Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers
Design, plan, teach and evaluate educational programs and practices for young children, including following and implementing an approved learning framework in an early childhood setting.
Monday morning in the Possum Room
You are a kindergarten teacher with a room of four year olds, two educators to help you and a morning full of small emergencies. It is 8:15am. Children are arriving, one is clinging to a parent's leg and the day's plan is already out of date. Three things need you before morning tea.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Zara has been crying since the car. She did not want to come. I have an important meeting at nine. Should I just slip out quickly while she is distracted, or is that wrong? I really do not know what to do.
Tell her to slip away quickly while Zara is looking at something else
Zara turns around, sees her mum has gone and cries harder, and does not trust the goodbye the next day. Sneaking out feels kind for the parent, but costs the child.
Suggest a short goodbye routine, with a clear hug, a promise of when she'll return and a job for Zara at the door, and offer to settle her
Zara cries for a minute and then helps feed the fish. Mrs Adeyemi leaves on time and knows how to do it tomorrow. A clear goodbye builds trust.
Tell her to stay for a while until Zara has calmed down
Zara calms down, but Mrs Adeyemi misses part of her meeting and Zara's crying starts again at the next goodbye. Comfort is good, but the routine matters too.
Two of the boys have built a huge block tower and refuse to let anyone else near it. A few of the others are upset, and one has started grabbing blocks. Do you want me to just tell them to share?
Tell Jess to make the boys take the tower down so that everyone gets a fair turn at the blocks
The conflict ends quickly, but the two boys are upset about the lost tower and nobody has learned how to solve it. It restored peace without teaching anything.
Go over with Jess, help the children say what they want, and let them work out a plan
After some grumbling, the children agree on a building project together. It takes ten minutes but they will use those words again. Young children practise fairness by working it out.
Leave them to sort it out themselves, since children learn best by solving their own problems
The grabbing escalates and one child is hurt. Children need adults to guide them while they learn. Stepping back works best when the adult is still close.
My son says another child hit him today and nobody did anything. I'm upset. I have not heard a thing from you. What happened, and why was I not told?
Tell him children sometimes hit each other and it's a normal part of growing up in a group
Mr Bianchi feels brushed off and writes to the director. Dismissing his worry makes a small matter into a large one.
Tell him you will look at the incident record and speak to the educator on duty, and arrange a time to speak tomorrow
He accepts the plan, but he still wanted to hear something tonight. You are fair in checking the facts, and a bit more reassurance would have gone a long way.
Listen without interrupting, check the record and the educator's account now, and tell him what happened
It turns out to be a push during a game, and the educator did step in but did not tell the parent. You apologise for that and describe what is being done. He leaves calmer.
How it went
By pick up Zara is playing, the tower has become a joint project and Mr Bianchi has an apology and a plan. Early childhood teachers shape the first years of learning, mostly through play, patience and watching closely. Do you enjoy working out what a small child is really telling you?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The boy who never joined in
A fictional case set in a kindergarten room of four year olds in a suburban preschool.
The situation
Tessa was the teacher in the Possum Room at Wattle Grove Kindergarten. A boy called Arlo, who was nearly five, spent most of each day alone at the sand tray, watching the others. When she called the group together he usually walked off. His mother said he was shy and would grow out of it. The other educators suggested leaving him to play on his own, since he seemed happy enough and there were twenty-two other children to think about.
What they did
Tessa spent a week quietly watching and writing short notes on what Arlo did and what he was drawn to. She saw that he loved trucks and that he spoke up when someone mentioned them. She set up a roadworks game beside the sand, with two other children who were curious, and let Arlo lead it. She also shared her observations with his mother, and asked what Arlo talked about at home. They agreed to try small steps, and to check in again in a few weeks.
How it turned out
Arlo began to join group time for the roadworks game, and by the end of term he was telling the group about his trucks. He was still a quiet child, and Tessa said that was fine. His mother said it was the first time anyone had asked what he was interested in.
What would you do?
- How would you tell the difference between shy and needing a little more help?
- Why did Tessa begin with what Arlo loved, instead of what he found hard?
- How would you talk to a parent who says their child will grow out of it?