Chapter 4 Making Friends with Children Part 1 Happiness and Play

Children should be happy! “ 幼儿园应为幼儿提供健康、 丰富的生活和活动环境， 满足他们多方面发展的需 要，使他们度过快乐而有 意义的童年。 ” —— 《纲要》

Are you happy? I am happy, because…… I am blue, because……

Happiness is determined by the extent to which your needs are met

Happiness is also determined by the extent to which your rights are respected

Respect children’s rights The four rights of children are the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. ——Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF (The United Nations International Children's Fund)

Please show your respect based on the equality of personalities

Please offer your hug generously

Besides all of those, children get their happiness from a very important activity. That is ……

Honey memory What’s your favorite play when you were a child?

Why did you love it?

25 A child loves his play, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard. Benjamin Spock

What did you get from that kind of playing? What’s the importance of play for children?

27 Play is important – for example  Play enables children to explore their world  In play children are empowered to do things for themselves  Play provides opportunities to meet and solve problems (social, physical & cognitive)  Play develops social and cultural understandings. It helps children to understand the people and places in their lives and to develop a sense of community  Play helps children to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings

28  Play develops versatility, imagination and inventiveness  Play helps children to deal with feelings that they cannot always put into words and to deal with difficult circumstances  Play keeps children active and healthy.  Play allows children to discover their interests, strengths and limits  Play contributes to representational thought, conceptual thought, language skills, communication skills, physical skills and social skills

The value of play 29 Physical PIESPIES Intellectual Emotional Social LSLS + Language Spiritual

But what is play?

31 Play is a reaction to stimulation or curiosity. Through play, exploration, manipulation and creativity are woven into thought. Play is a necessity for life Gwen Somerset

32 Play is the child’s art form, the vehicle for creative expression, the primary avenue to learning and development, a source of joy and contentment. Frost, J.

33 Characteristics of play Play is (usually) 1.Intrinsically motivated 2.Freely chosen / voluntary 3.Active – physical, verbal and/or mental engagement with people, objects and/or ideas.

34 4.Pleasurable, enjoyable & engaging 5.Process (rather than product) orientated 6.Non-literal (Pretend)

35 Exploration Play 7.Self rather than object orientated What can I do with this object rather than what is this object and what can it do

36 When does an activity cease to be play? CriteriaPlayNon-play Control Who is in charge? Is the child in charge of the situation? Are there a variety of choices available? Is somebody else in charge? Are limited responses available? Motivation Why are they engaged in this behaviour? Is the child engaged for the sake of the experience or for pleasure? Is there a reward attached to the behaviour? Reality What are the constraints of the setting on the child’s behaviour? Can the child freely pretend? Can the child freely engage in creative expression and behaviour? Does the child have to conform to reality? Does the setting manipulate the child to demonstrate specific behaviours?

37 The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression. Brian Sutton-Smith

Stages of play Piaget: cognitive stage of play –practice play (0-2) –symbolic play (2-7) –games with rules (7-11)

Stages of play Parten: stages of social play –Unoccupied –Onlooker –Solitary play (dominates in infancy) –Parallel play (typical of toddlers) –Associative play (young preschoolers) –Cooperative play (older preschoolers)

How to support children’s development through play? What should teachers do?

41 Potential Roles Stage Manager Observer Protector & Mediator Participant Tutor (Feeney, Christensen & Moravcik)

42 Stage Manager

43 Observer

Try to understand the meaning of child’s behavior

45 One of the most difficult tasks teachers face is knowing when to join children at play and when to remain outside the activity. Gordon & Browne. 2008:399 Then make a decision Look before you leap

46 Protector & Mediator

47 Participant

48 Tutor

Guidelines for Facilitating Play. 49 A Good Teacher ; guides the play [when necessary], but does not direct or dominate the situation or overwhelm the children. capitalizes on the children’s thoughts and ideas, does not enforce a point of view on them. models play when necessary for example shows children how a specific character might act, how to ask for a turn how to hold a hammer. asks questions; clarifies with children what is happening.

50 helps children start, end, and begin again. Gives them verbal cues to enable them to follow through on an idea. focuses the children’s attention on one another. Encourages them to interact with each other. interprets children’s behaviour aloud, when necessary; helps them verbalize their feelings as they work through conflicts. expands the play potential by making statements and asking questions that lead to discovery and exploration. Gordon & Browne. 2008:401

51 Please do not forget that play is fun!

Part 2 Observation

You see but you do not observe!

Values of Observation Observation can help you to: –know and understand individuals –plan more effectively –and evaluate your teaching More important, observation is the window that enables you to see into the world of the child.

The observation process Observing: –Gathering information Recording: –Documenting what you have observed in a variety of ways Interpreting: –Reflecting on what your observations might mean

Narrative observation Narrative observation techniques are open-ended and require writing. A narrative observation tells a story. A good description is specific. You can use your other senses. To be accurate and objective.

Running records

Anecdotal records

You may focus on the following things when you are doing anecdotal records: –Behaviour or interactions that seem typical for a child. –Behaviour or interactions that seem atypical for a child. –The achievement of a developmental milestone. –Incidents and interactions that convey the child’s strengths, interests, and needs. –Incidents and interactions that convey the nature of social relationships and emotional reactions. –Behaviour or interactions relating to an area of special concern.

Anecdotal records

Structured observation Time samples Event samples Checklists and rating scales Interviews

Time samples

Event samples

Checklists

Rating scales

Electronic observation Photographs –Annotated photograph: photograph with annotation Video and audio recording