I have to say that the most challenging class I ever ran was full of my friends and their children. They wanted to come and have a preschool music class for their kids, but they also wanted to chat to each other. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to chat to them too. But I was entertaining their children!!!
I suppose it all comes down to what is the purpose of the music class. The tension is that you want to create a warm and friendly atmosphere for parents and their children so they feel welcome and comfortable. And then you want to have opportunities in this community to share the Gospel with everyone. So if you ask the parents to stop talking are we then putting a negative note into the class? How do you manage chatty parents and still create a warm friendly atmosphere for the class?
The challenge with running a music class for preschoolers is that you actually need the parents to participate with their children. More than that if you want to offer a quality class then you need participation from everyone - the class is better for the children and the parents if everyone pays attention.
The strategy I use is a simple one. I set the expectations at the beginning of the class with simple instructions: "This is a chance for you to spend quality time with your little ones. They get the most out of the class if you spend time with them. It's also a judgement free zone - your little one loves hearing you sing and dancing with you, so I want to assure you we're not looking at you but everyone is enjoying their little people. There will be a chance to catch up with your friends over morning tea."
As the teacher you are explaining that:
• you value time for parents/carers and children
• you understand a music class may be awkward for people who don't feel confident musically
• you explain when there will be a chance for adult conversation - which every parent of small children longs for
You would be surprised how effective this little spiel is, it sets class expectations and solves the parent chatting problem (mostly!).
Comments
Post a Comment