Being in a new setting or environment can certainly be challenging, especially if the children are not familiar with their educators. I have worked in the Early Childhood industry for 7 years and had the pleasure of working with anzuk as a casual educator, experiencing multiple different services.
My experience in Early Childhood education has had its difficulties but, my most precious and valued moments have been working with the children who are not yet able to settle in, to then, watch them grow and engage in their learning environment. I have put together a couple of things that helped me along my journey and I hope it can be some help to you too!
Ask questions and get any useful information that the centre has on any children with certain behaviours or special needs. It is important to arrive earlier, communicate with the person in charge, find out which room you will be placed in today, and if there are any children that require behaviour management or special needs.
Building relationships with educators can help through your day for extra support and building a relationship with all children, as well as children that require extra support with their behaviour. These children really like building a strong, trusting relationship with educators, and once they build that trust, they feel a lot more settled in their learning environment.
Using positive language works well! Using negative language has a way of reinforcing the “wrong” behaviour. Typically, children like to do what they usually should not be doing. Rather than create a vicious cycle of behaviour challenges, use positive language to create a positive experience!
For an example: Child: “I don’t want to change my nappy!”
Educator: “No worries, how about we have 5 more minutes of play time and then we can change your nappy? After that we can go back to what we are doing! ?
Try saying “Let’s slow down and use our indoor walking” instead of “Hey, stop running!!!” Ensuring that we always keep our body language positive and keep smiling! I also found talking with the children, not at them worked a treat!
Recognizing and reinforcing appropriate behaviour is so important! When a child is doing well, it is important to acknowledge their actions! Positive reinforcement helps children build self-esteem and confidence. It can encourage the child to continue with the desired behaviour. Instead of saying “Good boy Jerry” you can say “I really liked how you put the toys back, how kind!”
Using distractions can often be useful in times, this can work when a child has become emotional by being sad, angry, or frustrated.
