Appropriate Expectations for Preschoolers: Preschoolers want to be more independent.

. One example of this that I see is at breakfast when children are encouraged to serve themselves. When I first came to Bennett, I was surprised that the teachers let the kids pour their own milk or get their own food. However, I have found that children really do want to serve themselves. Now each morning, I ask the kids if they would like to get their own food/pour their own milk, or if they would like for me to do it. Many of them, especially those who are intent upon doing things for themselves, say that they would like to pour it. Some days, I simply pass around the milk, and the children pour their own milk and then pass it along to the next child. Preschoolers show that they want to complete tasks like this on their own by taking control of meeting their own needs, for example at breakfast. Preschoolers may need adult support to learn cooperative skills. One example of this occurred at the carpet today. Kristina was holding a pair of dress up shoes, just taking them off after wearing them for some time. Ranya ran past and grabbed the shoes, saying, I need these. Kristina stood still and let go of the shoes. Ranya began to run away. At this point, I called Ranya back and asked her if that was the right thing to do. She then proceeded to ask Kristina for the shoes. In this specific instance, and in many instances, preschoolers are still learning how to interact with each other. At this age, it is hard to move past egocentrism and realize that there are other people who also want to play with the toys in the classroom, talk to the teacher, and sit in the chair that you want to sit in. Therefore, sometimes it takes a teachers intervention to remind kids to look beyond themselves and to think about those social norms that come so naturally to many adults. Preschoolers can BEGIN to understand someone elses needs or feelings. On one specific day, Andrew was having a particularly hard time saying goodbye to his grandmother before school. Andrew was crying as his grandmother shut the door. Andrew kept crying for a few minutes. His best friend, Alex, saw Andrew crying. Alex stood and watched Andrew, but he did not seem to know what to do. Miss Sara said to Alex, Your friend Andrew looks really sad. Do you think you could ask him to play with you? Alex thought about this for a minute and then went over to Andrew and stood beside him. In this particular instance, Alex never found the words to say to Andrew to make him feel better or to distract him from being sad. However, it was evident that Alex recognized that his friend was sad. Alex seemed a bit off in his own actions because his friend was upset. Alex was not playing on his own and clearly noticed his friends sadness. This interaction showed that Alex did have an understanding that Andrew was upset, though he did not yet know what to do or how to help in this situation. Preschoolers can BEGIN to learn to take turns, wait, and share. I was sitting over at the story corner (library) reading a book with Fiona. Simon came into the room and sat down with us, and Rylee and Andrew joined shortly thereafter. All of the children were listening to the book that I was reading to Fiona (initially). Once that book was finished, Rylee declared that she wanted to read Pinkalicious. However, Andrew wanted to read a book about the making of chocolate. Rylee said, No, we are reading my book. Andrew began pushing his way onto my lap and loudly

stating, No. I said to the kids, We need to take turns. Simon was here before the two of you, so he is going to pick the next story. Then Rylee came over, so she can pick next. And then Andrew. Does this sound fair? This way, we will all get a chance to pick a story, but we will do it by taking turns. The kids all sat and thought for a minute. Simon stood up and grabbed a dinosaur book for me to read. Rylee put her book in her lap, and Andrew relaxed in my lap. I began reading Simons story, and all of the kids stayed to listen. Half-way through the story, Fiona got up and left. Simon shifted closer to the book. At the end of the story, Rylee held her book out to me and said, My turn! Andrew did not argue; instead he said, And then me! The kids recognized that taking turns was important. Though they did not come up with the idea on their own, once I proposed it, they realized that waiting and taking turns was necessary so that all of their stories were read. Preschoolers can BEGIN to participate in a classroom community. When the children were walking through town, they saw a bakery. After talking about it during their walk, the children decided that they wanted to build their own bakery. With Miss Joans help, the kids put together a classroom bakery using yard sticks, signs, and tables. They kids made paper cookies and signs for their shop, and they even did a bit of measuring and baking during centers. The idea of a classroom community evolving was present through this activity. As a class, the children took on a project, and the kids assumed different roles within that project, including building the physical bakery, making cookie decorations, etc. The classroom community is a concept that preschoolers are still trying to figure out, and this example is a perfect one of how young children can come together to work as a community, forming a community. Another example of classroom community participation is cleaning up. All of the children come together and work toward a goal of picking up the room so that they can move on to the next activity together. The kids recognize that they all need to work together to accomplish the collective goal. Preschoolers are very interested in learning about adult roles. In the kitchen area, the children take on various adult roles through their play. Some days, the children act as parents, carrying around baby dolls and making meals. Sometimes, I will even sit down at the kitchen table, and the children will tell me that I am one of the children (maybe a sister), while they are the parents (I am the mom). The children are experimenting with adult roles, as they are taking on the roles of parents. They cook and serve food. Even going back to the bakery example, the children are taking on the roles of construction workers and bakers. Preschoolers enjoy pretending that they are adults, as they see adults around them all the time. They are constantly interacting with their parents, teachers, community members, etc. So, it is fun for them to experiment with taking on these roles themselves. Through play, the children are given the chance to assume adult roles and to learn more about them as they work through such roles. There is individual variation in development. Each child is at a different stage in the developmental process. Development encompasses many different areas: physical, cognitive, social, etc., and each child is at a different place individually in each domain of development. Each person is unique, and so each individual

developmental process is unique. One example of individual variation in development is related to specific children in the class. One specific individual, Savva, is a bit behind the other children in terms of language development. For this reason, the teachers use yes and no questions for Savva, whereas they use openended questions for every other child in the class. When the children are lining up on the rope to go outside, the teacher taking roll calls out each childs name, and the child is expected to say here or present. So, roll call sounds as follows: Rylee Here Sarah Present etc. The teacher always waits for the child to answer before moving on. When it gets to Savva, the teacher always asks, Savva, are you here? And if he nods, Yes, then the teacher moves on to the next child on the list. This example demonstrates perfectly the individual variation in development that preschoolers exhibit. While all of the other children have the language ability to speak in complete sentences or even using a variety of words, Savva is not quite there yet. Instead, he is still working on comprehending English fully, and his limited language ability makes it challenging for him to respond or interact orally. This is just one example of how individual variation in development presents itself in the classroom, as well as how it is addressed by teachers and other students in the learning environment. Specific Teacher Behaviors to Support Social Development/Skills: When children fight over play objects/toys, the teacher will come into the situation to help the children work through conflict. Rather than telling the children what to do, the teachers help the children to develop social skills by allowing them to work through the struggle. The teacher will prompt children to share what is going on, what possible solutions are, and how children can agree on one solution. The teacher will go through communication steps with the children, but the teacher also makes sure that both children are listening to the situation at hand, and that both children are working together to come up with a viable and fair solution. This will help children later on in life, as conflict is something that children will encounter for the rest of their lives. At an early age, children are surrounded by teachers who make sure that children effectively communicate ideas and listen to others so that solutions can be reached. When multiple children are at a center working side-by-side, the teacher will often acknowledge both children individually, but will also encourage the children to acknowledge each other, too. For example, one day, the children were using glue and glitter to decorate pictures. The teacher would comment on each childs work, but then the teacher would add in, Wow! Ranya, your piece looks a lot like Rylees. And Edmond, maybe you could try what the girls are doing to add some color to yours, too. The teachers encourage children to take turns, share, and wait when the children go outside or work at different centers. When resources (like bikes) or available spaces in a play area are limited, teachers set time limits so that the children learn what it means to be a part of a community.