Promoting Responsibility, Accountability, and Organization

Promoting Responsibility, Accountability, and Organization

Sometimes we do things unconsciously that reinforce child dependency. There are certainly products and tools that for safety purposes must be stashed safely out of a child’s reach. However, when you store classroom materials in locations that are inaccessible to the children, they always have to ask you to get them out and put them away. Each time that happens, it takes time away from your focus on instructional priorities and conveys a message to the children that you don’t believe them capable or helpful. You might want to store the materials in this way because you think that the children won’t care for them properly, but even children as young as age 2 can use materials and put them back where they belong.

The key is organization and logical, thoughtful arrangements, an idea first put forth by Montessori and an important feature of developmentally appropriate practice (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Many of the things we can do to involve children in access to classroom materials can also be structured to teach and reinforce important concepts, such as matching and sorting.

Here are some suggestions to provide children with direction and encourage them to be helpful and involved in care of the classroom or care setting:

• Make one space for each material. A child will find it much easier to put a truck away when there is one clear space reserved for it.
• Provide picture, symbol, or cutout silhouette labels on shelves so that children know where items are to be replaced.
• Explain your expectations for how to manage materials and routines. If children are to meet the classroom expectations, they need to know what those expectations are.
• Store bulk materials in clear containers with picture labels that indicate what belongs in each one. For example, you can cut pictures out of product catalogs that match each material and tape the pictures on the outside of the container. Children old enough to manage scissors can help with this job and often enjoy doing so.
• If your budget for classroom storage equipment or shelving is limited, many affordable options are still available, such as plastic stackable crates, cement blocks, and boards. Avoid large toy storage boxes or containers that encourage dumping.
• In dramatic play areas, hang only one piece of dress-up clothing per hook or hanger. Line up shoes. Organize pots and pans, dishes, utensils, and play food with diagrams or picture labels to indicate where they belong.
• Use color-coded storage for markers, crayons, paints, and other art materials.
• Assign or allow children to self-select age-appropriate classroom helper responsibilities for everything you can think of that they would be capable of doing themselves. Make a picture chart that clearly indicates each job and who is responsible for it.

Self-Help Skills

Similarly, developing the ability to tend to their personal needs provides young children with a sense of independence and pride. There are many ways in which self-help routines can be incorporated into classroom activities. For example, times of the day when children arrive and leave, lunch, nap, and hygiene routines include many personal tasks that children can learn to manage by themselves.

Practical items for mealtimes like “sippy cups” give toddlers the chance to develop grasping and control of a cup without having to deal with the spills that would otherwise occur. Other things that you can do to help children learn how to take care of themselves include:

• Making photo charts that display step-by-step directions, using the children in the class to model things like hand washing and entry and departure routines. Teach the children a simple song that will help them to time how long to soap, rinse, and so on.
• Asking parents to dress children who are being toilet-trained in pull-up pants or other clothing that is easy for them to remove and put back on without help. Similarly, ask for shoes, jackets, and other clothing that children can manage with a minimum of adult assistance.
• Asking parents to send nap/rest-time supplies in an open tote bag with a simple snap closure so children can pack and unpack themselves. Fully zippered backpacks and book bags often require adult assistance, and managing them can be very frustrating for young children.
• In programs where children bring their own lunches, provide a place mat that is diagrammed with places to put their utensils, cups, and food containers.
• For older preschoolers, rather than having adults serve snacks, set up the snack area as a self-serve area with picture instructions for how much they may take, what utensil to use, and so on.
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