Tackling Boredom In The Classroom
Bored: feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity.
Three overarching jobs of a teacher, are surely, to keep students challenged, excited about coming to school and progressing in their learning. We assess (see February’s post) to see if children need a review and also to know when a child is ready for more. Teachers relentlessly record keep, observe and implement individualized learning plans - but sometimes, a child might say the oh so dreaded two words: “I’m bored.” It may be to mom and dad, their teacher or they might just appear bored.
While being in a Montessori classroom for the past decade, I’ve learned a few things about “boredom.” What appears as boredom can present in many different ways and is often actually not boredom at all, but a number of other things.
There is always wonderment in the simplest things.
Here are the three behaviors I see most often which can be construed as boredom:
A child who refuses to do anything that is suggested by teacher or won’t/can’t find their own work.
A child that “says they have done all the work in the classroom”.
A child who is tired of the toys on the playground and is playing unsafely.
A child who refuses to do anything that is suggested by teacher or won’t/can’t find their own work
One might immediately interpret this as boredom, but I urge you to take a deeper look. In Montessori training, we are taught to first look at the environment (the classroom) and problem solve for that (if that doesn't work then we look at ourselves, THEN we look at the child). We as educators KNOW there are a multitude of things to do in the classroom, so there must be a roadblock for the child.
Does the child need more direct teaching lessons to broaden his scope? This is also a lesson on assessment.
Take a morning to observe your children.
Perhaps give the child a few new lessons each morning on different materials to expand his ideas.
Does the child need a guided planner or check list so that there is some outside force moving him through the day?
Remember “freedom within limits”. That is at the core of Montessori classrooms, children have the freedom to choose any of the hundreds of things to do in a classroom, but maybe that is too many choices. How can we narrow it down for him, and still give him the opportunity to make a choice.
Are there too many options?
Another way to work with a potentially overwhelmed-by-choice child is to take pictures of ten or so activities, place them in a basket and the child can choose one and then do that work. Thinking creatively about how to help a child make a choice can solve many roaming/indecision issues.
We all know about table scrubbing, but what about chair scrubbing, stool scrubbing? Floor scrubbing?!
A child that “says they have done all the work in the classroom”
We as teachers know this IS NOT true! Some Montessori teachers haven’t even done all the lessons in their teaching albums! The beauty of the Montessori curriculum is that yes, many of the same materials appear day after day and year after year, but there are sometimes dozens of ways to use the same tools. This is what keeps Montessori’s work timeless, ageless and almost never ending.
Perhaps the child is ready for extensions for a material they’ve been working with.
Maybe the child is ready for more collaborative work where they use the activity in a different way, with a friend.
This child is stuck in a rut and needs to be taken out of it! Maybe if they are a child who is constantly attracted to the math area, some direct teaching across curriculum areas would help stimulate their curiosity again.
Sure, trucks are for driving - but they can also be a puzzle.
A child who is tired of the toys on the playground and is playing unsafely.
Children typically do not get bored of playing, so this one can be a huge challenge to teachers. Behavior is always a result of something much deeper and it is the adult’s job to problem solve for what is really at the core of the problem.
Have they outgrown the play space? Is there an alternative playground geared more towards their physical and developmental level?
Are there combinations of children who bring unwanted feelings to the “bored” child? Do they feel left out? Are they having a hard time forming friendships?
As you can see, what looks like boredom typically comes down to assessment. Assessment equals observation. Observation is at the core of Montessori teacher training. How can we learn anything about a person without sitting back and really watching that person? It gives us so many clues on how to problem solve the issue (in this case, boredom). There is always more to the challenge - children are tiny, complex humans with big feelings and a lot to say. Our jobs as the adults in their lives is to help them express their thoughts and needs and help them to move on their way. We are educating the WHOLE child and while tackling boredom might seem purely “academic” it is often times not that at all.
Maybe a child is overwhelmed by choice.
Maybe a child is feeling lonely and actually wants to learn how to do activities with others.
Maybe they don’t know how to ask to work or play with others!
Maybe a child needs more structure around choice making.
How does this translate to home?
Perhaps your decked out playroom has TOO many things, think about pairing down. Too many choices can often lead to no choice at all.
Maybe that lego set you purchased for your child is too overwhelming and he is “bored” of it. Never assume your child just knows how to do something - direct teaching needs to happen at home too.
It is raining, we can’t go outside, the car is in the shop, we can’t go do an activity. Cultivating a space for imaginative, alone play can be freeing to a parent and world changing for a child. Are there are few things that spark imagination that you can place in a quiet space? We call these “invitations to play.” The opportunities are endless.
Has boredom come up in your home or classroom? Have you gotten to the root of the problem? I’d love to hear if some cases are actually what would appear to us adults as true boredom or if it was more complicated than that.