Hello Forest Families,
This week’s focus was friendship. We read wonderful books that highlighted what it means to be a good friend and ways to deal with conflict when they arise. Preschool is a time for tremendous growth in navigating the ins and outs of having friends. Preschool children are learning to become more aware of others feelings, often showing empathy when a child is upset or sad. But they are still very egocentric and often say things that inadvertently hurts others friends feelings. As teachers we continue to monitor the big and small conflicts that arise in the classroom by giving the children tools to help resolve conflict through:
● Learning to Manage Strong Emotions
While children have the right to feel strong emotions such as anger and frustration, it is important that they learn that yelling or being physically hurtful or intimidating does not help to resolve conflict. Helping children learn simple strategies for remaining calm, such as taking a deep breath or stopping and counting to ten is an important part of the process of effective conflict resolution.
● Talk & Listen
We try and help the child recognize the value of using words and speaking nicely to solve conflict. for example, “Let’s talk about this and find a way to work together.” Learning to say how they feel and what they wish would happen, rather than attributing blame and overly focusing on the cause of the conflict.
● Problem Solve Together to Find a Solution
Together brainstorming potential solutions with the aim being to find a solution that makes everyone happy.
● Encouraging Fairness – (Fair is not always equal)
We talk regularly with children about the benefits of being kind, being fair and inclusive, and we like to catch them doing the right thing as often as we can – acknowledging positive examples with verbal encouragement.
● When Nothing Else Works
We discuss that it is okay to walk away when nothing else works, and that they should feel safe to come to us or another trusted adult to seek assistance resolving difficult situations.
Science – Our classroom read wonderful books on gardening and planted lettuce and spinach seeds to be transported to our school salad garden this summer. And we were able to end the week with a lovely nature walk. Spring is finally here!
A peek into next week – Birds!
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Melissa, Ms. Jess, Ms. Freya
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