Many students and young children have difficulty with the concept of “quiet hands” or “hands to myself.” Others just have issues with inattention or focusing on the task at hand. Oftentimes, pairing physical movement with re-focusing strategies has a bigger impact than just the simple reminder of “quiet hands,” and putting music to it is even more effective! Here are some of my favorites. Feel free to leave your go-to ideas in the comments!

(To the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

Time to wo-rk quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly

Time to wo-rk quietly, listen t-o me (shhhh)

(To the tune of “London Bridge”)

Quiet mouth and quiet hands, quiet hands, quiet hands,

Quiet mouth and quiet hands, I am waiting.

(To the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)

Breathing in and breathing out, I am learning not to shout

Others like to be with me, when I’m working quietly

Breathing in and breathing out, I am learning not to shout.

Also, a simple movement-related activity with quietly chanted words may help such as:

My hands upon my head I place, on my shoulders, on my face.

On my hips and at my side, then behind me they will hide.

I will hold them up so high, quickly make my fingers fly.

Hold them out in front of me, swiftly clap them. One, two, three!

Visuals

Visuals are also very important when teaching this concept. Simple handprints (such as those in the example photo) are great to initially teach this concept. Shrinking down the handprints over time can help to generalize skills, and smaller handprints are easier to use in multiple places throughout the learning environment to transfer the idea.

Further Ideas and Resources

http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/family-rhymes.htm

Hope these help!