Inattentive 3year olds

[s.kindel]

I know, I know, 3 year olds have short attention spans. But two girls in my class have a very hard time staying on task and I am looking for some ideas. During activity time, I have to be right next to them or they will either wander away or just stare into space. They end up distracting the other students and do not finish their work in time. During circle time they do pretty much the same thing.

Any suggestions on fun ways to get them to focus??:)

Thanks,

Stacey

[neada]

I know this is not always possible but i find if the child has a particular interest and that can be brought into the activity that there are doing that this help them to stay focused.. Hope it helps

[tamara]

I teach three year olds- when you say that they do not finish their work on time- what type of work are they engaged in, are the activities developmentaly appropriate, how long is your activity,how many children are in the group activity,and could it be they already know what you are teaching? I have a child like this- he is well ahead of the other 3s so he goes to a 4 year old room for circle time, center time, and small group time.

[durangoatemybaby]

I have that same problem with a 7 year old who has always been like that . She is a very smart child. I have found that she zones out more when she becomes disinterested. I have figured out that entertaining her seams to work beautifully. Singing the rules or even the assignment gets all little ones attention.

[Boxcar]

I love the idea of singing the directions!