Careers with Careers with

ChildrenChildrenWhat are three things you have learned about language centers in a Child Care Center?

Communication= Important0To provide guidance—caregivers must know

how to communicate with children effectively.

0Positive communication helps caregivers to interact in a nurturing, respectful, supportive, and responsive way.

Communication Cont.

0Communication is more than words—it is tone, facial expressions, body language

0The way you speak to a child can make a difference in their behavior and their relationship with you.

0Listening is an important component of communication!!!

Active Listening0P---Pay attention

0 Look at the speaker0 Encourage the speaker with your body language

0U—Use Encouragement0 “Use your words”0 “Can you tell me about it?”

0R—Restate0 “You don’t like to eat peas.”0 “You don’t want to come inside now, you want to stay

outside and play.”0R—Reflect Feelings

0 “It makes you MAD when a toy is taken away from you”

0 “You are SAD because your mommy left.”

Ignore me game

You need a partner!One person will go at a time to be the talker. They

will talk to their partner for 1 minute about their weekend, what they favorite thing to do, favorite artist etc.

The other partner aka the listener will do their best to NOT listen and try to ignore the person talking.

Next switch roles…

Ignore me gameFollow-up!

0How did it feel when your partner was not listening?0Why is it important to practice these skills? Does it

come naturally to you?0 If you use active listening with a child how do you think

it makes a child feel?0Can you think of long-term benefits from using active

listening with kids?

Communication drawings0Need to find a Partner Need

paper, pen/pencil only.0You and your partner will be

facing back to back0One person will be handed a

drawing and they will do their best to describe the drawing.

0 It is the other partner’s responsibility to listen to their partners directions and draw what they described.

Communication drawing

0On a scale of 1-10 (1 being least effective and 10 being most effective)0How well did you describe the picture to your

partner?0How well do you feel your partner did?

0How hard was it to describe without any feedback from your partner ?

0How difficult was it to the listener and “drawer” without speaking?

Communication drawing

0What changes would you have made to be more effective as the speaker/drawer?

0List the 5 words you found most helpful and beneficial while you were drawing?

0What was most frustrating as the speaker/describer?

Communication drawing

0What did this activity teach you about good communication skills?

0How does this activity relate to working with children in a childcare setting?