Countering Chaos

What do you do with a group of children who create chaos? This was a question a group of Roma young people put to a friend of mine. She had offered to help teach the children literacy. The young
people noted that the kids needed to learn order and discipline first. These are tips from experienced teachers and missionaries.

Have the kids run races to burn off energy and get them tired. Alina Molla, who led Bible clubs in Roma villages in Romania, used to do this first. She worked with groups as large as 75-100 children. Cornelia Sbirecea has also found it useful, and Marleen Schonthaler did the same thing with Dutch school children.

Get to know the kids to see whether they have underlying issues. Crista Smidt has over thirty years' experience first as an elementary school teacher and then as a guidance councilor. After having the children (or child) run races to settle down, Crista Smidt sits down to talk with them. Do they have trouble at home? Does a learning disability like Attention Deficit Disorder play a role in the child's behavior? Not all of us have the training that Crista does. She has a masters in social work. We can all take the time to understand the children better.

Especially in the beginning, use activities and races involving a line. "It's good for the children to experience that there is a line, a boundary," Marleen noted. "Since boundaries will be new for some children, they actually need to physically experience an actual line." 

For example:  all the children stand behind a line. At a certain signal, they all run to the other side (of the room, of the field, of a line on the far end of the play area), touch something, and run back. When a child is back behind the line, they put their hands in the air and start cheering.

This is the simplest. The next step would be to have the children divide up in groups and run relays. There are endless variations of this (run backwards; skip; balance a book on your head . . . ). The best ones are the ones the children think up themselves.

Use activities where all of the children are actively involved. The ability to wait will take a while to develop. So instead of playing the Davar Start Game called Statues, put a line down the meeting area. Half of the children stand one side; half on the other; with at least 1.5 meters or yards between. Each of the children on one side freeze in an unusual position—maybe one has their arms in the air; another stands on one leg; whatever. Each of the children on the other side chooses one child to mimic and tries to copy exactly how the "statue" they chose is standing.

Try to work with smaller groups. A large group of fans at a ball game is easier to work up and keep worked up than a handful. The fans feed off of one another. The same is true of children. Even in a group as small as 10, unmanageable behavior will tend to escalate. This tip also came from Crista. 

Many thanks to everyone who contributed ideas.

Do you have any tips on this topic? We'd love to hear them!