Children are an essential part of any family, school, society and a nation at large since they ensure the continuity of the next generation. Consequently, the adults are tasked with ensuring that they undergo through a smooth transition in life to become the best that they can be. As such children are very delicate and a lot of acres and attention is required to ensure that they get the best care that they can. Moreover, the adults around them be they their parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and older siblings need to be equipped with the prerequisite knowledge in order to create an environment which is conducive where they can become the best they can be. This essay will focus on how to manage these young individuals at school, home and other environments in order to keep them in check and to ensure that they become responsible individuals in the future.
Activities for Kindergarten children
Kindergarten children are usually the active age who should regularly be engaged in fun activities in order to enhance their interactivity with their peers. At this age, these children are developing interests in various subjects around them, and their curiosity is insatiable which makes them be very curious. As a teacher, I would pick the theme of zoo animals which I believe to be fascinating to these inquisitive children. As it is, there are a lot of materials available for this area of study. Most if not all kids are usually fascinated by the various animals in the zoo with each child having a favorite animal he or she would like to visit (Levin, nd). Zoo syllables are an exciting activity which is related to zoo animals where the children are required to identify the syllables of each zoo animal. The correct identification of the number of syllables in each word gives points to the child or his or her group (A to Z teacher stuff). This activity can prove to be paramount in the long run since this knowledge on syllables can be extended to other language activities. In addition to this children can be tasked with identifying the animals I pictures presented either in print or through a projector. Once an animal is identified, the teacher will go ahead and outline the characteristics of that animal through association (A to Z teacher stuff). For example, a skunk can be related to producing an awful smell, a lion to be strong and a tortoise to be slow. By doing this, the teacher helps the children to appreciate these zoo animals more as they gain new knowledge and insight.
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Kindergarten children are usually fascinated with drawing in addition to painting and modeling which would form a major part of the activities of zoo animals. As a teacher, I would put to use directed drawing where the children will be guided to draw zoo animals in five easy to follow steps (A to Z teacher stuff). The children would be instructed to draw animals such as lion, elephant, zebra, and Panda among others. More so the children can go ahead and color these drawn animals using crayons of different colors and densities to make the animals appear more realistic. These drawings and paintings may be displayed in the classroom with each drawing labeled with the name of the child which is meant to motivate the learners (A to Z teacher stuff). These drawings can further be combined with zoo animal cards with a safari theme which helps these children to get concrete ideas which may further enhance their drawing skills. These zoo animals’ activities are meant to help the children to get a deeper meaning of the world around them and appreciate it more in addition to increasing their knowledge.
Teaching Children on Ways of Expressing Their Feelings Effectively
Children just like adults are emotional in nature who regularly display their feelings depending on the situation they are in. There is a need for caretakers who include parents, guardians, and teachers to teach children on how to manage their feelings as well as best ways of expressing them to avoid hurting others and their selves. According to Moyses (2013), young children usually find it hard to identify their feelings as well as the best ways to express these emotions or feelings. Sometimes children who have hard an exciting time may end up biting which can create confusion for the parents or care givers. However, the caregivers can help these young children in best ways of identifying and expressing their emotions without hurting anyone in the process. To help the children deal with their feelings various strategies and methodologies can be put in place by the caregivers as well as the teachers (Moyses, 2013).
Initially, the caregivers can help the children to name their feeling so as to understand their feelings more. The children are served to know when they are sad, excited, angry or frustrated in addition to identifying feelings in others in order to be in a better position of dealing with these feelings. Additionally the caregivers need to talk with children about ways of expressing their feelings mostly by sharing their own feelings and how to express those feelings with the children (Moyses, 2013. This will help the children in expressing their own feelings more effectively and responsibly. Consequently, there is a need for involving children where they come up with solutions on how to manage certain feelings which can be done through illustrations and demonstrations.
I-Messages
Communication strategies are very vital since they ensure that the involved parties come to an agreement with flare-ups. I-messages which mostly focus on the expression of emotions and thoughts about individual experiences by use of soft voice statements are important in ensuring proper communication (Darrington & Brower, 2012). Individuals using I-messages usually start their statements with ‘I’ for example, ‘I feel that…,’ ‘I am sad because…’, ‘I am frustrated by…’ among others. These kinds of messages help individuals from focusing on others as their cause of frustrations but rather on the role they have played in the situation (Darrington &Brower, 2012). Consequently, an individual can own their feelings and knows that the feelings they display, originate from within them and that they have a role to play to reduce their negative impact on others. Children can be taught on the use of I- messages in managing their feelings through being taken through various processes. They need to be taught that they have a responsibility in the management of their emotions more so in the way they express these emotions.
Listening to children
Children are usually full of ideas which they would like adults and caregivers to listen attentively, anytime and without complaints or ignoring them. Most of the time the adults may neglect the children by shutting them down which can be frustrating for these children. At this age, the children are usually inquisitive as they explore their world with entirely new perspectives. It is, therefore, important for parents, caregivers, teachers as well as other adults to know the best ways of listening to them as well as encouraging the children to talk about their feelings, expectations, aspirations, dreams and fears. According to Adams (2016), children who are not usually listened to tend to grow up thinking that their teachers and parents are not interested in them or anything that they stand for. In addition, they imagine that their feelings and opinions do not matter at all to these adults in their lives (Adams, 2016). More so children should be listened to in addition to being understood and accepted which is considered an essential need.
Shutting Down Communication
Children usually have a lot of things to talk about as they share their experiences with adults. Most of the times, these adults are tired of spending much time in their workplaces where most of them may be frustrated by their seniors. Consequently, when parents and caregivers come back from workstations, they are usually tired, and all they want is peace and quiet (Selznick, 2016). The children usually wait for their caregivers so as to tell them what they have witnessed the whole day as they wait for approval from them. However, there is a great likelihood of the adults telling them off as well as refusing to answer their persistent questions (Selznick, 2016). This, in turn, discourages the children from asking further questions which they extend to the school where they never ask questions from their teachers and are ultimately satisfied with what they are told.
Case Scenario
I once had a chance to deal with an issue which was presented by a child who felt that her friends did not like her hair which was short. She told me that the other girls made fun of her by displaying their ponytailed and braided her. This put her down as she felt out of place among these girls and wanted advice on how to fit in. I advised exploring her strong attributes such as being a good singer and brilliant in her studies which would help her fit in other spheres. Slowly by investing her time in singing, she became a crowd puller, and eventually, the girls who were making fun of her became her great friends.
In conclusion, children need a lot of care during their handling since a simple mistake with them can lead to a future full of misery. Caregivers, parents, as well as other adults, need to ensure that they help the children in their lives make the right choices in managing their feelings. In addition, teachers need to engage these children in fun activities to make their stay at school fun and memorable. More so, these adults need to give these children attention as well as a listening ear so as to raise their self-esteem. Failure to listen to these children can have long lasting negative effects especially if the adults shut them down. There is, therefore, need for parents, caregivers, and teachers to handle these children with utmost care so as to bring out the best in them.
References
A to Z Teaching Stuff (n.d). Lesson Plans and Resources for a Zoo or zoo Animals Teaching Theme. Retrieved from http://www.preschool-plan-it.com/zoo-theme.html.
Adams, L. (2016). Paying Attention to Children. Gordon Training International . Retrieved from http://www.gordontraining.com/free-parenting-articles/paying-attention-to-children/.
Darrington, J. & Brower, N. (2012). Effective Communication Skills- ‘I’ Messages and beyond. Families and Communities. Retrieved from http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FC_Relationships_2012-01pr.pdf.
Levin, V. (n.d). Zoo Activities for Pre-schoolers . Retrieved from http://www.pre-kpages.com/zoo-activities-for-preschoolers/.
Moyses, K. (2013). Learning how to Identify and Express Emotions Helps Children become a Successful Youth . Retrieved from http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/help_young_children_identify_and_express_emotions.
Selznick, R. (2016). Understanding Shut-Down Learners . Great Schools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/understanding-shut-down-learners/.
