Throughout development children strive for belonging, but they cannot mature among peers alone. Throughout development children strive for independence, but they cannot thrive in isolation. As children grow they require the guidance of adult mentors who understand their needs and who can help facilitate peer interactions. By satiating the attachment needs of the child, adults give them the confidence they need to explore and become capable and competent people. Children need to trust that our bond with them is bigger than any problem they can encounter. In this segment we will examine adult attachment versus peer orientation with regard to stages of development. Continue reading
Category Archives: Behaviour Guidance
Safe and Secure Relationships – Part 1 of 3
Safe and Secure relationships are the result of adults and children engaging in successful exchanges of bonding and attachment behaviour. Adults are responsible for initiating opportunities for bonding through responsive caregiving. Children become receptive to attachment through their engagement with the responsive adult. Creating Safe and Secure relationships in Early Learning environments results in children, who are confident and curious to learn, are more able to problem solve and have increased levels of frustration tolerance. Safe and Secure relationships are essential and the foundation in reducing behavioural challenges. Continue reading
How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen
A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7
By Joanna Faber and Julie King
“A Survival Guide to life with little children!” Could this be true?
I am a mom of a lively 3 year old boy and a Resource Consultant (RC) who supports parents and Early Childhood Educators. I am thankful that I came across this book at our CISS resource library. Not only does it align with the practices used amongst our team of RC’s it also offers an abundance of fun, effective, concrete tools and tips that I couldn’t wait to begin implementing with my son and within my RC role. Continue reading
What to Include in a Calm Down Kit
The purpose of creating a calm down area is to provide a space to support the child in learning to self-regulate. It is a safe place for a child to take a break away from a stimulus that is causing stress, anxiety or anger (e.g., loud noises, having to share, feeling tired, or being excited). The child learns to identify overwhelming feelings and step away to regain self-control. Through this process the child engages in calming and relaxing activities and, once calm, is able to return to the activity or routine in progress. A calm down area should never be used as a time out or as a punishment.
There are a lot of different things you can include in a calm down kit and you will want to tailor it to your child(ren) and ensure the calm down area is supervised at all times. The kit should be readily available for both indoor and outdoor and can include: Continue reading
My Space: Creating a Calm Down Area in a School Age Program
The calm down area in our school age program has gone through several different versions since I began working here 4 years ago. There were times it was non-existent and there were failed attempts at hanging curtains from hula-hoops from the ceiling that came crashing down. For a long time, it consisted of a large dog bed pillow on the window bench with a couple of breathing visuals slapped on the window beside it. One thing it never seemed to be was inviting and, as a result, it was never used. Continue reading
The Benefits of Programming to support Children’s Development
Inclusive programming is crucial for the progressive development of skills in children. It provides the means and structure to incorporate children’s interests and to motivate each child in exploring, engaging and learning new skills. Programming reduces challenging behaviours within a group environment because children are actively engaged, motivated, and focussed on play.
While children are engaged in play, adults are able to observe abilities, needs, interests and learning styles to identify the goals and objectives. Programming should include a balance of both child-led and adult facilitated learning. Continue reading
Teaching Children Emotions and Coping Skills
The role of the caregiver is to support the child to become aware of their emotions and guide them through the use of coping skills. Feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, excitement or fears can be overwhelming to any child. Regaining a sense of calm can be challenging for both the child and the caregiver. Continue reading
The Positive Outcome Program
We’d like to share our experience with La Coccinelle – Le Prélude daycare service and acknowledge the help and support received from CISS through the Positive Outcomes Program (POP).
Following a request to POP, we were given assistance that helped us complete necessary changes within a few months thanks to the work and collaboration of the whole teaching staff. Continue reading
Shifting Perspectives….
The child care community is currently in the process of change and educators/home child care providers are continuously making efforts to create engaging environments and experiences to foster children’s learning and development. They are deeply engaged in recognizing and adapting their own personal perspectives to support children’s well-being and their sense of belonging.
We as educators/home child care providers and parents/guardians all have our own personal perspectives, values and belief systems, and it can feel unnatural to change or adapt how we express ourselves. Recognizing and being more conscious of the statements we use with children helps shift the focus to a more positive approach that can lead to a decrease in the intensity and frequency of challenging behaviours. Continue reading
Behaviour Guidance Tip – Preparing Children for Transitions
Did you know that preparing children for upcoming transitions saves time, energy and reduces challenging behaviours from occurring?
Examples of transitions include:
- Getting ready to leave home to go to child care or child care to go home.
- Leaving play for lunch.
- From outdoor play to indoors.
- Getting ready for sleep time including nap and night.
By planning and organizing your transitions, it creates a plan that can be implemented by anyone. Continue reading
