Actively guide and encourage

children to undertake a variety

of developmentally appropriate
activities
Encourage and acknowledge
childrens efforts

Quality carers strive to provide children with an environment that is safe,

secure, stimulating, positive and interesting to those in their care. They use
tools of observation and planning to ensure that they meet the needs of all
those involved in the environment.
This is only part of the challenge. The next is actually getting the children to
participate in the environment and experiences on offer.
This might seem simple but again you will need to cater to individual needs
and interests. This topic looks at the strategies and skills needed to involve
children effectively.

Specific strategies for providing

encouragement
Activity 1
Ways to provide encouragement are listed below.

Focus on the persons strengths rather than their weaknesses.

Break down the new task into small achievable steps rather than one
large step. This helps confidence grow as they achieve each small part.

Provide verbal support and guidance. This can be done by:

using positive feedback

talking the person through the stepscoaxing them along

highlighting the steps the person has done well

acknowledging all attempts in a positive light

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sharing achievements with others around the person.

Provide non-verbal support and guidance. This can be done
through:

standing close by

smiling

nodding

clapping your hands.

Step in for assistance when needed.
Show you are interested in what they are doing and saying.
Use your body language to provide suggestions and feedback.
Give the person your full attention.
Listen and take seriously their concerns and fears.
Help them identify strategies for overcoming their fears.
Demonstrate that you believe in them.

Throughout your life there would have been stages where you doubted your
own abilities. You would have felt the disappointment and hurt when told
your doubts were correct and you were not as good at something as another
person. On the other hand, you would also have had experiences where you
felt the pride and determination that comes from positive feedback, support
and encouragement.
The childcare workers role in providing children with encouragement is
critical regardless of their age, culture and background.
As quality caregivers, we must provide children with positive support and
encouragement to explore their environment. With our help, words and
actions, the environment can become a place that is exciting and
challenging. We can provide them with the confidence to experiment,
broaden their interest, seek new challenges and develop new skills.
You need to ensure that your actions are appropriate for the age group you
are working with.
This could include:

not making assumptions about what a child can and cannot do

remembering that you need a balance of child-centred and adultdirected experiences
not communicating your own doubts and fears
seeing each child as an individual with their own strengths, skills
and personality
using appropriate strategies to identify individual needs and
interests.

Our behaviour during experiences can provide a valuable tool towards the
child reaching their full potential, or it may restrict what the child can do.

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Encouraging, acknowledging and praising

childrens efforts
Encouragement is something that we should all have experienced in life.
Sometimes we may have even craved more. As childcare workers we have a
great opportunity to offer the children we care for guidance, confidence and
hope. Encouragement is something that children need in order to develop
the ability to learn and explore independently.

Ensuring interactions are positive

Children in our care will constantly look for support, encouragement, love,
information, advice, praise, discipline, acknowledgment and the meeting of
their other needs.
How we react to these needs will affect how the children interact with the
rest of the environment. If we show interest and are actively involved in the
environment then the children will follow our lead.
There are several ways in which we can create a positive environment
through our interactions:

Listen to what they have to say as it is important to them.

Make eye contact when you or they are talking (please remember,
however, in some cultures this may not be appropriate).
Speak warmly and enthusiastically.
Value their work by putting it on display.
Encourage and guide children to recognise and solve problems in
appropriate ways.
Allow children to play an active role in setting up and maintaining
the environment.
Be aware of child-centred activities and do not take over.
Be positive in your languageboth verbal and non-verbal.
Recognise and accept childrens emotions.
Follow through on childrens requests and interests.
Provide advice and suggestions, but allow them the final decision.
Treat them with warmth and respect.
Treat other staff members with respect.
Value the skills that others can bring to a servicestaff, parents,
students, volunteers and children.

Our interactions can both support or limit what children get out of play.
When a child feels secure, safe and stimulated, their imagination and skills
flourish.
As caregivers, it is essential that we create a positive impression and,
therefore, establish a safe, secure, stimulating and challenging environment.

Activity 2
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Children accomplish much through their play, and it is essential that we

provide encouragement and acknowledge their efforts. Encouragement,
acknowledgment and praise help develop childrens self-esteem. If the
children feel they are valued it will enable them to see their play as a
valuable learning experience.

Activity 3
Some strategies for providing children with effective acknowledgment and
encouragement are:

acknowledge all attempts in their play

provide positive feedback about their play
demonstrate an interest by enquiring about their play
share the childs attempts and efforts with others at the service in
a positive way.

Being acknowledged is the motivation that we all use to keep on trying.

Having our attempts recognised and valued is often why we continue to try,
and it also is a boost to our self-esteem and image.
Now think of how a child would feel if a carer never acknowledged their
work and effort. The play and skills that children gain are their work. Often
adults can forget to recognise childrens efforts, taking them for granted or
simply overlooking them.

Positive acknowledgement
In order to be positive in acknowledging childrens work we need to follow
the guidelines below.

Give them our undivided attention while they explain their work.
Show verbal and non-verbal interest. Children are very astute and
pick up on a lack of interest.
Do not put your own assumptions on the work. What looks like a
house to you may, in fact, be a rocket to the child. Encourage
them to tell you what they have done and appreciate the thought
that has gone into it.
Offer praise but ensure that it is specific and genuine.

Just saying to a child thats a great piece of work actually tells the child
nothing and gives them no direction.
When you offer praise it must be genuine. Otherwise, the child will gain an
unreal sense of what they can do or simply recognise that you are not truly
interested, and they will not appreciate your acknowledgments on later
occasions.
Other ways in which you can acknowledge childrens work are listed below.

Record their achievementsuse a video or photos.

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cli

Show their work to parents.

Show their work to other children.
Create books as a record so children, parents and carers can see
how the childs skills are progressing.
Place the actual work on display. While in early childhood we
stress the process and not the product, children are extremely
proud of what they have achieved and the way that we display it
will, in turn, either demonstrate to the child we value it or devalue
it.

When a child has completed the task, make sure you accept it as
finished. Do not add your own little bits to make it better in your
eyes. If the child had wanted another colour they would have
added it.
Display the work in a presentable way that demonstrates that you
respect their efforts. Place it on cardboard with a border, the
childs name date and their brief description. This will promote
pride in their work, whereas taking a childs work and cutting it up
into another shape may convey the message that it was not quite
good enough as it was.
Discuss with the children how they have developed over time. If
possible, use methods to collate a book that will help the child,
carers and parents see the progressive development.
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Remember that even young children will have ideas and

suggestions. Respond appropriately and include these as soon as
possible.

While all of these ideas may sound easy, we can often forget to carry them
out. Making time will ensure that both the child and you will get the most
out of the time together.

Activity 4

Use activities, resources and

materials flexibly to meet childrens
individual preferences and prompt
extensions of play

Allowing for flexibility

We need to consider how children will use the materials that have been set
up in the environment and ensure there are a range of options are available
to them. We can do this in several ways;

Open storage
Open storage that is visible and accessible allows children to be
independent in their choices and decision making. Displaying materials side
by side can strongly suggest connections between them and the possibility
of combining them in some way. In this way combinations of materials can
suggest activities but ultimately the choice of how the resources will be
used is the childs.
Open storage areas work particularly well in art and craft areas, dramatic
play and construction areas. You need to provide an orderly display of
accessible play materials and creative options and as the children grow in
their independence they will select the materials they need.
Room arrangement and material availability determine where children focus
on their work. It also influences the group dynamics including how the
children interact with each other either one on one or the way the group
works together.

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Open ended materials

Open ended materials can be used in many different ways. They provide for
flexibility in how resources are used and allow for individual preferences.
Group items together and storing them near appropriate activity areas will
increase the potential for their use.
Open ended or multipurpose materials offer rich opportunities for
imaginative play, invention and physical interaction. Examples could
include pieces of plain and printed fabrics which may become a cubby, a
cape or picnic rug.
Natural materials such as smooth stones, shells, pods and seeds can be
used in dramatic and imaginary play. Recycled items such as boxes can be
used to construct just about anything and become increasingly important to
children as they use them to represent concrete experiences.
Open, found and recycled materials challenge children to find new uses for
them. Real life props such as pots and pans make good props for pretend
play and can provide unique opportunities for expanding childrens play and
learning.

Portable equipment and space

Portable equipment makes it possible to rearrange the indoor and outdoor
area and make adaptations as required. Portable equipment can be
changed on a daily basis to suit the program. Flexible storage could be
included here as it allows for the carer to arrange the space into a
combination of open areas, defined and intimate spaces.
The way space is organised suggests to children how they might move and
act as they navigate the space and pick up on the cues it offers. The same
space will suggest different things to different children. Ultimately its up to
the children to decide what they will do. However the carers presence is
important for facilitating, supporting and scaffolding childrens learning.

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Supporting and extending childrens play

Children love adults to participate in their play, but it is their play and not
yours.
You must develop the skill of balancing adult-centred or initiated activities
with child centred play, recognising that the way children play is part of
their individuality and should be respected. A tuned-in carer will provide
appropriate choices to children and discuss options. It is the carers role to
ensure that they follow through on choices that are appropriate.
Extending childrens play is another part of the support you offer. This can
be done through observation and listening to childrens ideas. From this
information you can then provide suggestions for other experiences,
introduce new and different props and materials into their play and
encourage children to think of alternatives they could pursue.
The following 4 vignettes show clearly how you can use your observations of
childrens interests to extend their play. They also demonstrate how you can
set up the environment, taking aesthetics and health and safety into
consideration and engage with the children during

Activity 5

Encourage children to participate in

a variety of experiences and to
choose activities which support their
development and fundamental
movement skills competency and
confidence

Facilitating childrens play

Parents and caregivers are childrens first teachers. We guide, assist and
facilitate the learning if we provide environments that are positive, secure,
inviting and challenging.

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How do we do this?
By paying attention to all aspects of child development and providing
experiences that are age and stage appropriate for the children. Carers
should provide a range of experiences for all ages where the complexity will
change as the child grows.
A simple experience such as finger painting can provide learning from
infancy to school age.

An infant can have the sensory feeling of it under their hands.

Toddlers extend this sensory experience by manipulating the paint
in a variety of ways.
Preschoolers begin to discuss colour changes and draw pictures.
School aged children may practice writing skills and experimenting
with different implements to create textured effects.

The important point is that experiences offered to children should provide

challenges and enjoyment.
Children are by their nature busy and interested and they use the
environment around them to play and learn. It is essential that caregivers
provide experiences that are appropriate to their stage of development and
their abilities.
By developing stimulating environments and participating in play and
learning with children we are encouraging them to:

Develop an interest in the wider world around them.

Experiment.
Develop an interest in learning and therefore become active
learners.
Experience different emotions in different situations.
Extend on all their developmental areas.
Work together with others.

Following childrens interest

As we identified earlier you participate in experiences for a variety of
reasons one being interest. It is important to remember that children will
favour some experiences over others. This is okay as long as we use this
focus to develop experiences and emerging skills.
As caregivers we need to be very aware of the developmental progress of
the children in our care. Through observation and consultation we should be
able to identify where their strengths lie, what they are interested in and
how they relate to the environment around them.
If you use childrens interests as a base you are saying to the child I value
the skills you have and this will encourage them to try other things. If you
took the path of not allowing the child to participate in their interest in order
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to focus on other area of development you are most likely going to develop
confusion, hostility and damage their self-confidence.

Consultation
Consultation is the process of:

seeking information
asking advice
asking people if they want to be involved in an experience
working out how an experience is going to be organised
working out roles and responsibilities.

Consultation is a normal part of life and is a way to ensure that decisions are
shared and people are committed to the action being taken.
We consult with other adults all the time but do we do it with children?
Children, no matter what age, make choices. Even infants as young as two
months who have not learnt to verbally express an opinion can show
preference to a toy or rattle. The older children get, the more personalised
ideas and interests they possess.
If the adults working with them do not recognise these ideas the children
may become reluctant to participate and even resentful at being forced to
do things that they show no desire for.
The following strategies suggest ways you can consult with infants, toddlers
and older children. You may find that the strategies identified for infants and
toddlers are applicable to the older age group as well but the process may
change.

Infants and toddlers

pay close attention to all body language, this includes facial

expression and movements
use simple directions
use common language they will recognise
allow choice but do not overwhelm them
dont rush the child for decisions.

Older children

use group discussion

use one on one discussion
have suggestion boxes
hold brainstorming sessions
ensure children are made confident enough to ask for experiences
or changes to an experience
provide children with choices and let children make final decisions.

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If we use consultation with children regularly and observe their reactions to

the experiences that are offered, we can be guaranteed to be running a
programme that is successful in meeting their needs.

The outdoor area

Activity 6

Fundamental movement skills

We have defined physical skills mostly in terms of fine and gross motor
skills. Fundamental movement skills include many of the gross motor skills
mentioned above. These skills are divided into the following categories.
Locomotor skills such as walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping and
galloping. Nonlocomotor skills, involve coordination and balance such as
twisting and turning and manipulative skills which involve using various
body parts to throw catch and kick objects such as balls and beanbags.
These skills are the foundation movements to more complex skills used by
the school aged child, teenagers and adults for activities such as playing
games, dancing, gymnastics and sports.
Opportunities for these foundation movements to develop can be
incorporated in both indoor and outdoor play. However as outdoor play
generally promotes more physically active play it is therefore an ideal area
for setting up experiences to encourage the development of these skills.
Outdoor areas should include:

Climbing areas: for large muscle active play with frames, trestles,
planks. Ladders, large plastic and foam shapes, forts etc.
Jumping and bouncing: with boards, inner tubes, mini-trampolines
or mattresses.
Obstacle courses: equipment set up to encourage crawling,
bending, balancing, clambering, etc.
Sand play: usually a sit-in pit or sand tray with props and
accessories
Water play: with a trough, buckets, hoses, bubbles, spray bottles
and a host of other accessories to extend play.
Building and construction: with blocks, woodwork, hollow blocks,
foam shapes, cartons and boxes.
Garden area: for growing plants and vegetables and exploring
nature.
Digging area: a mud patch really with or without water children
will need suitable spades and protective clothing.
Small pits of pebbles, gravel, coarse sand and smooth river rocks
Natural environments that encourage birds, butterflies and other
insects
Worm farms and compost areas
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Bicycle track
Open area: for running, throwing and catching, ball games, rolling
hoops, beanbags etc.
Parachute games
Music and movement: including fitness routines and dancing
Quiet play area: to sit and reflect, listen to music, rest and be on
your own.
Creative area: for painting drawing and collage.
Reading and writing areas.
Puzzles
Dramatic/imaginative play areas: for engaging in dramatic or
imaginary play. You could include dress- ups and props or
imaginary play set-ups for individual children or small groups.

Outdoor play spaces need to be clearly defined and organised so children

can see immediately how spaces are to be used and can move easily
between areas without disturbing others. It is also important to have a
variety of play areas. Outdoor play spaces should be planned for in the
same way as indoor play spaces.

Outdoor equipment
Outdoor equipment needs to;

Allow children to explore and be self-directed.

Allow for imagination and creativitysetting up experiences so
that children can work at their own level and pace.
Avoid stereotypes and bias in materials.
Encourage investigation, discovery and enquiry into the functions
of the play materials.
Use developmentally appropriate materials.

Here are some ideas:

add rocks and wood to the sensory table

prepare the sandpit by creating beautiful designs in the sandpit
add an array of natural materials to the play dough table including
stones, rosemary sprigs, pebbles. Also add massage tools to
create an extra dimension to manipulating the play dough. Display
the play dough on wooden cutting boards and other similar item.
hang a material pocket-holder from the window with lots of
different treasures (including plant life, seeds, grasses)this can
spark lots of enjoyment and conversation
place bells on wooden trays to invite experimentation with
different sounds
encourage children to explore in a pile of dirt, placing the dirt in a
container on a wheelbarrow for further investigation
provide a collection of mirrors and coloured objects on a mirror
provide translucent fabric and other similar fabrics to visually and
physically explore

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provide a range of different bowls, baskets and so on with different

shapes, textures and designs.

An outdoor water play area

An outdoor sandpit

Bikes and wheeled toys

Hard surfaces and paths in the outdoor area provide opportunities for the
use of wheeled toys such as bikes, tricycles, scooters and wagons. These
toys will develop large muscle strength as well as promoting balance and
co-ordination. You can incorporate a specific bike track so that the children
are clear where they can ride these toys. For safety, providing helmets for
children to use is essential.

Activity 7
Music experiences and games provide fun opportunities for the
development of fundamental movement skills for children in a group
situation.
These include;

Moving and dancing freely to a range of music and directed

movement.
Fitness routines including a warm up, vigorous movement and cool
down period.
Circle games such as Punchinello, Farmer in the Dell, Ring a Ring a
Rosie, Hokey Pokey.
Musical statues or freeze
Parachute songs and games
Duck, duck, goose
Hop scotch
Simon says
Hide and seek
Whats the time Mr Wolf?

Im sure you can think of a few more

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Remember, almost anything you plan indoors can be done outdoors

(weather permitting). The more carefully you plan the outdoor space, the
more opportunity you can offer to learn and grow.

Demonstrate respect for childrens

choice not to participate and
encourage where experience is new
or unknown

Choice in whether to participate

Children have their reasons for participating or not participating. These
should be respected and valued. You must look at ways to provide
assistance, guidance and support without belittling their reasons.
Children may become involved in an experience because:

they like and are interested in the experience

their friends are participating and they want to belong
they know that the experience is easy for them to succeed in
they are not interested in other options
they want to remain in the environment where the experience is
on offer (eg indoors or outdoors)
they want to blend in and not be the focus of attention.
They may decide not to be involved in an experience because:
they are scared of the experience
they want to avoid children already participating in the experience
they do not feel confident to try something new
they think that they will not succeed at the experience and
therefore will not attempt it
they think that the activity if too easy or too difficult
they have certain cultural or family preferences that do not
encourage participation in a particular type of activity
they do not want to get dirty
they want to participate only with a certain carer.

Strategies for encouraging participation

Throughout your time in childcare you will encounter children who will get
involved in everything you offer, and you also will have the observers who
are happy to watch but not get involved.
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Showing respect and accepting childrens choices as well as implementing

strategies such as the ones below will help you develop appropriate
strategies to encourage all children to participate.
Strategies include:

Offer a variety of experiences in different and non-threatening

wayseg take indoor toys outside or bring outdoor toys inside.
Offer basic materials to all age groups while altering just the
accompanying equipment.
Discover where the childrens interests are and build involvement
on them.
Be positive and role model different experiences to children. For
example, if carers are reluctant to get dirty or involved the
children often pick up on the vibes and are also reluctant to
participate.
Explain and discuss the different experiences available. Use
positive language.
Break down the experience into simple and achievable tasks. A
child who thinks it will be too hard is more likely to participate if
they are successful in small steps.
Recognise and be sensitive to childrens doubts and fears. They
are as important as yours.
Help a child verbally and non-verballyeg hold their hand to walk
along a beam and praise them when they get to the end. Be close
by, in case you are needed. Talk about the fear and how you might
overcome it.
Demonstrate the activity. You could also get other children
involved in the demonstration. This can help if a child is not
participating because they are unsure of what to do.
Discuss with the child what the participating children are doing. It
is essential that they are not pushed to participate and that you
display respect for their choice.
Use other friends to help partner reluctant children. While your
support and guidance is still needed, childrens peers can provide
another avenue of support. Peer support is very effective with
older children although you must remember they need to be
partnered with someone they like rather than someone who is
outstanding at the experience. We want to develop the skill not
discourage the childs attempts.
Consult the children and involve them in planning. If the children
feel like they have ownership of an experience they are more likely
to participate.

Remember: All children are different and will achieve different skills at
different times.

Activity 8

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Activity 9

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