Toddlers Bite, Now What?
Toddlers bite. Right? Calm down, this too shall pass.
Most adults see biting as super aggressive and inappropriate, still toddlers bite. We often react in a way that is actually not helpful. We get as mad and as frustrated as a toddler. We place blame on the teacher(s), the biter, the parent(s).
YET toddlers are developing language skills and they are often frustrated by the inability to communicate their wants/needs. A toddler may also be teething. We are able to communicate to talk about our frustration, here is how to help. First, remain calm.
How to help a biter (for educators).
First, we must realize that it is developmentally appropriate for a toddler to bite. As educators we need parents to know this and communicate it often. Suspend judgement and blame of child and family. Build a great relationship with the family as this is paramount to a high quality early education program.
On the spot, try to identify the problem with the child’s help, then verbalize for the child, explaining and naming the emotions involved. Help the child communicate by modeling the words you would like him/ her to use. Make sure you are calmly communicating that biting hurts. Give the child something appropriate to bite on. Always follow up with an accident/incident report.
How to help the parent of the biter. First, toddlers bite. Normal. Communicate with your child’s teacher. Be at ease with the situation. Practice the same response as your child’s educator for consistency for the child. Be on the same page as your child’s educator.
How to help the bitten child. Console and comfort, perhaps give some ice if needed. If the skin breaks, follow your center’s protocol.
How to help parent of the child that got bit.
Suspend all judgement and blaming of the toddler, the toddler’s family and teacher(s), ask the family to do the same. Build a great relationship with the early educator(s). Communicate often. A solid parent/teacher relationship is key. Parents need to trust that you are a professional and you are caring for ALL the children in your classroom. Biting is developmentally appropriate. Toddlers bite.
How to help the parent of the biter. Communicate with your child’s teacher. Be at ease with the situation. Be on the same page as your child’s educator. Be consistent in your calm but firm reaction to biting. State that biting hurts.
It’s all about forging trusting relationships with the children in your care and their families.
Declutter
TLC Too is undergoing an extensive renovation of all the classrooms with new paint, new flooring, new cabinets and countertops. Teachers have been asked to declutter and intentionally reflect on what they will put back into their classrooms.
Decluttering seems a daunting process but what a wonderful opportunity to start fresh with a specific purpose in mind.
When setting up for the new school year ask yourself these questions.
- What do I want the children to learn in the space?
- How do I want them to use the materials you present?
- Are materials displayed to invite use?
- How does your classroom convey what you want children to feel while there?
- Is your environment inviting and beautiful?
This is the link to a great article to refer to creating a beautiful learning environment. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Or watch as a webinar. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Research has pointed to decluttering or the “bare walls” theory for increasing creativity and reducing distraction and anxiety in the classroom.
Read more here. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/decrease-classroom-clutter-increase-creativity-erin-klein
Overwhelmed, start with a few small changes. Let me know how it goes.
Happy planning for back to school!
Change
Change.
Change is challenging. Change is hard.
I recently changed roles at work. My change of position led to a change of position for others, in a sort of domino effect and it is all good so why does it feel so “weird”? Why do we resist change?
Learning takes place at the edge of our comfort zone. We need to push ourselves to that edge. Trying new things and learning new behaviors pushes us to grow. Be patient with yourself and others, take your time to adjust to new situations.
How can you support the young child through change? Have you ever had a child in your class that is resistant to change? The child who insists on wears long pants well into the warm season or engages in the same ritual every day for weeks/months/the entire school year? Has this frustrated you? Young children need us to support them with patience, kindness, understanding and love. We need to let go of molding people into what WE desire. We need to remember that young children do not need to meet our expectations but rather we need to meet their expectations. We need to support their learning with an eye towards best practice. We need to meet children (and adults), ”where they are” in their learning process. A wise mentor once reminded me, the children that are hardest to love, need the most love.
This week practice viewing change as hard and meet the children and adults in your life with understanding and love. When looking at a situation from another perspective things are easier for all of us.
And…………….love is always the answer.
Sensory ideas
Things I have used in a sensory table this year.
Rice
Flour
Oatmeal
Cornmeal
Beans
Bird seed
Cotton Ball
Mash Potato Flakes
Salt
Salt and Spice
Ice
Water
Feathers
Pom poms
Corn Starch
Sand
Shredded Paper
Bubbles
Dish Soap and Corn Starch
What would you add?
Painting Ideas
I have been working on this list of painting ideas for the last half year. Here is my start.
Try painting:
WITH
Water color
Water color then cover with plastic wrap, let dry and remove plastic
Do a dot (bingo dabber)
Do a dot on dark paper
Frozen paint
Pudding
Kool aid
finger paint
tempra paint
Watercolor on ice block
How about painting on:
ON
Newspaper
Cardboard
Boxes
Laminating
Tubes
Crumpled paper
Ice
Tin foil
Wax paper
Paper towel
Felt
Big branch
Mirror
Rocks
Shells
You might try:
USING
Pine Cone
Pine needle
Flower
Weed
Yarn
Balloon
Ball
Bumpy ball
Cotton ball
Marble roll
Tea bag painting
Lego
Dinosaur
Animal
Brush
Foam brush
Roller
Sponge
Squeeze bottle
Eye dropper
Kitchen gadget
Fork
Scrub brush
Fly swatter
Spray bottle
Spaghetti
Rocks
Cups
Tubes
Bow
Comb
Bubble wrap
Car
Truck
Train
Cardboard scrapper
Teabag
Feather
Painty elastics around a tray, twang
ADD this:
Spice
Sand
Corn syrup
Baking soda ADD vinegar after for fizzy
ADD AFTER painting:
Salt
Can you add to this list?
Trusting young children
When did we stop trusting our young children? We believe that young children will not exercise good judgement about being safe even if we have provided a backdrop for safety including supervision. We say, “stop”, “be careful”, “you’ll get hurt” long before we give children a chance to investigate, explore, discover and problem solve on their own. We need to teach children about safety without being over cautious and “helicoptering”, allowing them to take risks because we trust them. This is not a conversation about keeping children safe by using sound judgement when it comes to safe practices like car seats and helmets.
This past week our canopy made of branches was taken down. How that came to pass is another story. The branches were left lying on the playground. The children investigated and began to build. This is what I saw as I SUPERVISED the area by watching and listening. Toddlers, all under 3 years old able to wield large branches and not hurt each other. Sure they got beaned on the head a few times but they figure it out without any adult help. I also saw children figure out how to duck as long branches moved around them or over their heads. I witnessed them knowing enough to leave if they didn’t like it. I saw children being safe, smart, inventive little humans. I saw cooperation, communication, negotiation, reasoning, problem solving, imagination, language development and compassion. I watched self-esteem go up and pride abound! These are all skills I want all children to develop.
It was not without some lip pursing moments where I wanted to shout out, “oh, sh*t” and bite my tongue. The result was worth it and the next time was easier! The branch building area is an incredible area to supervise!
Will you try it?
Patriotic Cupcakes/Muffins
Feeling Patriotic? Let’s make patriotic cupcakes or muffins for a Fourth of July celebration!
Here’s how.
Purchase a white cake mix or muffin mix. Follow the directions for making cupcakes/muffins on the box. Let the children add the ingredients as directed and stir the mix.
After sufficiently mixing, divide the batter into three bowls. Now it is time to add color! Add red food coloring to one bowl, mix well. Add blue food coloring to a second bowl. Mix well. Please leave the third bowl uncolored.
Use one color to fill 1/3 of your individual muffin cup. Here we used red first.
Use the second color to fill the next 1/3 of the individual muffin. Here we used the uncolored batter.
Scoop the last color to fill the muffin cup. We scooped blue last.
Bake according to the directions on the box. Here is the final baked muffin! Enjoy
Spring Newsletter 2016
See our Spring-2016-Newsletter here.
Process Art Experiences
NAEYC has written a great article about process art experiences. I have edited the content to show the benefits of process art. The whole article is here. http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences
Many of us still look for “cute” projects. Cute is usually not art, it is craft and product based. Pinterest has made it easy to find product oriented “cute” projects. One needs to understand the difference between process and product art and use that knowledge when offering art experiences to young children. There are many ideas online however don’t be fooled by posts that come up with the heading process art but are product art in disguise!
The following is about process art as summed up by NAEYC.
Characteristics of process-focused art experience
- There are no step-by-step instructions
• There is no sample for children to follow
• There is no right or wrong way to explore and create
• The art is focused on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, and materials
• The art is unique and original
• The experience is relaxing or calming
• The art is entirely the children’s own
• The art experience is a child’s choice
• Ideas are not readily available online
What children might say
“Look what I made!” “I’m going to do another!”
“Can I have more time?”
Provide open-ended, creative art experiences by offering activities such as
• Easel painting with a variety of paints and paintbrushes (with no directions)
• Watercolor painting
• Exploring and creating with clay
• Finger painting
• Painting with unusual tools like toothbrushes, paint rollers, potato mashers
• Printing and stamping (stamps purchased or made with sponges)
• Creating spin art using a record player and paint, squirt bottles, paintbrushes, or markers
• Stringing beads independently and creatively
• Weaving cloth, yarn, or paper
• Drawing with pencils, art pens, various sizes of markers, or crayons
• Using homemade doughs
• Making collages using tissue paper, various sizes of paper, glue, paste, glue sticks, scissors, and recycled materials
Tips for leading process-focused art
- Approach art like open-ended play—for example, provide a variety of materials and see what happens as the child leads the art experience
2. Make art a joyful experience. Let children use more paint, more colors, and make more and more artwork
3. Provide plenty of time for children to carry out their plans and explorations
4. Let children come and go from their art at will
5. Notice and comment on what you see: Look at all the yellow dots you painted
6. Say YES to children’s ideas
7. Offer new and interesting materials
8. Play music in the background
9. Take art materials outside in the natural light
10. Display children’s books with artful illustrations, such as those by Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, and Javaka Steptoe
11. Let the children choose whether their art goes home or stays in the classroom
12. Remember that it’s the children’s art, not yours
What children do and learn through process-focused art
Social and emotional
Children relax, focus, feel successful, and can express their feelings
Language and literacy
Children may choose to discuss their art and add print to it (on their own or by dictating to a teacher)
Cognitive
Children compare, predict, plan, and problem solve
Physical
Children use small motor skills to paint, write, glue, use clay, and make collages
Full article is here: http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences
The Poop Blog
Today we found “poop” on the playground.
It was just another day on a snow covered playground when all of a sudden above the din of the children playing there was the call of “poop”! Several two and a half year old children gathered around the spot as did I, their teacher. Much discussion followed as to how this poop got here. I listened intently as the boys discussed. There discussion went from “a dog did it” to “a moose did it” to naming one of their friends who must have pooped there on the ground (fully dressed in snow gear, giggle giggle). I looked at the “poop” with the children and would occasionally utter, “oh” and “I see” and “interesting”, I wondered aloud how a moose entered the yard. Sometimes I repeated with an inquisitive tone, “a dog?”. As time went on they got a little braver and a little closer to the “poop”.
Another teacher wanted to know what was going on here. I answered we were looking at poop. To which she replied, “oh, Riley spilled her coffee yesterday”. My little friends overheard this and the investigation came to a halt. I casually said, “or it could be split coffee”. NO one answered. Their behavior turned. Where they had been exchanging and processing information, taking turns and learning they began to stomp on it and kick at the snow!
I later reflected the impact of adults “solving” the “problem”. These children were not in harm’s way. Why are we as adults so quick to fix what these young children were able to negotiate? I don’t know if they would have concluded “coffee” however I did watch them getting physically closer and closer.
At lunch time we recalled the situation and talked about one of our favorite stories, It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw (http://www.amazon.com/It-Looked-Like-Spilt-Milk/dp/0064431592) where the clouds take on different shapes. The children were processing that what we see can sometimes be something different. Young children can be trusted as intelligent problem solvers. Let them investigate, explore and come to conclusions, right or wrong, no need to solve their poop!
I am going to read Duck and Goose by Tad Hills (http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Goose-Tad-Hills/dp/037583611X) which has a similar “things are not what they seem” story line. I’ll report back with results.