Working with large groups of children?!

Hero

Hero

Well-known member
Hi has anyone worked with groups of children and know how to control them?

I'm in charge with organizing games for about 25 or so kids. They are about 9-11 years old. It took me a long time to be brave in front of all them. To be honest the noise is so distracting I can barely maintain attention on them.

I try to set up some some neat games and activities, but barely any of them care and run around screaming or hitting each other. Most of my game end in chaos or people getting injured, while I slowly lose my integrity and my voice.. I have tried raising a hand silently, telling them their wasting each others time and missing out on games. I have also tried sh outing and yelling 'Quiet' but they don't seem to give a damn.

I feel they don't respect me at all, and it makes me quite angry and/or upset.

Any ideas? Having SA is bad enough but supervising an army of kids is something else!
 
migthymask

migthymask

Well-known member
ohh yeah, I worked in a summer camp when I had 22 years, I worked with children that they had between 10 and 12 years old, it was so difficult because they didn't obey, so I must scream to put order in the group, I organized soccer and basketball games and took them to the pool to swim, it was a difficult job for me, and finally I didn't received any pay for this, it was an activity for the college :/
 
singing-love

singing-love

Well-known member
I love children and I've found that the children in the age group you want can be rather difficult to manage at times. Perhaps you could try a reward system? Generally if the is an incentive involved children will be more willing. Even if it's just small like going first next time or getting to be a leader it picking a game :). Make sure that the children that are good are recognized and the ones that aren't don't have all of your attention, perhaps try a discipline system until they learn some respect for you. That's what I tried. Also you could get them more involved by asking them to come up with games an trying them, makes them feel important and more active in activities :). I wish you the best of luck, remember they are only children, you have a lot more experience!
 
kihira

kihira

1
^agree that a reward can get their attention and cooperation. also give them a choice, do you want to do A or B and let the group choose, then you can use it against any who are doing other stuff - we all agreed to play [choice].
 
S

Scandic123

Well-known member
I generally don't like children. They're loud, disobeying, annoying, too curious and asking too many stupid questions, immature (obviously), etc... Being in a wheelchair, whenever I encounter children, they stare with an open mouth like they've just seen a UFO. I've also had to answer many stupid and annoying questions. Therefore, I'm a little afraid of children, they provoke anxiety in me. I guess I'm not going to have any either.

As for the original post... I'm sorry I can't really give you any advice, but the suggestion with rewards is a good one in my opinion.
 
mismeek

mismeek

Well-known member
just dont look them in the eye.. you'll be testing their dominance. And don't be afraid.. they smell fear. Just keep throwing candy at them and keep your back against the wall

O.O God speed my friend.
 
G

gummybear22

Well-known member
my advice is to do games that involve alot of movement since they seem hyper, and afterwards, they'll hopefully be more tired and easier to deal with. a fun game we played in middle school is foxes and hounds (outside-->that's your key. get them outside in a large area to get rid of their energy): first, everybody runs off to hide while you and maybe 2 students stay back and count to 60 (or 30 or whatever). yall are the hounds and everyone else are the foxes. after you count to the number, you go runnin and try to find the students. you have to tag students to turn them into hounds, and all hounds try to find all foxes. the foxes have to make it back to some base that you make before getting tagged.
another fun game like foxes and hounds that we also played in middle school is the most dangerous game: you give everyone a minute to go somewhere (outside) and hide, then you alone go out to find the students [my teacher also brought his dog to help in finding people by scent in the woods]. you have to tag the student to get him out. whoever gets back to the base you make without getting tagged wins the game. if you aren't that fast or don't have much endurance, pick a fast endurable student to be 'it'

the more they deal with you, the more you can gain their attention and respect. don't talk down to them or try to control them when you know they aren't going to listen. give them a plan to follow with consequences they would like if they followed it and consequences they would not like if they don't follow it, and stick to the plan. i made one for a 5th grade class I'm in now and it's helped them quite a bit.
 
Xervello

Xervello

Well-known member
gummybear22 said:
my advice is to do games that involve alot of movement since they seem hyper, and afterwards, they'll hopefully be more tired and easier to deal with. a fun game we played in middle school is foxes and hounds (outside-->that's your key. get them outside in a large area to get rid of their energy): first, everybody runs off to hide while you and maybe 2 students stay back and count to 60 (or 30 or whatever). yall are the hounds and everyone else are the foxes. after you count to the number, you go runnin and try to find the students. you have to tag students to turn them into hounds, and all hounds try to find all foxes. the foxes have to make it back to some base that you make before getting tagged.
another fun game like foxes and hounds that we also played in middle school is the most dangerous game: you give everyone a minute to go somewhere (outside) and hide, then you alone go out to find the students [my teacher also brought his dog to help in finding people by scent in the woods]. you have to tag the student to get him out. whoever gets back to the base you make without getting tagged wins the game. if you aren't that fast or don't have much endurance, pick a fast endurable student to be 'it'

the more they deal with you, the more you can gain their attention and respect. don't talk down to them or try to control them when you know they aren't going to listen. give them a plan to follow with consequences they would like if they followed it and consequences they would not like if they don't follow it, and stick to the plan. i made one for a 5th grade class I'm in now and it's helped them quite a bit.
Click to expand...


What she said. :thumbup:
 
dragons

dragons

Active member
I've been in the same situation before. I had a job two summers ago where I had to overlook a gym full of 36 kids by myself and that was quite overwhelming. Last summer I had a similar summer camp job––there were more kids, but also more aides so it wasn't quite as stressful.

I do like children, but in large groups they can be intimidating––especially because they feed off each other's energy. You kind of have to find a balance between being friendly with them and making sure they stay in control. If you show signs of aggravation, it causes some kids to just want to push your buttons. Similarly, if you're too much of a pushover then some kids will know they can get away with misbehaving.

Instead of telling kids to just "stop" or "be quiet," it might work better to suggest activities for them based on their energy levels. So you might say, "You guys seem to have a lot of energy ... Maybe we should play a game" or something along those lines. I don't know what setting you're working in, but is it possible you could take them outside? And/or have them play with hula hoops or jump ropes or something?

I know it's a challenging experience ... Good luck!
 
L

Lils

Member
I wish I could help, but I used to be a teacher and I had a hard time being respected, so I don't really know what you could try except what you've done already. I hope it'll get better :/
 
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