“Preschool children are going through so many developmental changes in their lives. We are lucky to have the opportunity to help them with problem solving and giving parents the opportunity to observe and then facilitating as they become more comfortable with it. It’s something parents look to us for help in.
For example, one child has all the play dough and another child comes to sit down at the table. The parents will be thinking about what’s “fair,” and they will want the first child to give half the play dough to the other child. With permission from the parents and children, I’ll move in and say, ‘I see you have lots of play dough Jack. Lindsay would like some play dough too.’ I might encourage the other child to say, ‘Can I have some play dough?’ Hopefully, the child will comply depending on their comfort and developmental level. If Jack gives a tiny little bit of play dough and Lindsay is ok with it then that’s ok. I always check in with the kids. That’s a situation where parents are kind of surprised as “it’s not fair,” but if the children are really ok with that, then it’s fine.”
StrongStart BC Facilitator,
Queneesh Elementary, Comox Valley
“A two year old comes into the program, walks around the room and knocks everything down to the floor. The mum says, ‘Stop, stop, no, don’t do that!’I support the mum and the child and say, ‘Actually, he’s learning a lot by doing that. He’s listening to the sounds of the toys falling down; he’s experimenting.’
… Being close enough to share with the mum that this behaviour is really appropriate—what the child is doing—and he’s not being bad. Then I take it to the next step by following and engaging with the child. I’ll walk over and say, ‘I heard a lot of noise when it fell to the floor. I wonder what will happen if you knock those over?’ … Being there with his learning. I know that helps parents to start to think about it in a different way.”
StrongStart BC Facilitator,
Robson Community School, Robson
“One family who I feel really connected with is a mum who has three young children… This year in Alert Bay there was the destruction of a former residential school. For this family, her grandmother had attended that school; that was a very powerful day. She took her youngest child with her and they were part of the ceremonies. Because we have a relationship and she has relationships with other parents, we were able to talk about that, and really support her in her family’s healing. She shared her experience that day; it was quite powerful for all of us. It’s wonderful she felt safe to share that information and to help educate us about some of her experiences as a family.”
StrongStart BC Facilitator,
Queneesh Elementary, Comox Valley
“I don’t look at perfection. I look at where we can go from here. Always do that checklist: whether you’re doing the safety checklist everyday to make sure there are no broken toys, or the rug is clean, the dishes are done, everything is put away, and all the materials are out. I find that that’s a key piece.”
StrongStart BC Facilitator,
Tillicum Annex, Vancouver
