T, a 3 year old, came to the facilitator every day for weeks requesting for help to open and close her water bottle.
T: "Open please"
F: "Why don't you try?"
T: "No, you."
After a few times facilitator helping her open her bottle, she finally opened it all by herself with a lot of her strength. Both the facilitator and T were overjoyed and elated by the act of her opening the bottle all by herself!
F: "Oh amazing! WOW!!"
T: Smiling widely than ever, "Yeah!! Now close", and hands the bottle to the facilitator.
F: "Why don't you try to put the bottle on the floor and try pressing on the cap with all your strength?"
T did as she was suggested to, and figured out that she can now open and close her water bottle all by herself! She looked like she had just achieved something great that she'd being trying to do for a long time, like there was a new-found confidence about her where she felt like she could achieve anything that she puts her mind to.
Just because she opened her bottle doesn't mean she understood that she could close it too. Children take multiple problem solving successes sometimes to learn that they are capable of solving their own problems and taking ownership at their level. Many a times as adults who work with children at home or in schools, we treat the children as kids who need help in every little thing and do the work for them without demanding ownership or using it as an opportunity to teach problem solving. Building independence in each child is a key factor to their development as it is to ours.
T: "Open please"
F: "Why don't you try?"
T: "No, you."
After a few times facilitator helping her open her bottle, she finally opened it all by herself with a lot of her strength. Both the facilitator and T were overjoyed and elated by the act of her opening the bottle all by herself!
F: "Oh amazing! WOW!!"
T: Smiling widely than ever, "Yeah!! Now close", and hands the bottle to the facilitator.
F: "Why don't you try to put the bottle on the floor and try pressing on the cap with all your strength?"
T did as she was suggested to, and figured out that she can now open and close her water bottle all by herself! She looked like she had just achieved something great that she'd being trying to do for a long time, like there was a new-found confidence about her where she felt like she could achieve anything that she puts her mind to.
Just because she opened her bottle doesn't mean she understood that she could close it too. Children take multiple problem solving successes sometimes to learn that they are capable of solving their own problems and taking ownership at their level. Many a times as adults who work with children at home or in schools, we treat the children as kids who need help in every little thing and do the work for them without demanding ownership or using it as an opportunity to teach problem solving. Building independence in each child is a key factor to their development as it is to ours.
Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.
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