Practice, and Practice Some More
2/29/2020
For this last month our students have been focusing on friendship and social/emotional problem-solving skills. There are many reasons we encourage dramatic play in early childhood learning. While well-planned dramatic play can support a child in learning literacy and math skills, it functions mainly to support a child’s imagination in role-playing. This kind of play provides fertile ground for practicing social and conflict-resolution skills. One thing we’ve added to our dramatic play area in the last month is a pretend Post Office area. This has been very popular center, and the children have practiced negotiating for the roles of clerks, customers and mail carriers. It doesn’t have to be a complex center to provide lots of practice in these important skills! What young children need is continued support as they practice applying these principles and skills. As adults, it can be frustrating when we know that children know the right things to do, and yet they often choose to lie, hit, be mean, etc. It is important to remember that learning these social/emotional skills is much like learning to ride a bicycle. Children have seen it modeled many times, and they may want to do it very badly. They have been told what to do, shown how to do it, helped onto the bike, received hands on help, and given lots of verbal encouragement. Then wow! Finally, they can do it! And they (and we) are so excited! And then they fall off. Or crash. Probably multiple times!
We don't chastise a child for falling off or crashing. No, we tell them we know they can do it -- it just takes practice. We tell them how we understand that it is hard for them to learn to do it, because it was hard for us to learn also. As parents and caregivers, we help them up, tend their wounds (and their self-confidence), and help them back on so they can try again. We know that crashing and falling is just part of learning how to ride a bike. It is also part of learning how to behave properly in the face of strong emotions, as well as so many other things in life! And, so it is with social/emotional learning: it requires a whole lot of practice within a safe environment, with lots of loving support before a child begins to become proficient in resolving their own social and emotional difficulties. Home, of course, is the primary place this learning happens. However, a good preschool program can provide another positive emotional environment for young children to learn these (and other) skills; and PNA is not just a good place to go to preschool, it’s a great place!
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Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
April 2021
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