Growing together: Understanding the emotional development of children ages 0-4

ATTACHMENT AND SEPARATION

Date: February 1, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/88147004398?from=addon

The biggest need for a child is to feel taken care of, and their greatest fear is to be separated from those who care for them. Toddlers and preschoolers have great difficulty preserving a sense of connection with another when apart. They have fear of separation and are easily alarmed or wounded by disapproval or feelings of not mattering. In this session, using Dr. Neufeld’s model of attachment stages, we begin to understand how best to meet the attachment needs and separation fears of the children in our care.

WHO’S IN CHARGE AND HOW TO GET THERE

Children feel safe when they know they are being taken care of by someone they have an established relationship with, the essence of attachment. The calm presence of an adult upon whom they can depend helps the child face the day with pleasure. In this session, we examine the adult/child relationship and how best to provide for the child’s physical and emotional needs through our leadership, presence and demeanor. Assuming the role of the provider, the person in charge, the one who knows what is happening and has the situation under control, is essential for the wellbeing of the children in our care and key to classroom management. Once attached to their caregivers, children will find the security they need to engage in enjoying their food, playing on their own, and finding sleep.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY

Date: March 8, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/88990569079?from=addon

There is nothing more sacred to those involved with children than the sight of a child at play, deeply engaged and lost to the world. We instinctively know that this is essential for the child. The research on play has revealed its importance for brain development, programming the brain’s problem solving network for use in school later, and sorting through troubling or complex situations in a child’s life. In this session, we will look at why play is essential for growth and how to provide the conditions for play to emerge. Play is not the same as entertainment. Play cannot be ordered – it is spontaneous because of the delicate nature of the container it requires. Fragile like a bubble, it is easily burst and is sustained only when conditions are right.

BUILDING THE CLASSROOM CULTURE PART I: RHYTHM AND TRANSITIONS

A young child struggles to understand the world and to feel safe and secure. Just as the seasons turn and the days flow into nights, our children need form and predictability to help them orient to a world that is totally new, exciting, and bewildering to them. The more things stay the same, the more solid the ground they stand on. As adults, we often find repetition boring and desire new and exciting events. Our session will explore the child’s need for a simpler experience and ways we can help ease their disorientation and resulting problem behaviors. For a child, getting the daily, weekly, and yearly rhythms integrated into their sense of life is an overwhelming task. With limited cognitive capacity, the process of entering the world requires as much consistency as possible. Marking transitions with songs, and an established daily rhythm helps the child make sense of the world. The pace of childhood is SLOW, and as we as caregivers adapt to childhood’s pace, we create a safe environment for the child to root down and grow.

ALARM AND TEARS

Date: April 5, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/88990569079?from=addon

Whenever a child feels unsafe, their alarm system is triggered. This may be situational, a short separation or fright that quickly passes when reunited with a caring adult. We may also see signs of a stuck alarm system. This session will focus on these signs and what to do to help the child feel safe. Making it safe for a child to experience and express sadness over things that cannot be changed – the futilities of life – is an important release for the many alarming experiences of childhood. Feeling their emotions in the comfort of a caring adult helps the child process their experiences. Futilities can be very small daily occurrences, such as hearing ‘time to go,’ ‘time to pick up your toys’, or ‘time to take a rest’. Knowing how to help a child through sad moments is important for learning to adapt to the inevitable futilities of life.

RESPECTING A CHILD’S EXPERIENCE AND EMOTION

The child’s immature brain is able to only hold one thought at a time. They are lacking in experience and perspective. This is the time for them to learn who they are and what holds meaning and importance for them. In this session we discuss how, when we accept and support a child’s feelings, it helps them build their sense of significance and self. This by no means gives permission to cross the lines of acceptable behavior. However, when we sympathize and name how a child is feeling, it provides them support and access to their emotions. It is our responsibility to accept their perspective, while compensating for their natural immaturity by creating boundaries for behavior. It is possible to do both, and to keep a warm relationship with the child. 50 minutes/Q&A 20 minutes.

ADDRESSING AGGRESSION AND CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR

Date: April 26, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/84991856674?from=addon

Young children are focused on what they want and often their desires run up against the desires of others, leading to a great deal of conflict. Dr. Neufeld calls this the most violent time of life. A room of young children, all struggling with the same single-minded focus on what they want, can easily become a battleground. In this session, we will examine the role of the adult in managing challenging behaviors. Knowing how the brain of a young child works leads us to effective practices. Accepting that these behaviors are inevitable and normal for the age helps us chart a course that does no harm and does not further aggravate the situation. We seek to keep our relationship with the child intact and to defuse the situation.

UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH OPPOSITION

Date: May 24, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/82889251602?from=addon

Something happens when children reach the age of three. The cooperative, eager child we knew has been replaced with a child who suddenly finds their ‘no’ voice. It is tempting to react with our bigger ‘YES, YOU WILL’ . However, a combative relationship does not feel good to either party. In this session, we will focus on the question, how do we navigate this sudden shift? Knowing that the child is finding their sense of agency helps as we learn to dance with the newly emerging child. Keeping the child engaged in the adult agenda requires us to be aware of the role this time of development has for building a self-confident child. Despite their assertion of will, they still badly need us to still show them the way.

BUILDING THE CLASSROOM CULTURE PART II: FOSTERING INDEPENDENCE

Date: June 14, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/86525211115?from=addon

It is an irony that the more a child knows they can depend upon the adults in their life, the more they venture forth on their own. Pushed out, they head back to us. Held onto graciously and helped constantly, they move away. In this session, we will look at ways we can fill a child emotionally with our focused attention and time, thus helping grow their capacity for independence. This time and attention, at the pace the child sets (usually slow and detail- oriented), helps the child understand the world and feel that their interests are important. This creates the warm and lasting
relationships we all yearn for and which are essential to childhood. 60 minutes Q&A /Wrap up 30 minutes.

Recordings of past events can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=z0uinrhTgNo&list=PLie8DCLonF4ElCSpHsDRYtHNfjbk_PbpB.

Q&A Schedule

SESSION III – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: February 15, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/89236587190?from=addon

SESSION IV – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: March 22, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/83656818841?from=addon

SESSION V- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: April 19, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/88027725198?from=addon

SESSION VI – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: May 10, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/83618288526?from=addon

SESSION VII- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: June 7, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/88465724031?from=addon

SESSION VIII- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Date: June 28, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom: cepn-fnec.zoom.us/j/83372149280?from=addon