Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Hi, we already give our children plenty of opportunities to be independant but I need to come up with something new for my course work, any ideas? We already do own food and drink at snack, name cards/ self registration, low level equipment available to the children. Would like to get them more independant for going outside, only problem is no where to put coats at an accessable height for them! Thanks in advance for all the superb bits of information I know I'm going to recieve : ) Quote
Guest Wolfie Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Hi febee and a very warm welcome to the forum! How about developing the way in which children are able to independently choose their own activities and resources..or do you already do that - is that what you mean by low level equipment? Or how about researching the High Scope approach and maybe introducing some elements of that into your daily routine, enabling the children to develop independence in planning what they want to do during the session, etc. I'm sure some other ideas wil be winging their way to you before too long! Quote
Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 What type of coat hangers/hooks do you have at present. In the hall I used they had a length of wood attached to the wall with coat hooks at adult height. So that our children could access the coats we made a set of hooks, attached to a length of wood, which we then put a length of chain on at each end, this then hooked onto the adult 'fixed' coat hooks, making ours hang lower for childrens reach. One thing we did to help develop independence was to not 'jump in straight away' if there was conflict between children, to stand back, observe and see if they could resolve it themselves. If we did need to step in then we used questions and language to role model how to deal with the situation. ie: one child snatches a toy, rather than go in and sort it we would say to the 'snatcher' ask Joe, "please can I have that when you are finished' normally provokes the positive response of 'yes'. Also help children to voice their rights, if hurt by another to say "Don't do that, it hurts" or it's not kind etc etc. (this all needs lots of repetition but it's great when you hear a child be assertive or learn to ask rather than snatch). Also work on enabling children not to be victims, I'm thinking of another post about biting, it helps if the 'victim' can be taught that sometimes horrible things happen to us, not to take it as personal, and again to say to the biter, out loud, Don't do that. Yes being bitten hurts, but if the victim is enabled to 'get over it' asap, the better. (with a cuddle for being brave ) ooh, just like to add, a warm welcome to the forum and thanks for your interesting first post, I'm sure it will provoke lots of thought and sharing of ideas. Good luck with your course work too. Peggy Quote
Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Thanks for the advice, have been looking at high scope so will give it some consideration. Our children are free to access activities as they wish and equipment which is in a cupboard is displayed in a book so the children can ask for something out if they wish to do so, but we don't really get them to plan as such for themselves. ; ) Hi febee and a very warm welcome to the forum! How about developing the way in which children are able to independently choose their own activities and resources..or do you already do that - is that what you mean by low level equipment? Or how about researching the High Scope approach and maybe introducing some elements of that into your daily routine, enabling the children to develop independence in planning what they want to do during the session, etc. I'm sure some other ideas wil be winging their way to you before too long! Quote
Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Hi, thanks for all of your tips, problem with our coat hooks is that there is a radiator in the way of putting hooks at childrens height!! Don't suppose they thought about that when they were put in!!! Have heard about not jumping in straight away as it would help them learn to resolve issues for themselves so will give this more consideration. What type of coat hangers/hooks do you have at present. In the hall I used they had a length of wood attached to the wall with coat hooks at adult height. So that our children could access the coats we made a set of hooks, attached to a length of wood, which we then put a length of chain on at each end, this then hooked onto the adult 'fixed' coat hooks, making ours hang lower for childrens reach. One thing we did to help develop independence was to not 'jump in straight away' if there was conflict between children, to stand back, observe and see if they could resolve it themselves. If we did need to step in then we used questions and language to role model how to deal with the situation. ie: one child snatches a toy, rather than go in and sort it we would say to the 'snatcher' ask Joe, "please can I have that when you are finished' normally provokes the positive response of 'yes'. Also help children to voice their rights, if hurt by another to say "Don't do that, it hurts" or it's not kind etc etc. (this all needs lots of repetition but it's great when you hear a child be assertive or learn to ask rather than snatch). Also work on enabling children not to be victims, I'm thinking of another post about biting, it helps if the 'victim' can be taught that sometimes horrible things happen to us, not to take it as personal, and again to say to the biter, out loud, Don't do that. Yes being bitten hurts, but if the victim is enabled to 'get over it' asap, the better. (with a cuddle for being brave ) ooh, just like to add, a warm welcome to the forum and thanks for your interesting first post, I'm sure it will provoke lots of thought and sharing of ideas. Good luck with your course work too. Peggy Quote
diesel10 Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Hi Welcome to the forum, you will get lots of fab ideas. I was wondering whether you had thought about little things like having the tissue box accessable. Very much needed at the moment! Even if they can't reach their own coats they could put them on themselves? Also for the older ones, just having a pen/pencil handy for writing their own names on pictures and a drying rack / tray to put them in. These are all things that most people do already, but I know your mind always goes blank when doing course work. Quote
HappyMaz Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Have heard about not jumping in straight away as it would help them learn to resolve issues for themselves so will give this more consideration. If you're interested in learning more about this, have a look at this book on Amazon. Its called "You can't come to my birthday party" by Betsy Evans. The author gives you step by step advice about how to give children the skills they need to resolve conflict by themselves, and is an honest and open account of her successes and difficulties with establishing sound conflict resolution procedures with young children. Maz Quote
Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Our children manage the room and its resources themselves, this includes cleaning they are provided with the necessary resources such as kitchen roll to mop up minor spills, cloths to clean the tables and shelves with and items they may need to restock activities ready for the next child to use. Quote
bubblejack Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 Our children put their own work away in their named folders or peg it on the clother airer to dry if its wet then sometimes remember to put it away when its dry Quote
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