Just Breathe

Holiday parties. Elves on the shelves. Christmas trains. Visits to Santa. Shopping and lines (and lines and more lines). Concerts and musicals. Holiday movies. House guests. And who can forget the gifts?

The holidays are an exciting time and we are so lucky to live in a smallish community that prides itself on its many offerings for family entertainment.

As a parent to young children myself, I know that I can definitely get caught up in the spirit of the holidays.

I also wholeheartedly believe in the importance of taking the time to reflect on our own families, their needs, and what is really important based on our own unique family values. Some children do just fine with changes in routines. For others, a bombardment of extra people, social activities, and high expectations can result in some undesirable behaviors.

How do you do with the holiday excitement? Do you find joy in the activities and find yourself generally happier during December? Do you find yourself stressed out by the high expectations? Do you feel pressure to maintain certain holiday traditions or are you able to let go?

The reason I ask these questions is that children pick up on our emotional cues much more than we think they do. When we exhibit an excessive amount of stress and worry and anxiety, our children internalize (and then externalize) these behaviors. In the preschool crowd, this often manifests itself in extra tiredness, tantrums, irritability, and a general decreased ability to work through problems with their peers.

Of course, this is not to say that we, as parents, should hide all of our negative emotions from children. Being 'perfect' does nothing to support a child's healthy emotional development.

The key is trying to find that magic balance in life. I know this can be easier said than done. Knowing ourselves and our children is a great start. Keep in mind that what works for one family can be very different than what works for another. Give yourself - and your children - permission to breathe.

I hope that everyone has a safe, healthy, happy holiday season - no matter what that may look like for you and yours!

  

Encouraging Self Evaluation

One issue that we have been working through this year is the volume of the classroom. Let's face it - this group is loud! It's a busy kind of loud. Big ideas. Big emotions. Honestly, I have never had a class this loud which is kind of great because it has stretched me to reassess my thinking as a preschool educator and collaborate with others to discover new and more intentional strategies. These kinds of challenges are why I love teaching in the field of early education.

These kinds of challenges are also why I fall asleep on the couch around 8:15 every night.

But I digress.

So how could we go about changing the classroom volume in a constructive, positive, and child-centered way?

We started by holding a class meeting about the volume in the classroom: Is the volume working for us? (no) How do we know (too many reminders from teachers, can't hear my friends, etc.) Is this something we want to change? (yes)

We then discussed different volume levels at school (loud, indoor voices, whispers, no talking) and the times of day that appropriately matched each volume level (for example, treasure boxes should be completed in quiet whispers). One child had the realization that different volumes reminded him of a thermometer, so we created this visual to be posted in the classroom:

I'm not sure how our thermometer was made upside down. I'm doing everything in my power to quiet the OCD side of me and leave it be.

In the days that followed, we reviewed our volume thermometer at group time. I also carried it around during different times of the day and asked students where their voices were and, if changes were necessary, where should they be and how would they get there (which is so much more pleasant than saying 'shhhhh' all the time!). Plenty of review and modeling was provided.

As the children became more confident with this visual tool, a truly remarkable thing started to happen. They began self-evaluating their own volumes with no teacher intervention at all.

We watched as students went over to the chart and ran their finger down the thermometer: where is the volume right now? Where should it be?

We watched as students gave each other gentle reminders: you're in the red zone but you should be in the green zone.

We watched as students began to transfer the self-evaluation process to other areas in the classroom: did we stay in the green zone during lunch? thumbs up, to the side, or down?

As difficult as it may be, I always try my best to refrain from praising children in the moment for these actions. I really want them to take ownership and observe how their own actions can authentically and directly change the learning climate without adult validation. Praise is saved as a reflective learning tool during whole group instruction. As a result, the children begin to grow their own independence in preparation for the larger classroom and, eventually, the 'real world.'

This class constantly reminds me of the importance of child-centered education. Would we have attained the same powerful results if the teacher had simply made the rules for the children? Most likely not. To provide preschoolers with the tools to become their own autonomous learners is one of the greatest gifts we - as teachers and parents - can provide during these key developmental stages in their lives.