Tips for working with Kids

Supporting learners with learning and creating things-is your license to express your inner child!

We are all learning together. Mistakes are only opportunities to show up, be accountable and learn something new. Know this we must challenge ourselves to work from a place of respect for each other and the children.

Please encourage children to be curious, think for them-selves and explore . Do this by asking questions, rather them telling them what to do or what the answer is. Please be observant: children have different skill levels (and this is OKAY!). If a child is not doing something correctly guide them in an encouraging way. Try something like: “Do you know the secret to holding a pencil...if you hold your pen like this you have better control”. And then: “It’s ok! You get better at it with practice!”

Have clear boundaries and affirm agency. Our community agreements keep us safe and build a learning community that works for us all. Always go back to them to support you and the learners. Remind children that they alway have the opportunity to make a choice. They can choose to participate or choose not to. If a child is no longer cooperative, remain calm and share with them what the boundary is, what choices they can make-and what consequence will be. That way a child know what options they have and what will happen next. “Lisa you have two choices you can agree to participate in the lesson or you can not too. Choosing not too will look like going home or not being allowed to participate in the lesson.” This would be a consequence of choice they make. We really want to empower learners that they are responsible for managing their own bodies, thoughts and feelings and that they are always able to make choices (this takes time and practice to develop).

Be vigilant: learners can become unruly, including tampering with other children’s activities work, or drawing/painting on inappropriate surfaces. Sometimes, the best approach is to intervene by simply paying attention to the child: “How are you doing Sibu?”, “Max, how is to going with your drawing?”, “Ben I love the colours you are using, what do you need to do next?”. What happens is you help the child to turn their attention back to their goal: working on and completing the activity rather than reprimanding them for unwanted behaviour.

Always be honest when giving children compliments: children pick up on dishonesty, we want to encourage and promote a positive experience and development of skills but we want to avoid giving dishonest feedback.

Show me! Don’t tell me. If a child asks “What must I do?” or “Can you tell me/show me what to do?”, try responding by asking them rather to show YOU instead.

Praise effort. Don’t praise their ability. Don’t express that you think they are smart or talented. Express that you are impressed with how hard they’re working or how hard they are thinking about the problem.

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.