Have you ever finished teaching a lesson and realized you spent most of it redirecting the same handful of kindergarteners? You’re reminding one student to sit down, another to stop talking, and somebody else to put their shoe back on because apparently that’s what we’re dealing with today. Meanwhile, you’ve got a whole group of kids who are sitting quietly, following directions, and doing exactly what you asked, but you’ve barely acknowledged them because you’ve been so busy putting out little behavior fires.
Sound familiar? It’s easy to spend so much time correcting challenging behaviors that we forget to notice all the positive choices happening right in front of us. And sometimes, without even realizing it, we’re giving the most attention to the very behaviors we’re trying to stop.
In this episode, we’re talking about why positive behavior reinforcement in kindergarten doesn’t have to mean another complicated reward system or behavior chart. Sometimes a small shift in where you’re directing your attention can make a difference in your kindergarten classroom management.
Think about a typical kindergarten morning. You’re trying to teach a phonics lesson, but one student is rolling around on the carpet, another is talking to their neighbor, and somebody has somehow managed to turn their shoe into a toy. Because, kindergarten. Naturally, you’re going to redirect those students because their behavior is interrupting your lesson.
The tricky part is that while you’re busy addressing those behaviors, the students who are following directions aren’t getting much attention. They’re sitting where they’re supposed to be, listening, and participating appropriately, so you don’t need to stop what you’re doing to talk to them. Before you know it, most of your interactions with students revolve around correcting behavior instead of acknowledging the positive choices you want to see more often.
For some kindergarteners, even negative attention is still attention. That doesn’t mean every student who interrupts or struggles to follow directions is looking for attention. There are lots of reasons kids have difficulty with behavior, but sometimes our responses can unintentionally encourage the behaviors we’re trying to stop.
Let’s say you have a student who constantly calls out during whole-group lessons. Every time they interrupt, you stop teaching and remind them to raise their hand. By the end of the lesson, you’ve probably said that child’s name seven or eight times. Meanwhile, another student has been sitting patiently with their hand raised, waiting for a turn, and you haven’t acknowledged them once.
One child is getting your attention over and over again for calling out, while the other is following the classroom expectation and not receiving much attention at all. That’s probably not the message you intended to send, but it’s an easy pattern to fall into when you’re managing a classroom full of five- and six-year-olds.
One of the simplest ways to reinforce positive behavior in kindergarten is to notice and acknowledge students who are following the expectations you’ve already taught. You don’t need another classroom management system or chart. You’re simply being more intentional about where you’re directing your attention.
For example, instead of stopping your lesson again to remind a student to raise their hand, you might say, “I love how Johnny is raising his hand and waiting patiently for his turn. Thank you, Johnny. What did you want to share?” You’ve acknowledged Johnny for following directions, reinforced the expectation for the rest of the class, and given the student who was calling out an example of what to do instead.
You can use this same approach during classroom transitions, independent work, cleanup time, or pretty much any other part of your kindergarten day. Will it work perfectly every time? Of course not. We’re talking about real five- and six-year-olds here. But it can be a simple way to reinforce classroom expectations without spending your entire day giving reminders.
When I talk about positive praise, I don’t mean walking around your classroom saying “Good job!” approximately four hundred times a day. While there’s nothing wrong with telling a student they did a good job, that kind of general praise doesn’t necessarily help them understand which behavior you’re acknowledging.
Specific positive praise tells students exactly what they did well. Instead of simply saying “Good job,” you might say, “I noticed you got started on your writing right away,” or “You kept working even when the kids around you were talking. That was really responsible.” You’re helping students connect the positive attention they’re receiving with the choices they made.
And please don’t feel like you need to announce every positive behavior to the entire class. If you stopped teaching every time somebody followed directions, you’d never get anything done! Sometimes it’s just a quick comment as you’re walking around the classroom. It takes a few seconds, but it lets students know you noticed their efforts.
It’s easy to notice positive behaviors from the kids who are already pretty good at following directions. You know the ones. They have their materials ready, they’re sitting where they’re supposed to be, and they’re usually doing what you ask the first time. Those students deserve acknowledgment, but we also need to notice the progress of students who struggle with behavior.
And I know that can be difficult, especially when you’ve already redirected the same student approximately 47 times before lunch. But those are often the kids who need to hear what they’re doing right the most.
My advice is to look for little glimmers of success. Maybe you have a student who struggles to stay in their seat during independent work. If they’re usually getting up every thirty seconds, don’t wait until they can stay seated for the entire work period before you acknowledge their effort. Maybe today they stayed in their seat and worked for three minutes. That’s progress, and it’s worth noticing.
Recognizing those small improvements doesn’t mean you’re lowering your expectations. You’re helping students understand what successful behavior looks like while encouraging them to keep working toward the bigger goal. When students know you’re noticing their positive choices and not just their mistakes, they have more opportunities to experience success.
Absolutely not. If a student is hitting someone, throwing materials, or doing something unsafe, you’re going to need to step in and address it. And if a child is struggling because they haven’t developed the skills they need, those skills still need to be taught.
Simply praising other students isn’t going to magically solve every classroom management problem. Positive feedback is one piece of effective kindergarten behavior management, but it works alongside clear expectations, consistent routines, and appropriate supports for students who need additional help.
The idea is to find a better balance between correcting behavior and acknowledging positive choices so that you’re reinforcing the expectations you’ve already taught instead of making every interaction about what somebody needs to stop doing.
If you’re realizing that you spend a whole lot of your day correcting behavior, I don’t want you to walk away from this episode feeling like you have seventeen more things to add to your already overflowing plate. Instead, I have one simple challenge for you to try tomorrow.
Pick one part of your school day when you feel like you’re constantly redirecting students. Maybe it’s morning meeting, independent work time, or that transition after lunch when everybody seems to have forgotten every classroom expectation you’ve ever taught them. During that time, pay attention to who you’re talking to and why. Are most of your interactions focused on correcting students, or are you also acknowledging the kids who are doing what they’re supposed to be doing?
Then make a point to recognize a few specific positive choices, especially from students who are working hard to improve. You don’t need to track every interaction or make sure you’ve praised every student before lunch. Just start noticing where your attention is going and make a small effort to shift some of it toward the behaviors you want to see more often.
And here’s something else worth mentioning. When you’re constantly dealing with challenging behaviors, it can start to feel like nothing is going right in your classroom. But when you intentionally look for positive choices, you may realize there are a whole lot of kids doing exactly what you’ve taught them to do. Noticing those little successes can make a difference in your own mindset, too.
Teaching Exceptional Kinders Links and Resources:
The Kindergarten Writing Toolbox
The Kindergarten Management Toolbox
Follow me on Instagram @teachingexceptionalkinders
More about The Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast
Welcome to The Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast, your go-to guide for creating calmer classrooms and more confident writers in the wonderfully unique world of kindergarten.
I’m Amy Murray — former kindergarten teacher, Type C “organized-in-piles” human, and vanilla-latte enthusiast. After years of helping teachers streamline their classroom routines with tips and tools that actually make sense for 5- and 6-year-olds, I created this podcast to support you with the practical strategies you’ve been craving.
Each episode is short, actionable, and designed to help you:
âś” simplify classroom management
âś” reduce behavior chaos with systems that stick
âś” teach writing in a way that meets beginning writers where they are
âś” build routines that make your day flow
âś” use visuals, tools, and expectations that really work in K
Whether you’re a brand-new kindergarten teacher or a seasoned pro looking for clarity and calm, you’ll find step-by-step support to help you feel more confident and in control.
Because kindergarten isn’t just the new first grade, it’s a world all its own, and you deserve tools that actually work.
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Here’s to calmer days and more confident writers!
