Teaching Practice- Dodge Volume II
categories: Blogging
- I do believe that it is important to say hello and goodbye to each child and family member everyday. Of course, there might be days that saying goodbye to every single child and family member will not occur. This is where goodbye routines might come in handy. For example, doing a ‘look who came to school today’ song, incorporating the entire class, or a ‘see you tomorrow’ song to end the day. I would be sure to mention the names of each student as well. On the other hand, I do believe that saying hello each morning should occur because it is the start of the beginning of a new day. It is reassuring to parents to know you have acknowledged the student and them as well. Hellos and goodbyes send the message of appreciation and open the doors to communication. It also shows that I care about the individual.
- When a child cries a lot when his/her parents say goodbye to them, I know that the child feels many different feelings. Separation anxiety is a normal part of child development. The crying makes me feel sad for the child because the only thing I can do about it, is to help the child cope. I can practice breathing techniques with them and make it part of the routine even after the child has learned to cope. I do not feel differently about a child who never cries at drop-off time. I validate the child’s feelings and I comfort them. I treasure the child that their parents will be back at pick up time and that they will have fun at school. I also think of ways to redirect the student and distract them by saying things such as, “wow that’s really cool! Bill looks like he’s building a tall tower in the block area!”
- Some parents attempts to leave without saying goodbye might mean they are running late for work and they got distracted. The child felt sad at the beginning and would remember it throughout the day sometimes. I do not like it when parents leave that way because it really does play a role and have an effect on a child entire day. Some parents might not say bye for the sole reason to avoid the crying and so they sneak their way out to avoid this. I have seen this before in my classroom where a parent was waiting until their child started playing and nearly forgot their parent was there watching. By the time the parent left, the child hadn’t even known.
- I help parents reunite with their children at the end of the day by greeting them, communicating with them, telling them about main points in their childs day. I then like to talk to the child by saying things like “why don’t you tell mom what animal you drew today” or something along those lines. A parent could feel one of 2 ways when their child cries or keep splaying at pickup; 1-overwhelmed because they might be coming after work and are tired, they could also be feeling like they might not be doing a good job because their child is not excited or greeting them after not seeing them during the day or 2- happy that their child is still playing. They are letting their child enjoy the time they have before they start to grow older. They are happy that they are making fun experiences and memories. I always tell my students that when it gets close to time for pick-up, to clean up their centers and we can play an activity together asa group so they are not scrambling to clean up or just leaving the toys on the ground when their parent comes.