3 Important Elements of Emotional Development and Sense of Self

“Promotes each child’s growing sense of autonomy” (Washington 2017)

We work on promoting this each day. Children get their own chairs and bring them to the table, they clear their plates after eating, self-serve and pour drinks, set out their mats where they sleep for nap, go to cubbies to grab belongings for outside time and clean up between each transition. They can pass things to their peers at the table once they have finished with it and place things into their own cubby consistently.

“Encourages children’s self-help/self-regulation skills while being respectful of family preferences and cultural differences” (Washington 2017)

We work on helping toddlers to be more independent and expressive language with being direct and consistent. Starting small with tasks like asking them if they need help to receive a yes or no response then asking them to retrieve said item and finally performing the task with minimal assistance to no assistance. Giving clear, simple steps to achieve the end goal to prevent confusion and frustration and using simple hand-over-hand techniques until the child feels confident. Giving direct praise to ensure repeated positive behaviors and improvement in skills. Encouraging them to take the next step and make it a positive reinforcement to achieve the specified outcome.

“Spaces and activities help each child develop a sense of self-identity/worth” (Washington 2017)

In the bathroom, we have a mirror in eye level where they wash their hands as well as one in housekeeping. Each child’s cubby is labeled with their name and picture, and artwork is on display for peers and parents to see. There are multiple visuals to help identify areas and routines. We have books on the bookcase that express family dynamic, cultures, emotions and individual differences. We accommodate to meet the child where they are and do not exclude anyone based on their capability. Creating an inclusive environment to better teach my toddlers.

3 Important Elements of Social Development and Prosocial Behaviors

“Encourages children’s social interactions” (Washington 2017)

Giving children ways to interact with peers and creating strong relationships and positive interactions within the classroom. Promoting kind words, taking turns and sharing with others. Respecting others space and verbalizing boundaries and expectations. Trying smaller groups of 2-3 to ensure that you can model desired behaviors and initiating back and forth conversations. I typically sit with two children in housekeeping, and we talk threw play and talk about what food we made and asking the child to try it and give reactions, showing how to stack blocks to make a tower and asking a child to give you a blue block and including them in the process.

“Helps children understand their feelings and the feelings of others” (Washington 2017)

I make sure that I consistently tell my kids that it is okay to feel the way they are feeling and be direct with what they can’t do to express that emotion and why.    (Ex: It’s okay to be angry, but you can’t throw my toys because somebody could get hurt.) Also giving them an appropriate way to express the emotion initiates a positive outlook and will minimize negative behaviors. I also like to model when a child has upset another child by saying you made my friend upset how can we make it better? offering a special toy or something to comfort the child which exhibits sympathy and realization of actions. Praising positive actions towards peers makes it more encouraging to do it more consistently to receive positive reactions.

“Diverse activities, materials, curricula and/or events reflect multiple cultural groups, ethnicities and family structures” (Washington 2017)

We stay informed on specific holidays that are relevant to our children and community to ensure that we teach children multi-cultural practices. We incorporate our activities to relay that specific theme or holiday and make it fun to learn about surrounding cultures. We have books for different cultures and incorporate multi language in circle and learn simple phrases for our children that have a different first language such as Spanish, Portuguese, French and Hebrew. Currently we have a child that speaks Hebrew as their second language because they are Jewish and we ask for little phrases so we can learn and make them feel comfortable and included. I also have a child whose family speaks 3 languages; dad speaks Portuguese and some English, mom speaks only French and their children know English as well as both parents’ languages. My children even start to use certain words that they overhear from me.

3 Important Elements of Guiding and Interacting with children

“Provides firm, consistent limits and expectations” (Washington 2017)

I’m consistent with the expectations in our classroom every day and provide constant reminders and make sure class expectations are clear and simple for a toddler to understand. Our main goal is to ensure safety and structure for everyone to learn productively and with minimal interference from unwanted behaviors.

“Acknowledges positive behaviors” (Washington 2017)

It is very important to acknowledge any wanted behaviors and give praise to the child and that praise will make it more likely to continue positive behaviors because they want that praise. I have been specifically working on this with my youngest child in my class because he is mainly nonverbal and we have noticed more expressive language which we praise him so that he continues and builds his vocabulary. I also have children that are behind developmentally so encouraging and giving positive reinforcement is so rewarding and makes any small accomplishment feel big.

 “Spaces and materials provided anticipate children’s behavioral and developmental needs” (Washington 2017)

Eliminating runways in the classroom will minimize that negative behavior and keep things calmer. Allowing for secluded play areas and limiting how many friends in an area and doing activities in smaller groups will help tune in on children’s specific needs. Modeling toys that may be used wrong when given to a child.