Day: September 1, 2020

September 2020 Newsletter – Promoting Prosocial Behaviors: Director’s Corner

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Here are some things you can do as an administrator of a program to ensure that children leave your program with the skills and prosocial behaviors they need to become successful members of the community:

  • Place social skills on par with academic learning. Often, early learning programs focus much of their daily schedule on the teaching and development of academic skills. This is no doubt important, but in light of the evidence that children with strong prosocial behaviors experience better academic success, it is just as important for programs to focus on teaching social skills and reinforcing prosocial behaviors.
  • Allocate funds for social skills materials. When purchasing materials, include books, games, and toys that promote prosocial behaviors. You might also consider the purchase and implementation of an established social skills curriculum.
  • Check lesson plans for intentional activities that focus on social skills development. Require teachers to include a certain number of activities per day/week that integrate prosocial skills. Most activities in early childhood already incorporate these skills, but we want teachers to think about their planning for prosocial skills in a more intentional manner.
  • Ensure teachers are assessing the development of children’s social-emotional skills and adjusting curriculum plans to meet the needs of students in these areas.
  • Put relationship building and classroom community building above all else. Children learn best in the context of trusting and nurturing relationships. Ensure that teachers are establishing daily routines and practices that build relationships with children and families.
  • Establish program policies for managing behavior challenges that ensure each altercation is an opportunity for children to learn from their mistakes.

Integrate prosocial behavior into family engagement efforts. Help families understand the importance of the development of prosocial behaviors and their foundational skills.  Plan social skills events, include activity ideas in your newsletters, send home articles, and share social media posts that focus on prosocial behaviors.

For the main article Promoting Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article What are Prosocial Behaviors?, CLICK HERE

For the article Skills that Lead to Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Strategies, CLICK HERE

September 2020 Newsletter – Promoting Prosocial Behaviors: Strategies

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To help children develop prosocial behaviors and other foundational skills, early childhood educators can take the following steps:

  • Build relationships – Children learn best when they feel safe and supported. In other words, children will feel more confident to take risks when they trust their caregivers and understand that the adults in their lives are caring sources of support. Work to establish strong teacher-child, child-child, parent-child, parent-teacher relationships in your learning environment.
  • Modeling – Be sure to model the prosocial behaviors that you want to see. Demonstrate through your behaviors the appropriate way to respond to frustration and other challenges that arise throughout the day. Model turn-taking conversations, giving compliments, helping others, and using manners as a way to promote these acts in your environment.
  • Language – Teach children the vocabulary related to prosocial behaviors. Use the words patience, generosity, responsibility, caring, and friendship. Have discussions about these words and what they mean. Talk about what these behaviors look like in day-to-day life.
  • Intentional activities – Plan activities that require children to practice cooperation, collaboration, and problem-solving. Use roleplaying as a tool to guide children through different scenarios that commonly occur in early learning environments.
  • Intentional grouping – Implement more small group activities. This will allow you to focus on children’s individual needs better than when you have a large group to manage. Be mindful of how you group children for these activities. Children can learn a lot from watching and interacting with their peers.
  • Planning – Help children create a list of actions they can take when situations arise in the classroom. For example, work together to come up with a list of options children can use when they want a turn with a toy or when they see someone who looks sad. You could illustrate these plans and create class books to add to your library.
  • Coaching – When events occur in the classroom, be observant of the skills that children use. Remind them of the options they have. Prompt them to get the class book they wrote and review their options. Ask questions that help guide children toward possible, positive solutions.
  • Acknowledging – As a form of positive reinforcement, be sure to recognize children for engaging in prosocial behaviors. Recognition can be private or public, depending on the child and the situation. Consider spotlighting a child during lunchtime and telling the other children what you observed. Ask the child if they are willing to talk about the situation and share their experience with the group before making the announcement.

Let children play – Some lessons are learned naturally, meaning that children need time to practice their prosocial behaviors in social situations. Plan periods of uninterrupted time for children to play together in learning centers and on the playground. Situations will arise and be solved without your intervention.  For this to occur, you need to provide all of the tools outlined on this list and give children lots of time to practice.

For the main article Promoting Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article What are Prosocial Behaviors?, CLICK HERE

For the article Skills that Lead to Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner, CLICK HERE

September 2020 Newsletter – Promoting Prosocial Behaviors: Skills that Lead to Prosocial Behaviors

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There are a number of skills young children are learning that lead to prosocial behaviors.  As these skills strengthen, so too will the consistency with which children act in prosocial ways. Just like most skills children learn, the skills below take time and practice to master.  While the emergence of these skills may occur in early childhood, children may not master these skills until much later in life.

  • Self-regulation – This includes the ability to manage and express emotions safely (emotional regulation and manage impulses and responses to stimuli (behavioral self-regulation). In other words, emotional self-regulation is the ability to calm down after an upsetting or stressful situation occurs. Behavioral self-regulation is the ability to think before acting, make plans, and take steps to complete those plans. This combination of skills helps children establish a state of mind in which they can consider the needs of others in addition to their own.
  • Theory of mind – Theory of mind is the comprehension that other individuals have thoughts, feelings, motivations, and needs that are different from your own. It is the awareness of the thinking mind that children begin to develop between the ages of 3 and 5. It is the development of theory of mind that allows a young child to see that a peer is sad because they want a turn with the tricycle. Theory of mind also allows a child to understand that even if a peer doesn’t want to give up the tricycle, they will do so because that child can feel one way and act another.
  • Empathy – Also developing in the early years, is the skill of empathy, or being able to place yourself in the shoes of another. Having empathy to recognize the emotions you see others expressing and understand how that person is feeling because you recognize how you have experienced that feeling. Empathy also includes acting or communicating that understanding in a way designed to support or comfort the other person.  We can’t always fix the situation or make the feelings go away, but we can acknowledge those feeling and let the person know they are not alone.

For the main article Promoting Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article What are Prosocial Behaviors?, CLICK HERE

For the article Strategies, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner, CLICK HERE

September 2020 Newsletter – Promoting Prosocial Behaviors: What are Prosocial Behaviors?

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Prosocial behaviors are not always easy. They often require us to give up something and delay gratification.  Young children tend to struggle with these things early in life, but with time and practice, new skills and behaviors can become the norm.  Below is a list of behaviors that would fall into the category of being prosocial.  As you read the list, consider how these behaviors are displayed in your learning environment.

Prosocial skills:

  • Cooperating with others
  • Solving problems
  • Taking turns
  • Sharing
  • Using manners
  • Communicating emotions appropriately
  • Making requests for wants and needs
  • Asking for help
  • Listening to others
  • Respecting requests from others
  • Following directions
  • Engaging others in conversation
  • Telling the truth
  • Taking accountability
  • Showing responsibility
  • Standing up for a peer
  • Practice patience
  • Comforting another person
  • Being a good sport
  • Giving compliments
  • Observing personal space
  • Being helpful
  • Giving or showing generosity
  • Advocating for the needs of others
  • Developing friendships

For the main article Promoting Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Skills that Lead to Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Strategies, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner, CLICK HERE

September 2020 Newsletter – Promoting Prosocial Behaviors

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When it comes to being a successful member of society there are certain skills that one must master.  And like most skills that successful adults employ, the foundation of these prosocial skills are built in early childhood.  Early childhood educators are in a powerful position to help children strengthen the skills they need to be positive members of both the classroom community and the broader community in general.

Prosocial behaviors are those acts that help other people. They are the things we do on a daily basis to get along with others, support our loved ones, and protect others from harm. In many cases, prosocial behaviors entail putting the needs of others before our own.

Conversely, antisocial behaviors are acts that harm others. Acts such as aggression, bullying, intimidation, lying, theft, and vandalism are considered antisocial behaviors.

Studies have found that children with strong prosocial skills not only have stronger relationships with teachers and peers but also appear to have strong academic success as well.  In this newsletter, we will explore details about prosocial skills and what early childhood educators can do to promote prosocial skills in their programs.

For the article What are Prosocial Behaviors?, CLICK HERE

For the article Skills that Lead to Prosocial Behaviors, CLICK HERE

For the article Strategies, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner, CLICK HERE

ChildCare Education Institute Offers No-Cost Online Course on Promoting Empathy and Other “Prosocial” Behavior

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ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers SOC104: Promoting Empathy and Other “Prosocial” Behavior as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users September 1-30, 2020.

Empathy promotes meaningful relationships and better communication and problem−solving skills. It also promotes greater understanding between people of different backgrounds, and it is an essential building block for a secure, prosperous community.  Empathy and sympathy are both prosocial behaviors and behaviors that benefit other people. Cooperativeness, kindness, trustworthiness, and generosity are also prosocial behaviors. These are all behaviors child care professionals should promote in their classroom.

Some very recent studies suggest that babies have an innate sense of right and wrong. Admittedly, current research in this area is a bit thin, but trends are beginning to develop in the data. Researchers in several studies have shown infants almost invariably favor “characters” that exhibit certain prosocial behaviors.  Babies are just beginning the great developmental process, and so they offer a unique window into the real workings of the human mind. However, studies involving infants and toddlers are notoriously challenging, and certain “findings” must be greeted with some skepticism.

In preschool and kindergarten, children develop basic prosocial behaviors quite readily thanks to basic social pressures, like the simple desire not to be the only one not doing something or the only one to be singled out for correction by the teacher. Some children learn these behaviors only after they have been “called out” for breaking the rules by the teacher; other children learn them because they don’t want to be that child who gets “called out.” There’s some primitive empathy involved in such learning, as children may empathize with their classmate when the teacher corrects him. They remember that feeling, even though they weren’t the ones being corrected, and they try to avoid that consequence for themselves.

This course provides early childhood professionals with strategies and tools for promoting the development of empathy in young children. Participants will learn what empathy is and why it is important, and they will learn about related communication methods and activities.  As language, experience, and skills expand and develop, caregivers should take more explicit actions to promote prosocial behavior. Remember, this isn’t a matter of crafting a few great “empathy” lessons; rather, success in this area requires a consistent approach in all forms of communication and conflict resolution.

“In the process of promoting empathy and other prosocial skills ECE professionals can achieve important goals related to children’s development and enhance their own teaching skills,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI.  “It is important for child care providers to keep up with the latest research, along with relevant responses and recommendations from early childhood experts. This course helps improve and expand practitioners’ understanding of the complex processes involved in socio-emotional development.”

 SOC104: Promoting Empathy and Other “Prosocial” Behavior is a one-hour, beginner-level course and grants 0.1 IACET CEU upon successful completion.  Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.

For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST

 ChildCare Education Institute, LLC

ChildCare Education Institute®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials.  CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

Building Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors with Children’s Literature

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Educators have a powerful tool at their disposal for helping children develop important prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors are those that help us get along in the world with others.  They are the behaviors and skills we use to successfully collaborate with others and contribute to our communities.

Fortunately, children’s literature is full of examples of characters engaging in behaviors that would be considered both prosocial and antisocial. This means there are thousands of opportunities to engage children in conversations about the choices that characters make, the soundness of those decisions, and how outcomes could be altered of different decisions had been made.  These conversations can become just as ingrained in children’s minds as the stories themselves.

Here are a few tips to follow when planning to use literature as a teaching tool:

  • Pre-read the selected book or story. Determine where in the story you want to stop and ask a question about a character’s choices or behaviors. Decide which questions you will ask ahead of time.
  • Plan for stopping points. Recognize that these important conversations will extend the length of time that children are expected to sit and listen. As you know, this can be difficult for some children, which is why best practice recommends limiting it. It is perfectly fine to read only half of a book at a time. Make an intentional decision to read a story to a particular point, engage children in conversation, and then tell the children that you will come back to the story later in the day to find out how the story ends.
  • Interject prosocial vocabulary into your reading of stories from an early age. If you read part of the story where a character helps another character, stop and say, “It was very helpful of Kaya to stop what she was doing to clean up the kitchen for her mother.  Earlier today, I noticed Davina being helpful when Marcus was cleaning up the block area all by himself. I think it is great that we have such helpful friends in our class.”
  • Introduce books and stories from a variety of ethnic and cultural traditions. Not only will this help children feel represented in the classroom, but it will also introduce different cultural norms and expectations for children to consider.
  • Create activities that allow children to re-write the ending of the story, based on prosocial behaviors that they would choose. Children may be interested in illustrating their chosen ending or acting out the new ending for the group.
  • Refer back to characters of books when children are struggling with interactions with their peers. Say, “This situation reminds me of what happened to Jack in the story we read the other day. Let’s think about how the characters solved that problem and see if we can try that option.”

Tell us how you use literature to introduce prosocial behaviors to young children.