Young Children - May 2008 - (Page 34) Jeanna, age 3, waves good-bye to her mother at the door of her halfday preschool. It is early October, and two classes of children are busy playing together outside during the 15-minute arrival period. Jeanna stands and watches for a long time, then slowly walks to the sandbox. Just as she begins to play beside Lori, a new friend, the teacher calls the children inside for class meeting time. Jeanna tries to sit beside Lori, but the teacher directs her to an assigned spot. Jeanna listens to the book and sings the songs with her group. after group time, she tries to join her new friend in the play kitchen, but now it’s her turn to do an art project. a teacher sitting at the table asks Jeanna to choose a piece of paper. “no!” she shouts, and puts her hands over her ears. The teacher writes Jeanna’s name on a piece of paper and encourages her to do the project. Jeanna colors and glues for a few minutes, then leaves to walk around the room, watching the other children play until it’s time to line up to go outside. When Jeanna’s mother comes to pick her up, she asks the teacher how her daughter is doing. “Well,” says the teacher, “she’s pretty quiet. We wish she’d play with more children and choose more activities. She doesn’t even want to do the art projects.” “How odd,” says Jeanna’s mom. “She’s so talkative at home and has several friends in the neighborhood. and she loves to draw!” “Maybe she just needs a little more time to become comfortable here,” responds the teacher. 2, 4, or 6? Grouping Children to Promote Social and Emotional Development Nancy P. Jones Teachers of young children plan for activities and ways to encourage children toward social and emotional growth. We do this, hopefully, as well and as frequently as we plan for the daily cognitive, aesthetic, or physical activities. Yet social and emotional development is about feelings. We need to look at how the whole day feels to the child. There may be some unintentional side effects of everyday practices that teachers have not anticipated. Evaluating routines and classroom structures can help educators plan a day that supports children’s social and emotional growth. Research on feelings Every school is unique, both in setting and in classroom demographics. Schedules and routines that work for teachers and children in one setting may not be as effective in another school. My approach is to evaluate how school procedures feel to a child and how they might help that child’s social and emotional growth. We have seen at our school that the creative use of group size and configurations can encourage positive social and emotional growth. I like to look at early childhood education from the viewpoint of emotions: feelings of safety, confidence, autonomy, social nancy P. Jones, MS, is director and founder of The Children’s Farm School, a licensed school for young children near St. Paul, Minnesota. She has taught young children, their families, and teachers for 30 years. nancy@childrensfarm.org Photos courtesy of the author. Illustration © Diane Greenseid. ® 1, 2, 3 Young Children • May 2008 34
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