One theory all teachers with disruptive children should know about Imagine a classroom where children are unable to wait their turn or stay focused on their work. They are easily distracted, cannot remember basic instructions or hold enough information in their head to solve problems – skills teachers rely on in order to teach successfully. These behavioural issues are all examples of problems that can arise from attachment issues – based on the relationship between children and their main caregiver. Attachment theory is now one of the world’s most well-researched theories about human development. Research has shown that secure attachments create mental processes that enable a child to regulate emotions and attune to others. In turn, these processes support the foundation of “executive functioning skills”. Trauma takes its toll Insecure attachments develop if early interactions between a child and their parent or caregiver are more negative, more inconsistent or more insensitive. Making teachers aware
Don't Expect Toddlers To Behave Consistently — They Literally Can't One day, when my oldest daughter was not quite 2, she wouldn’t sit still to let me change her diaper. Squirrelly and writhing, she made a game out of staying half naked. She wasn’t fussing about it or anything — in fact, she was giggling maniacally. The problem was that we were running late. It was just once, and it was barely even hard enough to register. Once I gathered my wits, it dawned on me that I was punishing my daughter simply for being a goofy, growing, learning, experimenting almost-2-year-old. As soon as I accepted the fact that we were going to be late anyway, I pulled out my parenting toolbox and made getting her diaper and pants on into a silly game. It’s easy to forget that our little ones really are little, especially those first children who seem so big as they enter each new phase. It often seems like they know how to control themselves, though, right? But toddlers and preschoolers really are so little. I know parenting little ones is hard.
21 Of The Best Early Years Books For International Friendship Day We know that skills like empathy aren’t fully developed until later in a child’s life, which is why there are so many stories on friendship and how to treat people aimed at Early Years. International Friendship Day, then, is a great opportunity to share some of these amazing books with your children. It does, however, fall on Sunday 30 July. Here are our picks for some top tales that touch on various aspects of friendship that kids will love. 1 | Bubble Trouble Tom Percival (Bloomsbury, paperback, £6.99) Reuben and Felix are best friends, whose favourite thing in the world to do is to blow bubbles. Review: Bubble Trouble. 2 | Little Puppy Lost Holly Webb (Little Tiger Press, paperback, £6.99) Holly Webb’s debut picture book for a younger audience, tells the tale of a puppy who manages to become separated from his young human when he’s taken to the park for the first time, before being befriended by a lonely but streetwise cat, discovers his inner courage, and eventually finds his way home. 15.
This ‘Kindness Curriculum’ Is Free And Should Be Used In Every Classroom Imagine living in a world that valued kindness enough to teach it along with academics. Educators would teach kids to manage their emotions in addition to standard curriculum such as math and science. Sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it? Well, the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has created a free “kindness curriculum” for kids, designed to do just that. It’s a mindfulness-based curriculum for preschoolers that will bring kindness into the classroom. “Faced with mental and physical health challenges at a global scale, we conduct rigorous scientific research to bring new insights and tools aimed at improving the wellbeing of people of all backgrounds and ages,” states the Center’s mission statement. So how exactly does that work? Using “Peace Wands” The children in this program use peace wands to help with conflict resolution. The child with the heart wand describes what they’re feeling “in their heart.” Creating ‘Kindness Gardens’ “Belly Buddies” “Mind Jar”
KQED Public Media for Northern CA Babies and toddlers raised in supportive and caring home environments tended to do better on standardized tests later on, and they were more likely to attain higher degrees as adults. They were also more likely to get along with their peers and feel satisfied in their romantic relationships. "It seems like, at least in these early years, the parents' role is to communicate with the child and let them know, 'I'm here for you when you're upset, when you need me. Raby used data collected from 243 people who participated in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk. Of course, parental behavior in the early years is just one of many influences, and it's not necessarily causing the benefits seen in the study. Ultimately, they found that about 10 percent of someone's academic achievement was correlated with the quality of their home life at age three. And a child's psychological makeup is a factor as well. So what does this all mean? Copyright 2014 NPR.
How Are Happiness and Learning Connected? As teachers, we also know that when students' affective filters or defenses are sky high, fight or flight responses will be modus operandi. A room full of defensive behaviors (withdrawn, angry) is a sad, unproductive place to teach and learn. Now let's flip it and take a look at how much more we are able to learn when we are in harmony with the people and things in any given educational environment. Hearts and Minds in Sync What does research show to be the opposite of the brain's fight or flight response? Co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute Dr. "Engagement is a state of being willing to do difficult things, to take risks, to think deeply about issues and develop new solutions. ...Interest, happiness, joy, and desire are approach emotions. Unfortunately, the hyper focus on standardized testing has gravitated many public schools so very far away from whole-child teaching and learning. Let's go back to Dr. In the Classroom Of course this is great news from the research of Dr.
KQED Public Media for Northern CA To make that argument requires a deep dive into the profound nature of empathy. Right now, empathy roughly equates to “I like you and am willing to tolerate you regardless of differences because I am a good person.” But the textbook definition hints at something more profound: It’s ‘the feeling of being able to understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions.’ That all-encompassing definition means empathy results from a complex mix of other meaningful emotions and attitudes that fuel human personality, such as openness, curiosity, self-restraint, vulnerability, sensitivity, awareness, respect, appreciation, and even love. Thus, it shouldn’t surprise us that such a potent emotion resonates across mind and body, influencing behavior and brain function. I see this regularly in my work with project-based-learning teachers who create classrooms that hum with good vibes and focused work. The takeaway?
Key Person & Attachment - Early Years Matters The Key Person Children thrive from a base of loving and secure relationships. This is normally provided by a child’s parents but it can also be provided by a key person. A key person is a named member of staff with responsibilities for a small group of children who helps those children in the group feel safe and cared for. The role is an important one and an approach set out in the EYFS which is working successfully in settings and in Reception classes. Records of development and care are created and shared by the key person, parents and the child. Why Attachment Matters What is attachment and why is it important for young children?
Teaching large classes This article suggests ways to help discipline, to use group work and to cope with limited resources. What are the challenges of teaching a large class?How can you use group work to help learning in a large class?How can group work help in a large class when resources are lacking?How can you develop good discipline in a large class?The advantages of a large classNext steps What are the challenges of teaching a large class? It's difficult to keep good discipline going in a large class.You have to provide for more children of different ages and different abilities, wanting to learn different things at different speeds and in different ways.You can't easily give each child the individual attention they need.You may not have enough books or teaching and learning aids. How can you use group work to help learning in a large class? How can group work help in a large class when resources are lacking? If you do not have enough books for each child, form groups so that each group has one book.
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