants and is talking about that, well, she is making connections. I don't know. In my 5 years of teaching, I have never been upset with a child that "talks too much." Maybe it's because I think as adults/teachers we talk too much. Where is our punishment?

 

[mkr]

talker

I am so happy to read the excellent replies; what loving, understanding teachers you are!

To help you see a positive side to the chatter, many years ago I had a child who was an excessive talker. She is now a successful radio show host. Her ability to talk is a necessity in her field.

 

[Rjonnie]

There are often one or two children in a classroom who love to engage in conversation and share lots of personal stories. This is good in a small group or one on one but these children should not be allowed to monopolize the conversation. I usually have a couple of students who want to go off on some tangent whenever almost anything that they can relate to is mentioned. But this is too time consuming and it is not fair to the other students who get bored listening to their stories and need to express themselves also. Kindergarten is a learning experience; it just takes some children longer than others to adapt to a group situation.

 

[akc]

Years ago I had a child that kept getting in trouble at school. His mother sent me a small "remember" plant for my desk.
Each time the child looked at the plant he was to remember that his mom wanted good behavior and good listening at school. It made a difference with this child.