Are you facing challenging behavior scenarios during group time?
Children refusing to come to the rug 🧍♂️🚫🪵
Rolling, wrestling, or talking through calendar or stories 🤸♂️🤼♀️🗣️📚
Constant disruptions and interruptions 🙋♂️🔄🔊
Things escalating when you remind children—“no!”, swearing, running off, aggression ❌🗯️🏃♀️💥
After a few months together, large group time should feel smoother.
But when challenging behavior scenarios keep disrupting your circle time plans, it’s exhausting and frustrating.
What if, before your lesson, you tried using games like the Floor is Lava to change the energy?
✨ A quick, playful game that gets the wiggles out
✨ Builds self-regulation skills
✨ Helps children practice following directions in a fun, movement-based way
Using games like Floor is Lava doesn’t mean scrapping your plans—it means setting the stage for success by engaging children in what they need most:
Learning self-control through play.
(For links to the research on this check out my “ps” at the bottom of this article).
Kids learn to join the group best not by being told, but by doing.
Play is how they master following directions and managing their behavior.
Let’s dive into how you can use this fun, movement-based game to transition children onto the rug and kick off circle time with energy, joy, and focus….
Why The Floor is Lava?
This classic game isn’t just a blast for kids—it’s a powerful tool to:
Inspire children to want to come to the rug
Get the wiggles out so they can settle better
Teach direction-following and self-regulation in a playful way
Build a sense of community as children move together and support each other
How to play The Floor is Lava for circle time transitions:
Set the stage: Tell children, “The floor is lava! We can only step on the rugs, cushions, or special spots I’ll show you.”
Create safe zones: Use rugs, pillows, carpet squares, or taped shapes as “safe spots” they can jump or step onto.
Give clear directions to children who lack focus: “Jump to the blue square,” “Hop on one foot to the red cushion,” or “Walk like a frog to the yellow spot.”
Keep it moving: Encourage children to move quickly but carefully between safe zones to avoid the “lava.”
Celebrate success: Cheer their focus and cooperation as they follow directions and move safely together.
This simple game turns the transition into circle time, a fun, active experience that naturally teaches self-control, listening, and group participation—all skills essential for a calm, engaged circle time. NOTE: don’t insist everyone be perfectly quiet or sit before starting. Just gather on the rug and quickly give directions for this fun, stand up game.
Bonus tip:
You can even play a “quiet” version once everyone is on the rug—where kids freeze like statues or whisper as they move between spots. This helps build impulse control and prepares them to settle into storytime or calendar activities.
Ready to try this? I’d love to hear how it goes! Comment below with your plans.
Play-powered strategies like Floor is Lava are the secret weapon for transforming challenging behavior in your classroom—and why they’re the best way children learn self-regulation and social skills.
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Why play-powered strategies matter for behavior (and why telling doesn’t work)
When kids act out, it’s often because their brains are still developing the skills to:
Manage emotions
Follow directions
Connect with others
Telling children what to do rarely changes behavior because it doesn’t teach these skills.
But play-powered strategies do.
Through games, movement, and social interaction, children practice self-control, patience, listening, and cooperation in ways that feel natural and fun.
How to harness play-powered strategies as your behavior toolkit
Start with movement: Use games like The Floor is Lava to engage energy and build focus.
Make rules clear but playful: Children learn best when instructions are part of the game, not just commands.
Encourage teamwork: Celebrate moments when kids help each other or wait their turn.
When you make play-powered strategies your first teaching tool for challenging behavior, you create a classroom culture where children WANT to be part of the group—and behavior improves naturally.
What’s one challenging behavior you wish you could transform with play-powered strategies? Let me know in the comments below!
If you’re experiencing children who…
refuse to come to the rug for morning meeting 🧍♂️🚫🪵
roll around or wrestle during calendar time or story time 🤸♂️🤼♀️📚
disrupt and interrupt circle time 🙋♂️🗣️🔁
say “no!”, swear, run off, or show aggression when you give rule/expectation reminders ❌🗯️🏃♀️
Then get the tools you need to gain cooperation and teach self-regulation during group time…
👉 Yes! I Need New Group Time Tools and Strategies
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Only 2 hours to learn powerful tools and strategies ⏱️🧰🧠
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Enroll in Transform Large Group NOW and start seeing circle time cooperation!
