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Just recently, I received my copy of NAEYC’s journal Teaching Young Children for October-November. It featured article about family conferences
and The Kindness Movement. I always enjoy
perusing the varying articles on teaching strategies, ideas, and random tips. Even though this issue focused primarily on
family-teacher conferences, it was the articles on classroom practices and
strategies that interested me. One
article that truly caught my attention was titled “Look, Listen, Learn: The
Kindness Movement” which in many ways connects to our current course.
It begins sharing a story about conflict between two
students in an early childhood classroom.
The conflict was over a roll of tape at the art table. The two young children were having a tug-a-war
over the roll of tape and arguing over who had it first. The teacher stepped in to calm the situation
and possibly solve the conflict for the children. Instead of offering a simple solution, the teacher
allowed the classmates to help the two students resolve the conflict. The
students brainstormed solutions, and one student presented an idea about making
signs to promote kindness. He shared, “I
have an idea! Let’s make signs that say ‘Be Kind,’ and we can give them to
people to put int heir windows! This
world needs more kindness!” (Jaboneta & Curtis, 2018). The class worked together to make signs about
kindness and distributed them around the school’s neighborhood.
This story is a great example of teaching conflict
resolution in an early childhood classroom.
Conflict resolution is a life time skill. Teaching conflict resolution skills and
problem solving to young children is a way to foster a foundation for social
and emotional development. As the authors
shared in the article, “when given an opportunity to solve their own problems,
young children show us how capable they are during social conflicts” (Jaboneta &
Curtis, 2018).
I learned about the Peace Place, which teaches children
about thinking and talking together to solve problems or conflicts. The Peace Place encourages children to use a
five-step process for working out problems. The steps are 1. Get together; 2. Take turns
talking and listening; 3. Think and talk about what will help; 4. Choose a
plan; and 5. Do it (Jaboneta & Curtis, 2018).
This article reminds me how impactful teaching life skills lessons in the
early childhood classroom is. Through the teacher’s facilitation, the children
were able to find a resolution to a conflict and inspire others by sharing
their motto about kindness. This is a skill that essential for children of all ages and adults.
References:
Jaboneta, N. & Curtis, D. (2018). Look, Listen, Learn: The Kindness Movement. TYC Teaching Young Children, 12(1). Retrieved November 10, 2018 from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/oct2018/kindness-movement.
National Association for Education of Young Children.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2018 from https://www.naeyc.org/.
Hello Donna!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such awesome resources I look foward to implementing "peace place" in my classroom in the future. My little learners often struggles with learning how to compromise with each other. I think its even a good strategy for parents to model with their children.
Donna,
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful resource. Thank you for sharing. I really like that you state..... Teaching conflict resolution skills and problem solving to young children is a way to foster a foundation for social and emotional development. I think this is a very important concept to acknowledge and understand. Social emotional well being is so important to human development, growth, and life.
Hello Donna:
ReplyDeleteThis was a great resource to share it really provided a lot of beneficial information. My favorite part was the peace place piece. This was important because it helps children to learn social and emotional skills which more children are showing signs of not being able to communicate their emotions properly. I will definitely trying to implement the peace place plan in my classroom this upcoming week. Thanks so much for sharing. I am thinking about subscribing to this newsletter too, it seems to have a plethora of resources and materials that are applicable.
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your resources. I like the idea of implementing Peace Place into my classroom. I think teaching children conflict resolution is important and a great skill for them to know.
Hi donna
ReplyDeleteYour choice of program is great. The implementing of peach place in the classroom can help students and give more insight to learning.
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteWow what a great blog and very informative. What a great story you shared with us. I have to agree that the article truly help to see that teaching life skill lessons in the early childhood classroom is imperative. From looking at the title of the article “Look, Listen: The Kindness Movement: really would grab anyone’s attention.