School Age

[Rose]

1. Yes I think this behavior is appropriate for this age group. School aged children should be more independent than when they were younger and wanting to have a say in and change the scheduling of their after school time shows a healthy level of independence.
2. I would explain to them that these children are older and more independent, and having a bit more of a say in their program set-up would be good for their development, especially if they had to come together as a group and problem solve with each other and their caregivers to achieve a solution that everyone would be pleased with.
3. I would say these children have already been in a classroom setting all day, and while they have much better focus than younger children they still may need a bit of time to get out some pent up energy before they can settle down to do more homework at a desk.
4. I would suggest giving the children a snack and letting them have a bit of outdoor time before sitting them down to work on homework, this way they are physically nourished and have had a bit of mental rest before they sit down and start in on their homework.

[Gale Coleman]

In the school-ager scenario where your working in an after school program for 5-8 year olds at a local elementary school, where the children are acting up and complaining, when they are supposed to be doing homework. When children are acting up and are disruptive under my supervisor, I would start with separating the children when they come in for after school homework. I would also contact the parents to discuss the disruptive behavior and come up with structural changes, and implement rules and a parenting team to discuss plans to change some of the child’s behavior, things the parent can do at home to curb some of this activity. I would suggest regular check-ins by the parent, because it may be helpful for the parent to schedule regular check-ins to see how the child is doing and to see if the disruptions have stopped. Keeping a parenting team for the first few months following the implementation of rules and the new behavior modification system. This will help resolve any problems that may arise in the beginning stages of the structural changes.