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Teaching Friendship Skills Young children communicate and cooperate more with their friends than with other children (Howes & Lee, 2007; Kowalski, 2007). They also have more conflicts but usually find ways to resolve them (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2007). Over time, from spending a lot of time together and sharing experiences (mutual socialization), they may […]

Peer Acceptance Visions of America / SuperStock Children who want to join play stand a better chance of being welcomed if there are four or more children already in the group. Through observation and interactions with children, early educators learn to distinguish between general acceptance of a child by his peers and true friendships between

Healthy Social Relationships More From the Field Director Beverly Prange offers examples of the range of social behaviors a preschool teacher might expect. Critical Thinking Question How did Beverly’s comments relate to considerations for planning the physical environment to support social interactions? With young children, developing healthy social relationships depends a great deal on a

Healthy Social Relationships More From the Field Director Beverly Prange offers examples of the range of social behaviors a preschool teacher might expect. Critical Thinking Question How did Beverly’s comments relate to considerations for planning the physical environment to support social interactions? With young children, developing healthy social relationships depends a great deal on a

Strategies and Examples for Developing Confidence and Self-Esteem Strategy Example Encourage trial and error, so children learn that mistakes are a normal part of progress and the way we learn what does work. Trying several different combinations of paint to make green. Share your own experiences with success, failure, and problem solving. “Last weekend I

Confidence and Self-Esteem As children’s cognitive awareness and ability to use words to describe “who I am” develops, they also begin to make comparative judgments about themselves in relation to others. Children tend to have perceptions about their self-worth long before they begin to talk about it, which typically occurs toward the end of the

Strategies that promote an accurate and unbiased environment include the following: Using pictures of actual children and families rather than drawings. Making sure that photographs, displays, and materials depict at a minimum the ethnic groups represented in your class; also be sure that people of all ages are represented. Examining and removing any literature that

Social Identity Acquiring social identity includes learning about gender, ethnicity, and ability issues. Experts on multicultural and antibias education advise teachers to focus on values, interaction patterns, and equitable teaching practices, rather than curriculum activities that highlight superficial features like flags or potentially stereotypical images of different cultures, such as a sombrero or feathered headdress

Strategies for Promoting the Development of Personal Identity Activity Focus Sample Activities Mirrors Place mirrors strategically around the classroomvertically, horizontally, or diagonallyperhaps even on the ceiling. Provide hand mirrors and/or a magnifying mirror in the dramatic play area. Consider making or purchasing a pyramid-shaped structure that children can crawl inside with mirrors on the inside

Personal Identity Young children tend to describe themselves in concrete terms, according to what they look like, what they can do, or what they like or don’t like. They can’t typically provide a description with multiple, integrated or qualitative characteristics until middle childhood (Hendrick & Weissman, 2007). Therefore it makes sense to do activities with