Blog Reflection #5

1. Personal message -

So often, it seems like adults say words and the children just don’t understand what is wanted of them. I am very impressed by how well the personal message works. It is a very structured statement that is designed specifically for young children to understand. I have found that the first part of the personal message “Reflect” is mostly so that you and the child can get on the same page. Giving a reflection is so crucial to not only so that the child is aware of what you are talking about, but it also helps focus their attention. The second step of a personal message is to “React”. This step is important so that the child can here in simple words how you are feeling because of their behavior. I found that the third step, “Reason”, helped the kids understand why you felt that way and why their behavior was either appropriate or inappropriate. Depending on the personal message, you would use a fourth step, which is “Rule”. Telling the children what to do versus what not to do is so productive, because the children can then change their actions instead of just stopping and not knowing what other actions to take. The personal message seems like a lot, but the more I use it, the easier it is to provide on the spot and I find it so effective with the children.

2. “Orientations to self-discipline” triangle –

I mostly found this diagram and text very informative. This diagram shows the source of behavioral control and how it corresponds with the different levels of self-discipline. These levels and sources also often correspond with age and maturity. It is so important to remember that children cannot be expected to have more self-discipline that what level they are on; we must be sensitive to children’s ages and situations. The different between Amoral and Internalization is a long way, but our job as teachers is to help a child on their way to Internalization so that they may have their own “internal code of ethics”. It’s just really nice to be aware of these things while working in the schools and with the children.


3. Authoritative discipline style –

I guess I didn’t really know which disciplinary style I used until I read about them and became aware of all the different styles. I am now trying to only use Authoritative discipline, but I am needing to make a conscious effort of it every day. Some days I’m more Authoritarian, some days I’m pretty Permissive, and other days I’m just plain Uninvolved. I know realize how important it is to include all attitudes in my disciplinary style. I need to have control of the situation, have communication, meet maturity demands, and be nurturing as well. I have had a lot of great examples of the Authoritative discipline style with professors, teachers I’ve observed, and even my own mother.

4. Adult strategies to support the improvement of children’s peer relationships and friendships –

There are a lot of strategies and methods covered in this section of the text that I have found useful, but just a couple I would like to touch on. “Shaping is among the most powerful of intervention tools to help socially isolated children.” A lot of children really struggle with social interactions, and Shaping is a skill that can really help them feel comfortable as they practice friendships. It is important to reward a child, often verbally, as they make progress in contact with peers. As they interact and initiate contact with peers, recognize their acts and comment with positive feedback. Shaping will allow the children to feel comfortable in the progress they’re making and help them recognize appropriate behaviors. Modeling is also a really great method to help children improve social interactions, and I find Coaching really productive with older children. By giving them direct instruction and feedback on their interactions with others, they are able to improve their relationships. It also gives them direct knowledge of ways to act, so they are not found in situations they don’t know how to respond to. These strategies and methods are so important to know so that when you work with a child that struggles with their peer relationships, you can teach and support them.

5. Creating a prosocial environment –

In the text it lists quite a few ways to create and promote a prosocial environment, all of which I value and think are really important. However, in this reflection I’ll just talk about a few that I feel strongly about and have really tried to implement in my working with children. First off, “Label prosocial acts as they occur naturally”. Children are often prosocial naturally, without trying. As these kind acts of cooperation happen, let the children know that it is a positive thing they are doing. The children will soon start to recognize them as prosocial acts on their own and desire to act in kind ways towards others. Another skill is to “Create opportunities for children to cooperate.” I think that it’s really important to have activities and projects everyday that include interactions with the other children and cooperation. The children then have opportunities to be prosocial and create habits that will help in creating healthy, life-long relationships with others. And the last skill I found really important was “Demonstrate constructive ways of responding to other people’s prosocial behavior.” I’ve found that often times children don’t know how to respond to a kind act, so it is important to show them appropriate ways to respond. If a child is trying to show kindness or cooperation and feels rebuffed, this could hinder the child’s prosocial behavior. It is important that we teach children to encourage others kind behaviors by responding positively.

Blog Reflection #4

I had a really great experience in the preschool I observed in. I volunteered at Vineyard Elementary in one of their preschool classes with Mrs. Lorri Case, who recently graduated from the UVU Early Childhood Education department. She does such a great job with the kids and is just a natural. You can tell she’s from UVU because she is so spot on with everything we learn in class and read from the text book. It was almost difficult to try to apply strategies from the books because the kids were so great in the classroom; they cooperated and followed instructions so nicely, it was almost ridiculous.
I was able to observe a lot of great strategies and techniques that Mrs. Case used while working with the kids, and seldom, I was able to apply some of the techniques myself.
Chapter 11 – Because the kids were so well behaved, most often, positive consequences were stated and pointed out. If it wasn’t positive however, the text helped me understand how to state a consequence in a non-threatening way. I also took note to allow children to respond to each step of a consequence. I probably wouldn’t have done that without consciously thinking about it after reading it in the text.
Chapter 12 – In all honestly, I couldn’t apply chapter 12 very much at all in my field work. There really wasn’t much aggressive behavior at all in the class. There was one girl who was pretty feisty, but that was mostly her personality. If we let her know that her behavior was inappropriate, she would usually stop right away. I was so surprised by how well the children handled any frustrations. It was such a well set up environment that they knew what to do when they had a problem, instead of becoming aggressive.
Chapter 13 – Although, there was already quite a bit of pro-social behavior, you can always promote and encourage it a little more. In class, I was able to point out pro-social behaviors as they occurred naturally quite a bit. Occasionally, I would point out when “lack of kindness was shown” and then “describe an alternate, prosocial approach”. As I would directly ask the children to help me with something, they were always so willing to help, and then I could praise them on their kindness towards me by helping and being a caring friend. Influenced by the text, I would help children become aware of when a classmate needed help or cooperation. They were almost always willing and excited to help.
Overall, I had such an awesome experience in this particular classroom. I was able to apply quite a bit from the text, but I also just learned so much just by watching the teacher as I saw her implement so many of the strategies from the text directly with the children. I felt I learned a lot from these observations, and just wish I had known how to really apply so many of these concepts before when working with children in other settings. It would have been so helpful, for both me and the children.



p.s. Sorry this is late. I totally forgot about doing blog reflections during the break. Oops!

Blog Reflection #3

Chapter 8 – Supporting Children’s Peer Relationships and Friendships

A. Coaching.

1. When working with young kids, I have to remember that a lot of times they really don’t know how to be a “friend”. Therefore, we must teach them.  Coaching allows them to discuss, see a demonstration, practice and evaluate a skill. Being a friend and having a friendship is a real skill, one that must be practiced and learned. Although I need to remember to not be over bearing and allow children to play with each other as they will, I can most definitely assist in their interaction skills as they are playing and learning.

B. Initiating cooperative activity and play.

1. This is a strategy I definitely need to work on. I find that since so many of the children at my Daycare don’t play well together (during free play) or very nicely, I try to separate them in their play and allow them to be solitary if they wish. However, I know that group activities (that although may be hard to manage sometimes) are so very beneficial for not only learning skills, but cooperative skills in working which each other. I know I need to implement more group activity and play.

Chapter 9 – Influencing Children’s Social Development by Structuring the Physical Environment

A. Adjusting Aspects of the Facility to Influence Children’s Behavior       

1. I don’t think I ever realized how much the physical environment affects a child’s way of learning and their behavior. But as I read through this chapter, it made so much sense. As you walk in certain environment, there is an already set atmosphere, and it is so important that you set that atmosphere for your students so they know what is expected of them, while still allowing them to be comfortable. It talks about Safety, Interior design, Sound control, and Lighting. I wont really be able to apply much of this in my student teaching, but it is so important to be aware of so I can take in the environment into affect and how it effects the children’s behavior so directly.

B. Controllable Dimensions in the Physical Environment

1. This chart does a nice job of putting it plainly what dimensions you can control in your classroom and the different ways you can control them. Once again, I can’t really apply this in my student teaching, but one day when I have a classroom of my own to set up, I will really need to factor in all these things and the different extremes of each. I’ll have to consider each dimension carefully, and I really never knew how important things like this were. I really always thought teachers just put classrooms together nicely and so they would look pretty. I realize now how much time and effort goes into a classroom setup and how much it can affect environment.

Chapter 10 – Fostering Self-Discipline in Children: Communicating Expectations and Rules

A. Summary of developmental issues on self-discipline.

1. Self-discipline is a really complicated skill for young children to develop, but so very important. This chart breaks it down into the three types of development needed to have self-discipline. We need to remember to encourage growth in all these aspects equally so children may be balanced and acquire self-discipline.  Language Development, Cognitive Development, and Emotional Development require so much from children physically, emotionally, and mentally.

B. Differences in attitudes and practices among authoritarian, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritative discipline styles.

1. We talked about this quite a bit in class, which helped me more fully understand it. I know, personally, I tend to switch between these discipline styles depending on my mood, although I’m striving to have an authoritative style all the time. It’s hard for me to remember that things like Control, Maturity demands, communication, and Nurturance are all so vital when implementing discipline. It’s not a simple task we do; we have to really take into account what we feel in best for the child and that situation. I feel that too many people, including myself sometimes, overlook it’s importance. We think that it doesn’t matter how we react to a child because they’re just a child, but we don’t realize how crucial our responses are and how important this part of their development it. I have viewed and experienced all of these different kinds of discipline styles, and aside from the text book telling me so, I know authoritative it the most positive and effective.

Blog Reflection #2

Chapter 4

A.      Effective Praise

a.       I’m usually pretty hesitant with giving children too much praise, as I don’t want it to turn into a pride issue. However, the text sets out a very clear way in which praise can be healthy and positive. It covers 3 points when giving praise; Selective Praise, Specific Praise, and Positive Praise. I feel that this kind of praise is really important so that one, children can receive positive feed-back from adults and gain self-confidence, and two, that they can do so without receiving an inflated view of one’s self or other unhealthy reactions.

B.      Paraphrase Reflections

a.       In this section it talks about responding to children individually, and depending on the conversation. I think I forget this sometimes and respond to most children quite similarly. It also mentions using even the simplest of phrases can be what a child needs to hear, just to hear a response. I don’t always need to try to give elaborated feedback to show that I’m actively listening. Sometimes they just need to know that you’re listening at all with a simple “Mm-hmm”.

Chapter 5

A.      Helping Children Use Words to Express Their Emotions to Others

a.       I have been using this a lot with the kids I work with since discussing it in class. The kids really appreciate being able to find words that describe their emotions. A couple times I’ve tried to help a child find a word to describe what they’re feeling and I’ve suggested the wrong words because I’ve misunderstood their emotions. The children can say “No, that’s not it” and I look for other words until I can help them express what they are really feeling. It’s had a really positive effect on them.

B.      Acknowledge Children’s Strong Emotions

a.       When a child is upset over something that seems so small and insignificant it is easy for me to try to comfort them with a few words and expect them to move on. However, it is really important that we are acknowledging children’s emotions and understand where they are coming from. As I look back to what really upset me as a child, it may seem insignificant now, but at the time it really impacted me. I’ve been getting better at remembering that when working with children and really taking in to consideration what is and why they are upset.

Chapter 6

A.      What Adults Can Do to Help Children Manage Stress

a.       I have to help a lot of children manage stress on a daily basis, working at a care center. The better I get to know the kids personally, the easier it is to help them manage their stress. I also know which kids to now put to near to each other because of reoccurring stresses with the same classmate. In field, hopefully I’ll be able to get to know some of the kids well enough to help them manage their stress; however it often takes time and knowledge of the child and their background.

B.      Use Nonverbal Attending Skills

a.       Not only does listening help comfort a child, but showing them physically that you care. I’ve learned that this doesn’t always mean a physical comforting touch like a hand on the shoulder, but it can just be your body position and where your focus is. I’ll admit, working with a class of kids, it’s hard to stop and listen to a child when you know there are other things you need to get done. Even though it’s hard, it’s so very important.

Chapter 7

A.      The Integrative Function of Play (Figure 7-1)

a.       This diagram lays it out specifically what skills children can gain from positive play. It also points out that a crucial part of this is to practice all of their abilities during play. Play should not be directed, but guided so that the kids can really have the opportunity to explore and investigate.

B.      Valuing Children’s Humor

a.       I personally really value this point, knowing that the development of a child’s humor can be really hard for them, but is still crucial. Growing up, I feel that I didn’t always have a chance to develop my sense of humor and I wouldn’t wish that upon other kids. It’s so important to listen to children and laugh and smile and appreciate what they’re saying, otherwise they might stop trying all together. 

Blog Reflection #1

     I know we've only met in class a few times so far this semester, but I already feel like I've gotten so much out of it. Especially with my new job as a preschool teacher, I feel like I can apply almost everything discussed in class. I still haven't been able to read the text yet (as it is in the mail and should be arriving tomorrow), but the PowerPoints and discussions in class have been awesome. While discussing Chapter 1, it really hit me how much a teacher can effect a young students life. This has made me so much more aware of what I say to the kids at my work and how I treat them. Even though most of them are only 4 years old, respect is a huge factor. In order to get respect from them, I need to show them respect in return. A teacher really can be so influential in a child's life, either for good or for bad. I never want to be a teacher who influences for the bad.      I've had negative experiences in Public Education growing up and I want to make sure I can be there to help kids feel secure and confident.
     The Non-verbal Communication lesson was really impressive to me. I immediately understood the importance of helping a child feel loved, without saying those exact words. You can say so many things without speaking a word. I've found that it's usually when people aren't verbalizing that they can cause such an effect on those around them. At my daycare I have really been trying to make sure I am attentive to their needs, and listening to them. I've noticed the kids really listen to me more, the more I listen to them. It's hard to provide so much attention and care to so many children in one class, but I'm learning every day. The more I learn about children and about how they learn, it becomes easier and more enjoyable to work with them.