My assignment this week is to focus on relationships within my own life and to reflect upon ways in which my experiences help me to be an effective early childhood professional.
Today I spent part of my morning doing an observation at a local preschool. My focus for this observation was family partnerships and cultivating relationships. I watched students and parents as they entered the building. One teacher was stationed in the entry room as the greeter. The teacher smiled as she greeted each child and parent by name. She was enthusiastic warm and friendly, gave her students hugs and gave them encouraging words as they worked to undress from their snow gear. When appropriate, she made small talk with the parents. She asked and answered questions. I could tell that the children and parents were genuinely happy to be in her presence.
On my way back to work after my observation, I was thinking about how good it must feel for those parents to drop their children off at school with someone they have a positive relationship with. I thought about all the things the teacher I observed did "right" and what made her an effective communicator.
I feel very fortunate to have positive relationships with a great deal of wonderful people. I have strong relationships with my family, friends and co-workers. In order to develop and maintain these relationships I (and we) have needed to...
- show kindness
- respect
- trust
- encourage
- share
- smile
- listen
- ask questions
- be inclusive
- initiate contact
- speak kindly of each other to everyone
Knowing these attributes of a good friend/family member/coworker has been helpful for me as an early childhood professional. I want children and families in my program to feel welcomed, accepted, appreciated and supported. I have worked to get to know them as individuals and have treated them with kindness and respect. Modeling these positive relationships will enable children to develop healthy relationships as well. Love and kindness can go a long way...
