Section 1: I’m a toddler
Providing abundant and safe opportunities to explore with their bodies and senses, fuels the learning process for toddlers.
• The indoor foam climber in the classroom is a safe option for children to find out what they are able to do and encourages them to try raise or lower the bar and find out what else they can or can’t do.
• In the class when children are on the foam climber, keep a safe distance to be able to stop or redirect danger, but far enough where the child can grow and learn. Sometimes when you tell a child “be careful” you’ve actually struck fear into them. Instead I think telling them to focus would be better.
• In the classroom we use specific praise so the child will focus on the skill and have the ability to build on that skill. “You have strong legs you climbed the stairs so fast.”
Section 2:How does that work
• Children use their gross motor skills to kick balls, run, and throw balls. Sometimes you might see them putting things in their mouth, this is actually a part of their learning development.
• Students fill buckets with animals, dump them, and react with joy. They are exploring their body parts and want to know the cause and effect of things.
• In the classroom the teachers are never too close to each other to cover the room. We stay active by participating in the class and playing with the toys
Section 3: I want that
• The children rarely like to share and the ones that do are from learned behaviors. I am experimenting with telling them to take turns as a mental cue because sharing is a more difficult concept to grasp.
• A child was building and another child came, so I said ask “can I build with you, ” The child asked,then I coached the other child to say “yes or no.”Most of the time, the child says yes, unless it’s a more physical or aggressive child coming to play.
Section 4: Gentle touches
• Child A hits child B then both start crying. Child A doesn’t look like an aggressive or violent child he just didn’t want child B to knock down her blocks and didn’t have the knowledge on how to do that properly. I stepped in and showed her where to build to prevent anybody sneaking up and knocking the tower down. Also, told her to say “no thank you.”
• Instead of telling the child don’t do this or that, I tell the child the behavior I’m looking for. For example in the class the child was running in the class, instead of saying
“no running,” I showed him walking feet and said “we walk in the classroom and run outside.”
• I tend to see that when a child had a bad interaction with another child the teacher will quickly hug and comfort the child. Instead of this I will help the child to express themselves positively and gear those feelings to a productive activity
Section 5: I can do it myself
• The untrained person rushed to wipe the mucus of a child, but this cripples them. One of the children in the classroom had a runny nose, so the teacher directed her to go and wet a paper towel and clean their nose. The teacher further supported the child by holding the paper towel and directed her to blow gently.
• We give the children reminders of the schedule and countdown for transitions so they are not in shock when it’s time to clean up
• During eating we carry conversations about weekends and how their mornings went and guide them when cleaning up by giving them step by step directions.