Oberserving the 3's: dealing with a child's frustration...

I had a lot of fun observing the 3's classroom this afternoon at ECDC. It was quite an eventful afternoon in that room, or at least the hour I shared observing it. When I got there it was the end of nap time, so all of the lights were off, but most kids were not on their mats. I watched one girl, whose mat was situated close to the observation room, play with a puzzle that involved both shapes and color to piece together. When nap time was over, the kids packed up their things and put their shoes on. It was then snack time, however today most kids did not want to eat snack, after washing their hands, and moved on to play dough. Most of the kids did what they were instructed and were very cooperative, however, one child had some difficulty.


I have worked in this room numerous times and dealt with one child who has trouble "using her words", and often gets upset after naptime, when it comes time to pack up and put her shoes on, and today, she got very frustrated. It was the same thing that she always gets frustrated with, which is wanting to be independent and put her things away by herself, but also needing help, and her inability to express what she does and does not need help with. I watched how the lead teacher dealt with this, first by repeating "use your words", and then explaining to the child after the tantrum continued, that she had one minute to calm down or she would have to leave the room. When this didn't work she took the child outside into the hallway. Still crying, the teacher returned, and proceeded to take the child outside, under the overhang since it was raining. I thought this was a great idea because sometimes fresh air and a change of scenery can calm people down. The child still continues to cry, and at this point seemed to be crying out of frustration rather than any one specific thing. So, the teacher took the child and told her that she could not behave that way and that she was "done for the day". About ten minutes later the teacher returned with the child, who was now a calm and happy child. She explained to the Teacher's assistant that she had called the mother and told her to pick the child up or to speak with her over the phone. So, the mother got on the phone and told her child to,"count, breath deeply, and blow that anger out." The teacher reported that surprisingly it had worked. I think this shows how important it is that teachers get to know what works with each individual student and a good way to do that is by communicating with parents.


While the lead teacher dealt with calming one of the children down, the teachers assistant supervised them playing with play dough at a table, and also put on Disney music. After the music was turned on, all but 2 students danced and made faces into the mirror (the mirror that we were oserving from behind). Some kids sang along to the recognizable Disney songs. I was amazed with the different faces they made into the mirror (and observation room) and how much they enjoyed watching themselves dance in the mirror. Some kids did their own thing, while other kids imitated others. The kids' energy seemed to build off of one another, and it was quite and entertaining for us who were observing as they often came up face-face with the mirror.