US 244480 Holistic Development SG-1

Facilitate holistic development
of babies, toddlers and young

children
SAQA Unit Standard
ID 244480
Learner Guide
Study Guide: Facilitate holistic development of babies, toddlers and young children US ID 244480
1
Table of contents Page
About this study guide 4
Course outcomes 5
Unit 1: Facilitating the development of babies, toddlers and young children

7
Topic 1: Using developmentally appropriate activities 8
Topic 2: Responding to cues from the children 20
Topic 3: Facilitating without bias and with cultural sensitivity 27
Topic 4: Responding to teachable moments 32
Topic 5: Managing children in a way that promotes development 34
Topic 6: Communicating responsively 42
Topic 7: Valuing the child 52
Topic 8: Safeguarding the child 55
Topic 9: Modelling life skills 64
Topic 10: Facilitating for holistic development 71
Topic 11: Positive conflict management 73
Unit 2: Reflecting on own facilitation 88

Topic 1: Reflecting on your own facilitation 89
Topic 2: Obtaining feedback on your facilitation 93
Topic 3: Reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of your own facilitation 101
Topic 4: How facilitation contributes to the ECD service 104
Reading list 108
References 109
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About this Study Guide
Introduction
Welcome to the study guide for Facilitating Holistic Development of babies, toddlers and young
children. In this study guide you will learn how to carry out some of your roles and responsibilities as
an ECD practitioner with babies, toddlers and young children. To do this you need to know about the
Revised National Curriculum Statement, Outcomes-Based Education and the Foundation Phase. You
also need to learn about how to use developmentally appropriate learning activities, manage and
communicate with children in a sensitive and encouraging way, how to model life skills and ensure
that development takes place in a holistic way. You will also learn the value of reflecting on your own
practice, and the importance of using feedback to improve your facilitation skills.
Before you begin, spend some time familiarising yourself with the structure of each topic. As you
work through this course, think of the symbol of a tree: each topic represents one part of the tree: a
root, a trunk, a branch, a leaf. Just as a tree cannot grow and thrive if it is missing its roots or trunk or
branches, so you will need the information in each topic to build your skills and knowledge. Enjoy the
course and give it your best effort, for your own success and for the sake of the young children in your
care. And remember that each year a tree gets new leaves – so continue to add to your knowledge
constantly.
When you see this icon, it means you must complete an activity.
When you see this icon, you will find a definition of a word or term that may be new to
you.
When you see this icon, it describes an important concept or explanation.
When you see this icon, it means you must place your completed written work in your
Portfolio of Evidence.
When you see this icon, it means you must place your completed work, or write in your
Journal.
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Course Outcomes
This course is designed to help you to achieve course outcomes – if you work diligently through the
study material, face-to-face training sessions and complete all required activities.
Specific Outcome 1: Facilitate the development of babies, toddlers and young children
Facilitate, using developmentally appropriate activities that are fun, relevant and meaningful to the
1.1
life-world of the children.
Facilitate, using an approach which responds to the cues provided by the children, while providing
1.2
structure and experiences for their own development.
Facilitate, using an approach that is multi-cultural, avoids bias and is sensitive to the existing
1.3
knowledge, experiences and needs of the children.
1.4 Facilitate, using an approach that takes advantage of teachable moments.
Facilitate in a manner that promotes development and is sensitive to the needs of individual
1.5
children.
Communicate responsively and in a way that promotes development in general and language
1.6 development in particular. Use questioning techniques that are open, positive and responsive,
promoting child development and helping to make learning explicit where appropriate.
Value the children through verbal and non-verbal interactions which are encouraging, supportive,
1.7
participatory, warm, caring and responsive to emotional and developmental needs.
Facilitate in such a manner that ensures the physical and emotional safety, security and comfort of
1.8
the children.
1.9 Facilitate so that behaviour and life-skills are modelled in a developmentally appropriate manner.
1.10 Facilitate to ensure the holistic development of children.
Manage behaviour and conflict in a way that is positive, sympathetic, constructive, supportive,
1.11
respectful and in line with current legislation.
Specific Outcome 2: Reflect on own facilitation
2.1 Consider own facilitation approach s to support learners.
2.2 Apply effective communication skills to support learners.
2.3 Use and apply techniques to meet the learning needs of multilingual learners in the classroom.
Use classroom management and administrative skills to support the management and organisation
2.4
of classes in the Foundation Phase
2.5 Use, distribute and store Learning and Teaching Support Materials effectively in the classroom.
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Unit 1:
Facilitating development of babies,
toddlers and young children
Unit outline
1. Using developmentally appropriate

activities
2. Responding to cues from the

children
3. Facilitating without bias and with

cultural sensitivity
4. Taking advantage of teachable

moments
5. Managing children in a way that

promotes development
6. Communicating responsively
7. Value the child
8. Safeguarding the child
9. Modelling life skills
10. Facilitating for holistic development
11. Positive conflict management
5
Topic
Using developmentally
1 appropriate activities
In this unit you will learn how to use a holistic approach in facilitating your ECD centre’s activities.
This means paying attention to the body and mind of the baby, toddler or young child, to ensure that
he or she develops happily and healthily in your care. Your knowledge of child development is
essential but not enough; you also need to understand the child’s family and cultural background, and
have a warm, caring approach to ensure that the child has a sense of trust and comfort in your
presence. To make a success of facilitating for the child’s development, you need two things: an
understanding of the child as a growing person, and a happy, positive attitude towards both the child
and yourself as facilitator.
Your programme will support children in their growth and in their progression to meet developmental
milestones, but this will happen as a byproduct of a broader, more rounded approach that encourages
all kinds of skills to develop through practise and stimulation.
Children begin to master skills when they are developmentally ready to do so, and not in chunks of
skills according to a schedule. Activities are developmentally appropriate when they fit with
children’s needs and abilities. You need to be sensitive to the small and varied accomplishments the
children are making, which contribute to larger clusters of skills and abilities; for example, on
Tuesday you notice that Neyo (6) can pour juice for his friend without spilling, which means he has
the coordination and concentration to manage a whole range of games and tasks. Emphasise the
positive allowing of play and learning, rather than coaching and forcing children to create products.
Having fun is the easiest way to learn something. Make sure you provide activities that are creative
and exciting, drawing on the ideas, actions, and preoccupations of the age group you are working
with. Their developmental age must be the guiding factor in preparing your learning programme and
in guiding your own expectations and responses.
A holistic approach includes fun
Try to find activities that have the right balance of stimulation and fun, and provide a context that the
child will quickly respond to. When you begin your preparation of the programme of activities, think
of the words, ideas and interest focus that the children have been using in the past few days, and
identify a topic or theme that will catch their interest. Be careful to present the theme at a level that
the children can understand, yet still be curious to find out more about.
When you look at a new resource or activity, consider the whole child, who needs not only to develop
properly but also to be involved in something meaningful and familiar. Figure 1.1 shows this
interlinked relationship between the requirements for a good activity.
QUOTE
“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their
lives.” – Robert M. Hutchins
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Fits the
developmental
need
Links to the Components

wider world of a good Creates fun
activity
Feels familiar
and safe
Figure 1.1 Children need activities that combine meaning and familiarity, with a sprinkle of novelty
and fun
Case study: An under-resourced ECD centre
In a container in her back yard, Linda runs an ECD centre for ten young children, including
three babies aged 6 months, 8 months and 11 months. She has a few cardboard boxes, some
wooden toys and blocks, three story books, mattresses for naps and nappy changes, a nappy
bucket, a cooler box for bottles and medicine, and outside she has a sandpit, a few tyres that
the children roll and push, a vegetable patch with spinach and carrots, an outside tap with
clean water, and a drop toilet. She has one assistant who comes to help her every morning
from 8am to 12pm.
Linda plans her day to make the most of the assistant’s help, with structured activities (mixed
with free play times) in the mornings. After 12pm she gives the children their lunches, they
have nap time and then free play in the afternoon. The mornings are for structured activities,
as well as free play times. With her limited resources she has the following activities to
choose from:
 sand and water play outside
 boxes and mattresses on their sides make spaces and play houses
 at the end of the day the boxes become containers for toys
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 the vegetable patch allows the children some healthy vegetables and also to
participate in watering, weeding, observing plants growing, and generally observing
nature and the seasons
 the children must take turns with the wooden toys
 the tyres and boxes can be used to create an obstacle course outside
 Linda not only reads from the three story books, she also makes up songs and new
stories using the pictures to imagine new situations
 Linda and the assistant share all the skills and stories they learnt in their own
childhoods, with the children
The main ingredients in Linda’s success in meeting the children’s needs, are:
 her daily observation of what the children accomplish, so that she can gradually make
activities more difficult, to extend their skills
 her imagination and willingness to share stories
 her careful planning and structuring of the environment with what she has available
 her awareness of the importance of safety and stimulation, structure and free play
 her willingness to keep learning
 her ongoing search for new resources at home, for example, pictures cut from
newspapers and pasted on card to make puzzles, or cast-off clothes or hats which she
brings to the group for dressing up games.
Linda will benefit from formal learning to understand the developmental needs of the children
more precisely, but she is already providing stimulation, fun, a sense of security and a safe
space for exploration and learning.
Does the resource fit the developmental need?
Does your ECD centre have a good, varied supply of ECD learning resources? There should be
materials for every age group that is represented at your ECD centre. This is your resource bank to use
when planning your learning activities. It is through play that children learn about the world and
people around them, and about themselves. Every play activity encourages the development of skills,
whether it is structured with resources, or free play with imagination and home-made objects. It also
provides space and time for creativity and imagination to grow. Choose learning resources that your
children will enjoy, and that will also encourage their learning. This will make their early years
memorable and filled with the joy of learning new things.
The following skills should be stimulated in order for development to take place:
 muscular strength and coordination
 colour and shape recognition
 social skills for group games
 problem-solving skills
 understanding of logical processes
 creative initiative
 cooperation with peers
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What would Linda do?
It is easy to make good learning resources from available materials if you have enough patience and
can learn basic skills, and are happy to add some creativity of your own. What makes the resource
useful is how adaptable it is for different needs and activities, for example, a small box could be a bed
for a small doll, or it could be painted and used with other small boxes to build a colourful wall. Try
to double up on scarce and popular resources that all the children like (for example, ride-on toys with
wheels are very popular and it is hard to have enough for everyone, although the children also learn
cooperation through taking turns with scarce resources). Let’s imagine that Linda finds a sponsor who
will donate ten new toys a year to her playgroup: how should she choose what to ask for?
How do I choose resources?

You and Linda should use the same basic criteria to choose appropriate learning resources for your
ECD playroom. To get the most use from resources, and to ensure they meet the children’s changing
needs, you should choose resources that are suitable for use in groups, are safe for the age group that
will use them, and that have child appeal (colour, detail, imagination and a sensory quality like
texture, movable parts or sound).
Fun ECD learning resources for each age

These resources are flexible and can be used by children in a variety of ways. Your facilitation of the
children using them will depend on your knowledge of child development. Always make safety the
priority when considering the resources you offer to a child. Let’s consider the kinds of resources
suitable for different developmental ages:
Babies 1 month to 12 months
 Soft toys made of a variety of different textured fabric

 Pictures with bright colours and also high levels of contrast (for example, a mobile made of
newspaper cuttings and fragments of coloured paper cut from magazines)
 Rattles or mobiles with sound (for example, made from old cutlery on strings, or seashells and
pieces of wood)
 Balls of different sizes (make your own with newspapers stuffed into an old pantyhose leg, sewn
into a ball shape)
From 6 to 12 months
 A variety of story books to be read aloud

 Music, songs, rhymes on CD
 bricks and building blocks
 thick short crayons
 sets of containers for water play or for putting things into
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Toddlers 12 to 30 months
 thick short crayons

 playdough or modelling clay
 construction sets
 one-action learning resources (resources that encourage the child to repeat one particular action,
for example a hammer and peg board)
 sandpit and water
 wheeled toys to push and ride on
 simple and small-scale outdoor equipment (logs or tyres to climb over, tunnels to push through,
low swings)
Young children 30 months to five years old
 paint
 crayons
 dressing-up clothes and equipment
 puppets
 picture books
 matching games
 sorting activities
 memory games
 jigsaw puzzles
 sorting games
 jungle gyms, swings, ropes ladders and other outside play equipment, including scooters and
bicycles
 toy versions of tools and equipment found at home: pots, spoons, cups, trowels etc.
Children five to seven years old
 board games
 medium-sized dolls of both sexes that can be dressed in different sets of clothes (preferably not
so small as to cause frustration. Barbie and Ken type dolls have very small clothes that may be
beyond a five-year olds level of fine co-ordination. They are also not suitable for young children
as they depict sexualised adults).
 musical instruments
 craft activities to create something
as a gift for parents
 building sets like Lego or Meccano
(similar cheaper brands are
available).
Figure 1.2 Musical instruments are ideal
resources for children aged between 5
and 7 years
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Adaptation for children with special needs
Many playgroups have children with special needs. If you have enough variety in your collection of
resources, you should be able to find an appropriate resource to stimulate the child. Aim to provide
something appropriate at all times to keep special needs children on track with their development.
Does the resource create fun?
Fun includes a sense of pleasure or ease (which comes from the familiar or the safe) and something
that is unexpected, challenging or funny. To give the children something they can manage well, the
activities should match their skill level. It is difficult to provide activities that match the different
developmental levels of the children in your class; for example, you may have four six-year olds who
are all at different levels of development of fine motor skills. To avoid the children getting bored,
slowly make the activities more challenging as the children become more skilled. Do the children
seem uninterested in the activities, or confused as to how to do them correctly? Do they quickly finish
an activity or give up after a minute? Make a few adjustments to an activity and try it out again, to
find a link with the child’s level and interests. In this way you can meet the child’s changing needs for
stimulation and challenge over time.
Avoid long and involved activities that make the children become restless or stressed. An activity may
be too easy if the children are not engaging with it. Simply move on to the next activity, and aim for
lightness and laughs. This may sound hard to get right, but here are a few guidelines:
 Do not have a fixed result in mind but allow the child to decide how to finish or resolve an
activity. This makes for a sense of satisfaction as the child creates the result he can manage at his
developmental level.
 Get the children to choose the learning activities they want to do (you can set up a small selection
for them to choose from).
 Be flexible with time so that children can ask questions, experiment, make choices, try their own
creative solutions.
 Keep the activities child-focused. You will know what the children are preoccupied with in a
particular week, so link the activity to a story about that subject. For example, tell a story about a
child who is growing out of his shoes very fast, and has to go shopping with his mum for new
ones but doesn’t like wearing shoes at all; or a child finding it hard to come indoors at the end of
a free play session. The older children (age 5 and 6) may be experiencing this. You could also
have a game with younger children about how to teach one of the favourite soft toys in the
playroom to wash its ears with a facecloth.
 Add the unexpected, challenging or funny element to the mix (for example, a little song or dance
movement that is part of the activity, or a funny word that has to be said at a certain point in the
activity).
QUOTE
While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
– Angela Schwindt
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Example of a fun game
One activity or game can be a source of all
sorts of tasks, challenges and satisfactions.
By using a game that children usually
enjoy, for example a shopping game, you
can introduce a fun element to extend the
game and make it special. To play at
shopping provides them with opportunities
for skills-building like carrying objects,
making decisions and choices, recognising
and naming familiar products, cooperating
with the shopkeeper and taking turns with
other shoppers, and asking the shopkeeper
politely for something the child likes or
wants. Collect empty boxes or containers
(like toothpaste boxes, Marmite jars –
clean and washed) to make the game more
realistic.
Suggest to the children that when they go

to the shop, they may ask not just for the
ordinary items like peanut butter and
toothpaste, but also for one wish. The child
may ask for whatever he wants (like a tree house for him to play in with his friends) and then
the shopkeeper asks him to pay by saying the magic word. He must then say the magic word
(for example, “mixamaxamox”). The shopkeeper must reply “I hear your wish and I wish you
well“. (All the other children can say it together with the shopkeeper.)
The way to make activities sufficiently challenging enough is to use the familiar but add something to
stretch the child’s abilities a little. Keep the focus positive and happy, and use themes from nature or
the community and local setting.
Activity 1:
A new fun game
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 1. CCFO: Working, organising
US: 58761. Exit Level Outcome 4
Work on your own and also with a partner.

Linda (in the case study) saves enough money to go on a shopping trip to buy toys and resources for
the group. She chooses three items for babies under one year old, two for age 2–3, and two more
items for age 4–6.
1. With your partner, consult the list of developmentally appropriate resources for the different age
groups, and recommend good resources for Linda’s group:
a) three items for babies under one year old
b) Two items for age 2–3
c) Two items for age 4–6.
2. Now work alone to choose one of these resources to create a fun game or activity that the older
12
children (age 4–6) would enjoy. Decide what fun element you could include. Write a paragraph to
describe the features of the activity:
a) What makes it developmentally appropriate for that age group? Which skills and abilities does it
develop?
b) What is new to the children?
c) What makes the activity fun?
3. Try your activity out in the ECD centre. Observe the children’s responses and make notes.
4. Discuss with your partner which parts of the activity worked and which parts did not work. Make
notes to keep in your journal. Adapt the activity to improve it if you can, and add it to your resources.
Place your written answers to these questions inside your Portfolio of Evidence.
Write in your Journal.

What part of the activity worked well?
What part did not work well?
Describe your revised activity (if you needed to revise it).
Are the activities developmentally appropriate?
Having fun is the easiest way to learn something. Make sure you provide activities that are creative
and exciting, drawing on the ideas, actions, and preoccupations of the age group you are working
with. Their developmental age must be the guiding factor in preparing your learning programme and
in guiding your own expectations and responses.
Consider how your knowledge about child development can help you facilitate better, by knowing
what kind of learning takes place at different ages:
Concrete learning experiences
Children from birth to three years of age primarily use their senses to
explore concrete objects. During this phase they have to see, hear,
touch, taste and smell to learn.
Semi-concrete learning experiences
Children between the ages of three and five years of age are able to
relate pictures to the real objects that they explored earlier.
Abstract learning experiences
Children from age 5 can grasp the meaning of symbols and abstract concepts that cannot necessarily
be explored by their senses.
(Maree & Ford 1996: 9, 10, 32)
Although these different learning styles are generally true for these age ranges, the learning process is
like collecting apples in a basket. Once a child has a skill, he or she can use it during the phases that
follow.
For example, the 5-year-old child who is capable of abstract learning (for example building with Lego
or matching shapes in a complex puzzle) will still enjoy using his sense of touch to explore the texture
of new objects (for example, the squishy feel of his baby brother’s dummy).
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This knowledge will assist you as the facilitator to create activities that will specifically focus on the
child’s developmental stage. For example, include objects of different textures in the baby room.
Make the familiar into something new
Not only new things are valuable to the child. Learning is easier if the child has a sense of something
being familiar or vaguely similar to something he or she has seen before. This provides the sense of
safety and comfort that makes it possible to tackle a new task. Any new object provides stimulation
and new play possibilities.
You can rely on whatever you can find in the natural environment around your ECD centre: little
pebbles, seeds, leaves or shells. These could provide materials for a variety of activities. For example:
leaves for nature collages, seed pods and shells for sorting. Beans, peas or some herb plants could be
germinated using an old ice cream holder and some cotton wool. These can later be transferred into a
larger holder and grown on a window ledge until they are ready to transfer to your garden.
Figure 1.3 Pebbles, seeds, leaves and shells can be used for creative activities
QUOTE
‘Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.’
– Theodore Levitt
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Anything goes
Learning resources can be improvised or created to fulfill a particular purpose. For example, coloured
blocks from the block play area can be used to sort into different coloured boxes to teach colours. The
children’s blankets, chairs and tables could be used to build a tent in the classroom where they can
play ‘camping’ or ‘picnic’. Children are very creative – allow them to discover new things and new
ways to apply old objects. They will probably be able to teach you how to do that – so listen, observe
and allow them to improvise and chances are that they will regularly come up with new games to
play.
Scrap
Learning resources do not have to be expensive and can be developed from scrap materials. For
example, involve the families by requesting them to help you gather empty boxes of breakfast cereal,
plastic tomato sauce bottles, empty peanut butter jars, etc. (With these you can create a corner inside
or outside that could serve as a make-believe shop. The children can take turns in being the shop
owner and the customers.) A big box could be converted into a doll’s house by cutting a door and
windows into the sides. Let the children help you to paint the box during a creative art activity.
Figure 1.4 With a little bit of imagination, everyday items around the house can be used as resources
for a number of activities
Commercially available resources

The ECD playroom also includes learning resources which are available commercially, for example,
jigsaw puzzles, picture books, and board games. Good experiential and role-playing toys are those
which are smaller versions of home or office equipment, like cash registers, cameras, old fashioned
telephones, and outdoor equipment like wheelbarrows and lawnmowers.
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Does the resource link the child to the wider world?
Themes are a way to bring

the world outside the ECD
centre into the child’s world
in a safe and easy way. The
child’s world may be quite
narrow, focused on home and
the ECD centre, with some
familiar places like the shops
or the park being the limit of
his or her knowledge of the
world. To give a glimpse of
other things the child can get
to know, you can use themes,
but they should be culturally
sensitive and appropriate to
your ECD environment.
A theme makes it easy to find

concrete, sense-based experiences that are rich in learning opportunities. Keep your approach flexible
and adapt themes from year to year. Each group has different needs; you also need to keep the
material alive and interesting for your own sake as facilitator. The value of a theme is that it gives the
child an opportunity to explore through the senses, to touch, handle, smell, taste and move around the
elements in the theme. By exploring, the child can proceed from the familiar to discovering something
new.
Make the link between the wider world and the child’s world in the following ways:
 Begin by focusing on the crisis point or growth point in the child’s development. Water play with
containers is suitable from a young age (18 months) and remains suitable for children younger
than seven, as it provides practise in problem solving to meet the needs of the pre-operational or
intuitive reasoning child. This is an example that fits many developmental stages, but there are
other stages that need specific activities to promote skills, for example, language development
makes a big leap from age two to age three, so language activities are very important at that age.
 Tie the theme to an element from the child’s culture, home language and context.
 Include stories about children of the same age.
 Refer to the known physical world that the child lives in, for example his home neighbourhood
and community, the ECD centre neighbourhood, and familiar activities that the child shares with
his parents, like walking the dog or visiting granny.
 Use fantasy and magical ideas based on content that is safe and appealing to that age group, for
example butterflies that can talk (age 2–4) or ‘the lion family’ for age 5–7.
QUOTE
“This world is but a canvas to our imaginations.”
– Henry David Thoreau
16
Activity 2:
A fun activity to promote development
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 1. CCFO: Identifying, collecting

Work on your own.
1. Work with a group of children who are at the same developmental level and age.
2. Write a paragraph describing each of the following:
a) the developmental features of their level and age;
b) the main features of their home environments (what you know of them);
c) the familiar environment of the ECD centre (toys, people, routine, mood etc).
3. Develop a new fun learning activity for these children, to fit their developmental age. It can be
aimed at any domain of development of your choice.
4. Plan your activity and write a paragraph specifying how the activity meets the need for the familiar
(from a, b and c above) and also the need for something new and fun.
5. Run the activity for the group.
6. Reflect on the children’s response to the activity.
7. Write a short report on the activity, identifying which aspects were a success, and which aspects
need more attention.
8. Assess your work according to the following rubric:
4 (Excellent) 3 (Good) 2 (Needs much 1 (Did not
improvement) work )
Name of planned
activity
Meets the
developmental
need for
stimulation and
consolidation of
skills
Considers life-
world of the
children
Level of
competence
suitable for
children of this
developmental
level
Creates fun
Add this children’s activity to your resources and keep a copy of this Activity 2 for your records.
17
18
Topic
Responding to cues from the
2 children
Looking out for cues
While you are present with the children in any situation or during any part of your working day, they
will be presenting you with cues for your attention. The word ‘cue’ comes from the theatre, and it
means the signal that an actor gives to another actor that it is the right moment to say something (or
do something). For example, when we meet each other we say “How are you?” and the other person
knows that that is their cue to say “I am well, thank you, and how are you?” Sometimes we are in a
hurry and we just say “Fine, have you seen my white dog? It ran away”. In other words, we do not
respond as the other person expects us to; instead we respond to their cue with our own ideas and
needs, and perhaps we forget to ask them how they are. In the ECD context the children’s cues are not
so easy to recognise: they may be verbal, nonverbal or purely behavioural, for example a glum and
tired face on a child is a good cue to ask “You look sleepy, Ben, did you go to bed late or did
something wake you up in the night?” The cue is the signal to adapt your facilitation to meet the
expressed need.
Cues can be seen on different levels:

 in the child (for example, something the child says or does)
 in the environment (for example, a very hot day is a cue to shorten the outdoor play time and find
a cool place to have a relaxing game, or children may be bored with the activities and not
engaging with them, which is a cue to find new resources or rotate them)
 in yourself as facilitator (for example, if you are exhausted from helping your own ill child
through the night, adapt your planned programme with alternative activities that will be less
demanding on your energies for the morning)
The context within which we use cues to facilitate for holistic development is called the learning
context. So as facilitators we need to recognise signals that the children send out when they are
struggling to learn something or are open to learning something specific
DEFINITION
Cue: may be words or behaviour, given as a signal of a need. The signal demands a
response.
In the ECD setting, the cue comes from the child, and it is your responsibility as the
facilitator to respond to the cue with the support the child needs.
Cues are different from clues because cues ask for an active response, while clues are simply bits of
information that can be used or not used.
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Example of a cue
An example of a cue:
Kuhle: (Looking inside her bag on the peg at home time) Oh no,
oh no, oh no!
Facilitator: What’s the matter Kuhle; do you need some help with
something?
Kuhle: My mom will be very angry because I forgot to eat my
banana. I just found it in my bag. We were playing cricket so I
didn’t finish my lunch. My mom says I’m not allowed to throw
food away.
Facilitator: How would it be if I wrote your mom a note? I can explain that we will keep your
fruit here in the kitchen and she need not send another fruit tomorrow. You can have the
banana tomorrow. How can you remind yourself to take the fruit out of your bag at snack
time every day?
Kuhle: Maybe we could stick the banana up on the wall… no, it will get old and stinky … a
banana picture. I can stick a banana picture up on the wall.
Facilitator: Ok, good idea Kuhle! The picture will remind you to take your fruit out of your
bag at snack time.
This cue given by Kuhle was a verbal cue with a lot of emotion, and it was given at a time when the
facilitator’s attention is usually focused on saying goodbye and handing over children to parents who
are collecting them. In spite of this being a bad time to have to give individual attention to one child,
the facilitator was supportive. She made a plan to avoid the child becoming more anxious about the
consequences of not eating the fruit. More importantly, she also gave Kuhle two learning
opportunities: firstly, to problem-solve for herself and second, to take responsibility for managing
snack time for herself. These are social and intellectual skills.
The cue and the teachable moment

The cue may relate to specific skills in an activity. A cue is sometimes a signal that the child is ready
to be helped with extra input, to gain or consolidate a skill.
This moment when the child gives the cue and is open to learning is called a teachable moment.
DEFINITION
Teachable moment: the moment when the child seems ready and in need of a particular
piece of learning. The child may request support with a learning task or may simply
indicate openness and readiness to learn a particular skill.
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Example of a teachable moment
Sam: (age 3, sitting with two slightly older and developmentally advanced boys and trying to
join in their jigsaw puzzle activity, but trying to fit pieces in without checking the picture)
“Let me, let me put this piece in! I can do it!”
Facilitator: Hey Sam, some puzzles are very hard. Even grownups take weeks to finish some
puzzles. But it gets easier if you keep the picture side up, and find a bit with a lot of picture on
it. Like here, here are some with the whole bird – except that the bird’s beak is missing – can
you find the place where this bird piece goes, then maybe together the three of you can find
the beak bits?
Sam: Okay, here, I found two more bird pictures.
This scenario of the jigsaw puzzle crisis indicates that Sam is very motivated to learn how to do
jigsaw puzzles because he wants to be part of the social group of the two older boys. The boys are
modelling the skills for him (of taking turns and of fitting the pieces together) but possibly the level of
the puzzle is too high for his current level of spatial recognition and fine motor skills. The facilitator
has a challenge here: to deal with the situation sensitively so that Sam does not feel small with the
older boys, and also to use Sam’s motivation to teach him a new skill in sorting, matching and
manipulating pieces.
She should not take Sam aside and offer him a less difficult puzzle; rather she should find a way to
support him to stay in the game. She does this by making a smaller, manageable chunk of a task
within the bigger task of doing the puzzle. At the same time she is teaching a general skill of visual
recognition, which is part of visual literacy. This will help Sam build puzzles better in future, when he
tackles more age-appropriate puzzles. The facilitator has thus used “the teachable moment” to help
Sam’s development.
The role of cues in facilitation
 Cues demand a response from the facilitator: she should immediately attend to the child’s
learning needs (as far as possible).
 The cue provides an opportunity to correct or encourage the child’s attempts.
 Cues signal that the facilitator should provide support or knowledge so that the child can learn
the skill.
 It is important that the facilitator responds quickly the child’s cue, in order to remove the anxiety
from the situation for the child (and to calm the situation for other children who are witnessing
that anxiety).
 The facilitator’s calm response to a cue models appropriate problem-solving behaviour to the
child.
 Cues provide an entry point to teachable moments. The facilitator should respond with full
attention to get the most value out of the learning opportunity. This refers not only to teaching
the child a skill but also to talking about what the child has presented (because it is important to
the child).
Skills of attending to cues

To make the most of learning opportunities, always respond to cues promptly and with empathy. This
quick response promotes holistic development, because the cue may be a signal that the child is
struggling with a skill in the zone of proximal development.
21
DEFINITION
Empathy: understanding another person’s feelings, motives and situation.
Proximal development: is the difference between what a learner can do without help and
what he or she can do with help (Wikipedia: 2009). Proximal development is Vygotsky’s
concept that the child is on the brink of managing the skill but needs help to do it, as his
developmental growth has not yet expanded to that level of understanding and
competence.
Cues may also simply be a request for help with a difficult activity.
Cues are usually a signal for help with a learning task but may also be hidden messages requesting
emotional attention when the child is needing support and doesn’t know how to ask for help. A
prompt response makes the most use of the learning opportunity (which can be called the ‘teachable
moment’, as you will see in Topic 4.)
Case study: applying skills to respond to a cue

Let’s look at the example of Sam again, this time with the facilitator’s skills and responses
identified in brackets:
Sam: (age 3, sitting with two slightly older and developmentally advanced boys and trying to
join in their jigsaw puzzle activity, but trying to fit pieces in without checking the picture)
“Let me, let me put this piece in! I can do it!” [Sam’s anxiety and struggle with the task
gives the facilitator the cue]
Facilitator: Hey Sam, some puzzles are very hard. [Active listening to the emotional
message which Sam’s agitation shows. Observation of the social situation with the two
older boys, and of Sam’s motive for wanting to participate in the activity with them.
Empathy with Sam’s agitation]
Even grownups take weeks to finish some puzzles. [Empathy and making the struggle
normal]
But it gets easier if you keep the picture side up, and find a bit with a lot of picture on it.
[Teaching a visual recognition skill to increase Sam’s skill]
Like here, here are some with the whole bird – except that the bird’s beak is missing – can
you find the place where this bird piece goes, then maybe together the three of you can find
the beak bits? [Redirecting the child to a more manageable and smaller component task;
empathic restructuring of the group’s activity to make different sub-tasks for different
levels of ability]
Sam: Ok, here, I found two more bird pictures.
More about active listening
Focus on the child’s communication (body language, vocalisations or lack of speech, behaviour or the
quality of the child’s attention on the task). Also focus on the context of the communication (for
example, in the group at circle time or on arrival in the morning – find out if the cue is given in
relation to who else is in the social context with the child). Observe the visible and obvious signals
and also the underlying emotional message or feeling tone that the child’s behaviour tells you.
As an example, you should question why a child who loves being surrounded by her peers in indoor
fantasy games is suddenly choosing to be alone outdoors in the sandpit most of the time.
More about observation
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When you observe the child and notice cues, be alert to any message or motive in the behaviour. Ask
“What is it about?” and “Why is this happening?”
For example, if Tomasz (3) who is a bright and capable child, suddenly starts swearing and showing
intense frustration while using the building blocks, he will need your attention not only for the
frustration but also because of the inappropriate swearing. Find out what the frustration is about and
try to find out why the swearing has suddenly appeared in his vocabulary (it may be better to ask a
parent in this case than to ask the child directly).
Activity 3:
Practise responding to cues with a partner
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 2. CCFO: Communicating
Read these instructions before you begin:

1. Take turns with a partner to describe how you spent your last Sunday, while the other person
listens. The listening partner should listen actively for emotions, meaning, details that are unclear, or
cues that there might be more to an element in the story. The listener should also observe what cues
their partner is giving out about his or her experience.
2. Respond to your partner’s description with questions, empathy and sensitive attention to any cues
(verbal or nonverbal) they may give out that there is something more to tell. Respect your partner’s
privacy when you probe for more information, by asking “Would you like to tell me some more about
that?” when you identify a cue that there is more to the story. Your partner can then choose to tell you
more or they can say “I don’t really want to go into the details about that.”
3. Discuss with your partner your experience of active listening and observing.
4. Rate each other on the rubric for your active listening and observing.
Facilitator’s 1: Not able to 2. A positive 3. A good 4. Excellent

response meet attempt but attempt but understanding
requirement not room for and response
satisfactory improvement
Attention to
behaviour (shows
active listening and
observational skills)
Empathic and
supportive
communication
6. Answer the following questions:

What is the difference between a cue and a clue in a child’s behaviour?
Do you think cues are valuable to the facilitator? Why?
What is the relationship between cues and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development?
Why is it preferable to respond to a cue from a child as immediately as possible?
Keep your notes for later reference.
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Place your written answers and a copy of your completed peer-assessment rubric
inside your Portfolio of Evidence.
Activity 4:
Practise responding to cues from the children
US: 244480. Specific Outcome 1: AC 2. CCFO: Collecting, communicating, working
Work with a partner. Take turns to be the facilitator and the observer.
Spend two days looking out for cues from the children while you are engaged in your daily
programme of activities at the ECD centre. Develop a signal that you can give your partner (for
example touching your eyebrow) when you are begin responding to a cue, so that your partner can
observe your response.
Make notes on your response as a facilitator to the various cues from the children.
Select three examples of cues and your own response to them, and describe each example (and your
response) in a few paragraphs. Identify any developmental challenge that the child may have been
struggling with, which gave rise to the cue.
Now share your written work with the observer. Discuss any difficulties or insights you had in
responding to cues.
Your partner should assess what they observed about your response to cues from the children, using
the following rubric:
Facilitator’s 1: Not able to 2. A positive 3. A good 4. Excellent

response meet attempt but attempt but understanding
requirement not room for and response
satisfactory improvement
Attention to
behaviour (shows
active listening and
observational skills)
Empathic and
supportive
communication
Attention to
developmental
challenge presented
in the cue
Write a few paragraphs reflecting on this activity, in your journal.
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Topic
Facilitating without bias and
3 cultural sensitivity
Respect and sensitivity for culture and ability
It will help your facilitation skills if you know a little about each child’s culture in their family of
origin or their caregiver’s family. It is useful to know about their home language, religious beliefs,
cultural celebrations and lifestyle. This should form the foundation of your sensitivity to the child’s
culture. Stay respectful in your behaviour, by avoiding the use of discriminatory language, slang or
culturally biased remarks, and keep in mind that the culture of the ECD centre may not match the
home culture of the child.
This gap may affect the child’s performance of tasks at the appropriate developmental level, because
of language difficulties or attitudes to tasks. Some families may emphasise the importance of physical
abilities and expect the child to do chores like cleaning shoes, helping to make sandwiches for school
snacks, and making the bed, while other families may emphasise language abilities and may promote
reading and storytelling at home, while not worrying too much about the child’s practical skills like
competent shoe-cleaning. There will always be things about the child’s background that you may not
know, so stay flexible and respectful, and be willing to get to know the child slowly.
Being sensitive to disability

Not only culture, but also ability (or disability) may be a source of discrimination at the ECD centre.
More and more children with physical disabilities are being integrated into mainstream classrooms as
this provides good learning opportunities for both the disabled child and his or her peers. Your ECD
centre may already include a child who has sight or hearing impairment or who is physically disabled
in some other way. The children’s acceptance of the disabled child depends on your own acceptance
and the atmosphere created by your management of their special needs.
Activity 5:
Finding out about culture
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 3. CCFO: Collecting, communicating, working
Work in groups of about four people.
1. Research two cultures which are represented in your community or at the ECD centre. Use the
descriptors below to collect information about the culture. Choose cultures which appear to be
different from your own culture as regards at least two of the following descriptors:
Religion, language, food preferences, family rules (for example control of girl children), dress, living
circumstances, (for example if you live in a flat, they should not also live in a flat), country of origin.
2. Discuss your findings in your group before you prepare your presentation. Find out what was
surprising or interesting for each group member.
3. Present your research project with visual aids and samples of food and dress if you can manage to
25
bring these to show your class.
4. Display the best projects for a week so that everyone has an opportunity to learn from the research.
Place your written answers inside your Portfolio of Evidence.
Write in your Journal

Steps toward working without bias
There are three steps towards working without bias and in using teachable moments to reinforce
cultural acceptance.
Step 1: Facilitators should develop their own awareness of bias

Facilitators should have a monthly anti-bias consciousness-raising group, in which they explore their
own cultural identity and also talk freely and openly about which cultural characteristics of other
people (children at the ECD centre, their parents or even fellow facilitators) makes them feel
uncomfortable. The following questions may be helpful to structure such a discussion:
 How do I describe my own cultural identity?

 What is it in another culture that makes me uncomfortable in any way?
 What has happened in the past when I witnessed biased behaviour – how did I respond?
 By exploring these issues together, facilitators should aim to become more self-aware and to
eliminate bias in their practice.
Step 2: Explore and enlarge the children’s input about diversity

It is also helpful to dip into the children’s awareness of diversity, to get ideas about what matters to
them about cultural differences. Sometimes children focus on aspects of cultural difference that adults
do not notice; sometimes children are much less concerned about differences than adults are.
Use a story book, a glove puppet or an example of a person in the environment to open up the topic
for discussion.
QUOTE
“[People] may be said to resemble not the bricks of which a house is built, but the pieces
of a picture puzzle, each differing in shape, but matching the rest, and thus bringing out
the picture.” – Felix Alder
Example of sensitive handling of differences in culture or ability
Facilitator to the group (showing pictures in a book, or using a glove puppet): Here’s a picture
of Alex, I see he has one leg shorter than the other. He wears a special thick shoe so that he
can walk without limping.
Mimi: He’s lucky his mom sorts out his shoes for him. He can still run, hey?
Facilitator: Mmm – and if he can’t run fast, what then?
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Sam: Well, some children will tease him but surely he can walk alright? He could play cricket
with us. And he could even come on our Spring Walk.
Facilitator: And when he takes his shoes off and plays in the sandpit, what then?
Mimi: Well, I would like to see his funny foot. Maybe it’s different from mine. Maybe it’s
like an animal’s foot!
Khaya: But I could help him get into the sandpit with his bare feet.
Facilitator: That would be kind, Khaya. How do you all think he might feel if someone said
he had a ‘funny foot’?
Khaya: He … he would feel sad.
Mimi: He would feel… ugly.
Facilitator: It’s okay to look at something if you are curious. But when you talk about
something that is strange, it’s kinder to call things by their ordinary names. His foot is not
different, but his leg is different. How would you talk about his leg? What kind of leg is it?
Mimi: It’s just a short leg. Okay, he can come in the sandpit with his short leg.
The children’s answers will pinpoint the issue of where the differences matter. Your response as the
facilitator should then work to draw a constructive picture about those differences, making them
familiar, manageable and acceptable, so that they no longer seem threatening or strange.
It is important to have materials in your book area showing images of people from different cultures
and from different ethnic groups, as well as stories and images of people with disabilities in everyday
settings. Be sure to include these books and pictures in your playgroup, and perhaps set aside some of
your book budget especially for this need. As a general rule, the ECD centre’s books and materials
should not show bias or stereotypes.
Figure 1.5 Examples of books that you could include in your book area around the subject of diversity
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Step 3: Draw the parents and their culture into the playgroup
The second step, after raising awareness, is to begin to work actively and practically with the parents.
By getting to know them, you will familiarise yourself with their cultural background, and be better
able to address bias and cultural differences at the ECD centre.
Invite parents to bring a special object from home, some culturally-specific item (like books, pictures,
cultural items like dolls, jewellery or beadwork, clothing, musical instruments, pottery or household
items, or special festival food) and have a week to display them and discuss them at circle time. Invite
the child whose culture is being discussed, to say something or tell a story about the use or importance
of the object, and what he or she can remember about its role in his family. Parents could also
contribute items that could stay at the ECD centre (like books or pictures, or they could make their
child’s apron from traditional cloth) to help make the environment more familiar and an extension of
home.
It is also a good idea to invite a parent who has a different home language, to attend story time or
circle time with the group. The parent can participate by listening and retelling or explaining the story
in that language, to children with the same home language. They could also bring a story to tell in that
language, tell the story, then explain or describe this in English if possible so that you can retell it to
the rest of the group. The children who are familiar with that language can also share and describe
their understanding to other children in English if they can, which is good language practise and
promotes inclusivity. In this way you facilitate for cultural diversity, using the parents as a resource.
QUOTE
“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand
that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” – Maya
Angelou
A good opportunity for teaching equality and inclusivity may arise when a new child joins the ECD
centre with some difference that provokes questions or comments from the children. This represents a
teachable moment for anti-bias education. You should use this opportunity to show caring,
understanding, sensitivity and compassion to the child. For example, a child who has a birthmark on
his face, or a parent who is disabled, will be a talking point. It is best to deal with this honestly and
immediately, to improve knowledge and understanding at the peak of the children’s curiosity about
the difference, and to cut out any possibility of hurtful behaviour from the children. Try to answer the
children’s questions fully and sincerely, drawing upon your new awareness from Step 1. Your calm
example will help to normalise the situation.
Gender issues are another talking point. Try to include books, materials and visitors to show how
everyone should be able to do everything (for example, women who are long-distance truck drivers
and men who are nurses). The more everyday real examples of equality and flexible gender roles you
can show the children, the better. You could also invite a visitor to talk to the children about their
gender-flexible work role (for example, a woman horse trainer or a male florist).
In the same way that you feed the children anti-bias information, you need to share this information
with the parents, through newsletters and parents’ evenings. Use parents’ evenings to tell a story or
two about discussions you’ve had with the children, to highlight the aim of your ECD centre to be
inclusive and accepting of differences. On a more formal note, you could arrange a special focus
evening with a talk for parents on how children develop identity and attitudes. This could be a source
of a new skill for parents, to deal with bias and cultural differences sensitively at home when their
children ask questions or identify a difference as a talking point. Your staff support group should
continue to feed your awareness and personal growth on these issues, but your group should also
evaluate the programme at regular intervals.
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4Step 4: Anti-bias as the foundation of your approach
Finally, an anti-bias approach should become a normal and natural part of your work. Any comments,
questions or expressions of fear from the children about differences, could be used as teachable
moments within your activities, for the whole group. Try to develop more new activities for the
children, using the children’s questions as starting points for games about inclusiveness and
acceptance.
Activity 6:
Becoming sensitised to cultures
US: 244480. Specific Outcome 1: AC 3. CCFO: Collecting, communicating
Work with a partner.

1. Over a period of about three days, observe and make notes on a particular group of children and
their parents or family members who collect them, focusing on the following criteria:
Name of Home Preferred staple Signs of cultural identity (clothing, religion,

child language food/snack from traditions etc) that are apparent at the ECD
home centre, in the child or parents, or in the parental
home (if you visit it)
(e.g. white bread,
rice, wholewheat
bread, rotis)
example Sotho White toast Her mom wore traditional mourning clothes
when her father died
Tshedi
2. Discuss your notes with your partner: for example, white toast may not be a traditional Sotho food
but it has become part of Tshedi’s family culture. At the same time her mom keeps the tradition of the
mourning clothes, to honour the traditional Sotho culture. These two elements provide a unique
cultural profile of Tshedi’s family.
3. Which of the identifying signs or criteria do you think are valued by the child as special to his or
her home and culture? At what age, do you think, is culture important to the child?
4. Identify how many different cultural profiles you have found in the group.
5. Collate your information with the rest of your class and write a concluding paragraph on your
findings.

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Topic
Responding to teachable
4 moments
How to recognise teachable moments
In the course of the day’s programme you are constantly responding to the children’s cues and to their
emotional or magical-thinking responses to the environment. The cue, as mentioned before, may be
the signal for a teachable moment in which a skill may be taught or built up, or in which the child may
show motivation or need for specific help. The teachable moment interrupts the planned programme
but it is better to use these moments as they show readiness for learning. The programme is enriched
by these initiatives from the children and all the children in the group benefit from observing your
response to the individual (wherever possible).
Review the definition and description of teachable moments under Topic 2 about cues, on page 30.
Activity 7:
Using teachable moments
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 4. CCFO: Identifying, communicating
Consider the following case study and then answer the questions that follow:
Lerato (3) has difficulty washing her hands because she is very impatient to get the soap off her skin.
She uses a very small dab of soap and then uses very little water too, so that her hand-washing is not
really a wash at all. She is also impatient to be the first one at the snack table so that she can sit next to
you, and this makes the hand-washing too quick to be effective. The other children tease her about
being a baby because she insists on sitting next to you.
Work on your own and then swap answers with a partner to evaluate the work. Write up all your
responses to the following questions:
1. How can you make hand washing more enjoyable so that Lerato does a better job of washing
her hands? Make up a response or a game that you could suggest to Lerato on the spot the
next time she washes her hands.
2. How could you use Lerato’s hand-washing activity to promote good hand-washing for the
whole group? Write this up as a group activity for circle time.
3. In order to make it fair that everyone gets a turn to sit with you at snack time, what rule or
arrangement will you make with the group?
4. How will you deal with Lerato’s need to be close to you at snack time?
5. How can the teasing by the other children be used as a teachable moment?
6. Rate each of your answers on a scale of 1–4 for a good answer, where
1= not enough useful guidance
30
2 = some good ideas but needs more work
3 = good ideas and practical too
4 = excellent and fun ideas, easy to do.
7. Report your findings you are the most proud of to the class.
Write a few paragraphs reflecting on this activity, in your Journal.
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Topic
Managing children in a way
5 that promotes development
What quality of facilitation promotes development?
The quality of facilitation that promotes the holistic development of babies, toddlers and young
children, is that of nurturing warmth. By having a nurturing and emotionally warm tone in your
approach to the children, you provide a fertile foundation for their sense of security and self-
acceptance. The child feels free to play, explore, make mistakes and try again without fearing failure,
in such a climate of warmth. His self-image grows, he feels respected, can show initiative and try out
new ideas, and feels free to express his opinions.
Does nurturing mean there are no rules and limits? No, the opposite is true – the child experiences
being cared for by rules and limits too, as they provide structure, fairness, and containment. But the
warm and caring attitude should come first, and the rules should be fitted into that, so that the child
feels heard and understood, and that his needs are being met. He then feels no anxiety about obeying a
set of rules. The warm atmosphere allows children to succeed as they have a sense of inner security,
and can do well at their particular level of skill.
Ways to be more nurturing in the ECD setting
Here are three ways in which you can become more of a nurturer:
1. Stay positive in responding to children

Keep a positive frame of mind for yourself and your learners. Respond consistently, notice their
positive qualities, encourage the learners to stay positive too, and start the day with a positive or
caring greeting or message to each child. Your positive attitude will be absorbed and learnt by them.
Avoid saying “no, that’s the wrong way”; rather simply encourage and show again the right way: “see
if you can do it this way next time”.
2. Tune in and observe

Focus on the child’s unique qualities, strengths and capabilities, and respond with acknowledgement,
praise and encouragement. Review each child’s wellbeing at specific points during the programme,
for example you could think back about the morning during snack time, and get a sense of how
different children are coping with the demands of the programme or peer interaction. Listen whenever
you can, tuning in to their free play or chatter. In this way you will get in touch with the child’s mood
and general wellbeing, and have an opportunity to notice anything that may need your attention and
support. (You will also learn to make observational notes about this tuning in.)
32
3. Take every opportunity to give positive attention
Always look for ways to encourage and be warm about any effort, or even no effort – the children just
want the sunshine of your love! Even if your style is not usually so jolly or outspoken, you can learn
to pay attention, first, and then to increase the warmth of that attention by degrees, by reminding
yourself of anyone who has been a caring or inspiring person in your own life. By being more
nurturing, you do half the work of facilitating; by enhancing the child’s self image and building self-
confidence, you make it possible for the child to tackle developmental tasks with freedom and
confidence.
Activity 8:
Attending and nurturing
US: 244480. Specific Outcome 1: AC 5. CCFO: Identifying, communicating

Work on your own.
1. Spend two days deliberately tuning in and responding positively to the children whenever you can.
Keep notes of these incidents (aim to note at least four examples). Transfer your information to the
following table and identify what kinds of responses you were able to make to deal with problems.
Name of Name and age of Brief description Facilitator’s Outcome How well the
activity child who of problem (your response for child response
experienced analysis after fitted the
problem tuning in) problem
(rated 1–4)
2. Discuss with your class which responses were effective and why you think they were effective.
3. Draw up a table with your class, showing how different responses worked for different
developmental ages.
33
Building self-esteem
Self-esteem is the essential ingredient in human beings that increases personal growth, happiness and
development on all levels.
By showing warmth, respect, responsiveness, and sensitivity to the individual, their context and their
needs, the facilitator can promote the development of the children in his or her care. The facilitator’s
warm and caring attitude is the fertiliser that grows the child’s self-esteem.
Figure 1.6 A nurturing and emotionally warm tone in your approach to the children in your care, you
provide a fertile foundation for their sense of security and self-acceptance.
Beware of the vulnerable child

Think of the child as a vulnerable plant that will bend and wilt if it hears unkind words. Try to speak
kindly at all times. If you must raise your voice, do it only occasionally – think how much you dislike
it when you have shouted at in the past. Show warmth in the way you speak, use a bit of humour to
show you are understanding, and avoid using negative terms such as “Don’t hesitate! Don’t be stupid!
Can’t you understand?” or labels and judgements like “You’re so clumsy!” Model tolerance, patience
and kindness in all your behaviours, and the children will learn to communicate in the same way.
Good alternative ways to direct children to a better solution or better behaviour are
through encouragement and a ‘try again’ approach:
“Would you like to give it another try?”

“You’re trying hard; let’s just see if a different way will help.”
“Keep trying, you’re on the right track.”
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Communication to promote development
Good communication is more effective if you address the child by his name. This gets his attention
and makes him feel valued. Also aim to remember little things he has done well before, and bring
these up as reminders to encourage him when he needs it. For example “Sipho, I see you’re trying that
new puzzle – I remember you did the other one all by yourself last week. Well done for trying this
more difficult one.”
Attend and listen, be emotionally available

Begin by focusing on the child, making an inner decision to listen with your full attention, stop what
you are doing and tune in for the emotional message the child may be giving. Acknowledge the
child’s feelings. Do not immediately become solution-focused; first be listening-focused. Respect and
allow the feelings, by giving the child the opportunity to cry, express anger or whatever he might need
to say. This is being empathic.
Encourage the child to trust his feelings. Only after this full expression of feelings has taken place,
should you support the child to problem-solve towards a solution that works for him. It is not your
role to create solutions. Your listening increases the child’s sense of his worth, and your validation of
his feelings allows him to move on to the next step, which is problem-solving in his own way for his
preferred outcome.
Manage conflict firmly and reasonably

Try to be accepting of storms and tantrums and use the opportunity to acknowledge feelings first and
restore boundaries for behaviour second. Try to stay friendly and understanding. Accept children’s
questions about the boundaries or rules, and be firm but reasonable. The simple act of your answering
the question tells the child that he matters. When you must discipline or set firm limits, it must be for
a practical reason that the child can understand, not just “Because I say so”. Provide clear boundaries,
guidance, love and positive discipline, and conflict will be minimised. Such clear boundaries teach
children to care about themselves and others.
Praise something specific

Stay focused on giving positive feedback and simply
drop the negative from your vocabulary. Look at
specific instances and give praise immediately where
appropriate. Don’t just say “That’s good” or “You
shared nicely today”. Instead notice what the child is
contributing to his work or the social situation, and
praise a feature of his effort, for example “I noticed how
you waited quietly for your turn. You were very
patient.” or “I see you’ve managed to fit all the blocks
back into the box without a single one missing – well
done for being so careful”. However, even a general
“Well done!’ is better than no praise at all.
Avoid creating expectations that the child cannot meet, when you say things like “You’re the star
tidier in our group” or “Let’s ask our clever one for news about the weather today”. These grand
labels put pressure on the child and he may not always want to be the one responsible for tidying up
or answering the weather questions. Also avoid general commands to “Be good”; make your
expectations specific and manageable on a once-off basis. A helpful way to praise the child is to be
specific about the activity, for example “I hope you can help me mix the paint today Joseph, I need a
steady hand.”
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Steering the process: from feelings to fixing up
When children do misbehave, do not pretend to ignore the behaviour, simply acknowledge the feeling
that may be expressed (“It sounds as if you’re really very angry about Ray spilling paint on your
shoe”) and then address the behaviour with encouragement to do something positive, for example,
“What could you ask Ray to do to make it better?” or remind about the limits, for example, “You
seem really angry with Ray… but we have a rule of no hitting. Instead of hitting you can tell him how
you feel” or “…and now see if Ray will help to clean it up” and “….and now it would help the two of
you to be friends again, if you could say sorry to Ray for hitting him”.
Apologies are not the best way to make amends. The apology is a bonus if it can be
made sincerely, but try to focus more on making amends, as this is more realistic and
gives something back to the child who was hurt or disadvantaged. Refer also to Topic
11 for a more detailed discussion of behaviour management.)
Always take the time to mend a quarrel, especially if the children are about to go home. It is helpful to
sit down with the children involved and encourage them to work things out, possibly (not always)
reaching a point where they can forgive each other. Again, show empathy for the feelings, then
remind them about the limits for behaviour.
Show some physical affection

Show your warm feelings to the children with hugs, holding their hands, putting a hand on their
shoulders, saying you like having them around, showing that you appreciate them. Babies need the
comfort of touch and cuddles in order to grow, and everyone needs affection. The human touch is
extremely healing and powerful. This affection will keep them supported and motivated and increase
their sense of freedom because they will feel secure in your presence.
Figure 1.7 Showing your affection is an important part of nurturing the children at your ECD centre
Stay in touch with the humour of a situation

A little bit of sympathetic silliness can make a child feel understood and comforted. It is also a light-
hearted way to talk about behaviour, for example you could say “Sasha, we’re all going to scoot and
slip like bunnies on banana skins with these puzzle pieces on the floor, can you tidy them away?” This
encourages the child to do the chore of tidying up. Do not use sarcasm, as it is hurtful.
Be honest, and be willing to apologise
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Stay honest with the children while filtering out information or emotions that are not appropriate to
share. If you have made a mistake, admitting it and apologising is the best thing to do. Practise
apologising for your mistakes with adults, as it is a valuable habit that builds sound relationships. It is
easy to apologise to a child because children rarely stay angry or judgemental if one has apologised.
This also models the behaviour for the children, and it is a valuable social skill for them to learn.
Do not embarrass or talk down to a child

Consider how you would feel if you were in the child’s position. Stay sensitive to any possible
embarrassment the child might experience in a situation, and support the child to keep his self-respect.
If you must reprimand a child, do it in a way that invites the child to do better (or try harder) next
time, being specific about behaviour rather than judgemental. Avoid pointing out the mistake or the
inadequacy of the child’s performance in an overly obvious manner.
Contain the anxiety of younger children

Younger children take time to recover from an upset. You can help them re-establish their sense of
security by making comments after an upset, to restore harmony, by saying things such as “We’ve
finished arguing now and Mimi’s mom is going to mend the torn teddy at home tonight. It will be fine
again”. This explanation gives the message that everything is alright again. Babies and toddlers may
need some physical reassurance like a hug or a cuddle to calm them down.
Be willing to share a little of your own world

Sharing your own feelings or experience a little opens up possibilities for the child to respond and
trust that his feelings and experiences will be listened to. It creates a climate of openness. The
emphasis is on ‘a little’ as it is the child who is the focus here, not you as the facilitator. Show
empathy with a little story from your own past, for example, “When I was four I also wet my pants at
playgroup one day, and I sat on the swing all day because I felt so bad and I didn’t want anyone to
know. Accidents happen to lots of people.”
However, sharing personal details of why this happened to you is inappropriate. Occasionally you
may find a child who is used to having to act as a responsible parent towards the adult (parent) who is
needy and dependent (because of illness, or drug or alcohol addiction). In such a case the co-
dependent child is trying to maintain order and control his own anxiety by taking on the adult role.
Children who have parents ill with AIDS may be in this position, and have a great need just to be
children and to know that an adult is in charge. Do not burden any child with your own anxieties or
unfinished business.
Give guidance on social skills

Children usually get coached on social skills at home but whatever they have already been taught,
should be reinforced by your support and repetition. Focus on basic good manners like saying
“Please” and “Thank you” and making eye contact when they speak to someone. Children will feel
more confident if they know they are doing the right thing. Spell out what is inappropriate behaviour
and what is appropriate in a certain situation. For example “It’s good manners to not talk while the
puppet show is on. Then everyone can hear what the puppets are saying. But of course you can laugh
when it’s funny, and the puppets will love it if you clap for them when it’s finished”.
Your own self esteem plays a role
To summarise the guidelines, it is always better to remain calm even when the children are testing the
limits of your patience. Any negative outburst of feelings from you, or words said in haste, may hurt
the child’s self-esteem and weaken your own effectiveness as a facilitator. If you do have a blow-up,
it is important to apologise and make amends.
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Example of dealing with your own blow-up
Palesa shouted when she found that four of the children had not tidied up but had scribbled on
the blocks with crayons from the cupboard, while she was supervising other children tidying
away the scooters outside.
Palesa had this blow-up because she was feeling very frustrated and also worried, as her adult
son had been missing for two days. Her shouting gave the children a big fright and she also
called them ‘stupid’. Two of the children cried and hid their faces in the beanbags and the
other two looked shocked and sulky. She immediately apologised for the shouting, said that
nobody was stupid but it was a stupid mistake to shout instead of asking them nicely to clean
up the mess. She said she was upset about something else and asked them to be kind and
forgive her, and to help to sort out the problem. She asked them to help wash the crayon off
the blocks later that day.
Activity 9:
Knowing your own blow-up buttons
US: 244480. SO 1: AC 5. CCFO: Collecting, communicating
Do this activity on your own. Make personal notes about two situations in which you lost your temper
or had a blow-up at someone, or did something angry and destructive as a result, in any setting. (The
notes are for your use only.) Focus on the following ideas:
 The behaviour which offended you or hurt you and caused you to lose control
 What your loss of control looked and sounded like
 What you now think you could do instead, to deal with a similar situation without losing control
Now prepare one or two encouraging tips for yourself to remind yourself how to manage your
feelings better. Report these points back to the class during the class discussion and then write up the
final list of tips from the whole class, to keep in your reflection journal.
Write in your Journal.

Write your own tips and the class list of tips in your journal.
By being secure in yourself, having a healthy self esteem, you provide a healthy relationship with the
children in your playgroup. Your effectiveness is also improved by your confidence. It will be easier
to show acceptance and a non-judgemental attitude to the children, to value them and to value
yourself, when you are comfortable with who you are. This promotes the development of the child,
encourages him to seek sound relationships, stay true to himself and grow up making positive choices
that reflect his integrity.
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Managing activities to promote development
The key to facilitation that promotes development, is allowing exploration within a secure set of rules.
By providing the right equipment and resources, having basic class safety rules about caring for the
toys and each other, and adding words of encouragement, you enable development to go ahead as it
should. The children will pursue their own needs and interests in the ECD setting, with whatever they
can find that in some way fits their need.
Activity 10:
Strategies to improve self-esteem
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 5. CCFO: Identifying, collecting, communicating, working
Work in a small group.
Step 1: Choose techniques

Consider Michael, a three-year old child who is noisy and clumsy and has developed a nervous blink.
The other children tease him about his clumsiness.
Discuss in your group, and identify four techniques that could help improve his self esteem and his
clumsiness.
Step 2: Apply the techniques to a child in your group
1. Identify a child in your ECD centre who shows low self-esteem behaviour.
2. Identify four techniques that you think would improve his or her self esteem.
3. Apply these four techniques consistently when you deal with this child in the ECD centre over a
period of two weeks. Record your observations on the improvements.
4. Discuss in your group and identify strategies which could boost this child’s self esteem over a
period of a year, in the ECD centre. Make a class presentation of your group’s summary of these
strategies, and how they help build self esteem.
Step 3: Portfolio of Evidence Assessment

Reflect on what this activity has taught you about nurturing children’s self esteem.
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Topic
Communicating responsively
6
Much of the work of facilitation is through verbal and non-verbal communication with the child. If
you are not used to being a talkative person, you will need to exercise your communication skills and
work hard at the parts of the communication that must be initiated by the facilitator. Your talking
creates a climate, sets the example and teaches communication skills directly.
Categories of communication
Young children learn language from the people in their environment. Your role as a model of good
communication and clear expression is very important. There are also social rules for communication
that the children will absorb from being in your presence in the social setting of the ECD centre. It is
vital that you pay attention to your own language use, as it is the source of learning for the children.
The different ways your communication can foster child development, are described in the figure 1.8.
Initiated by facilitator
Facilitator responds to cue from child

Facilitator Child
Mutual communication
Figure 1.8 Different ways of communicating that foster development
Some communication is up to the facilitator’s initiative, and other communication is as a response to

the child. A third category is mutual communication.
1. Initiated by facilitator at all times: warmth, encouragement, physical comfort, nonverbal

approval and positive attitude, use of leading questions and open-ended questions, encourage
conversation with gentle chatting, probing or some limited sharing of self.
2. Responses required from facilitator to child: sensitive responses to verbal and non-verbal cues,
to the culture of child, to the behaviour and activity of child, empathy and acceptance of the child’s
reality, respectful consideration of child’s point of view, appropriate praise for work well done,
appropriate limit-setting or redirection of behaviour that needs improvement.
3. Mutual communication: sharing about self; questioning and responding.
As you can see from figure 1.8, the burden of the communication falls mostly on the facilitator in
terms of all the initiative that the facilitator has to take, to promote development. It is vital that this is
sensitively managed, as it could damage the child’s self-image to be treated coldly or without
understanding.
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Talking to babies
Babies (1–12 months) need communication to learn how to shape their speech to match the language
of the caregiver. They need to hear you speaking to them warmly as a form of social attention.
Talking to babies while you care for them, change their nappies, feed them, put them to sleep, or play
with them, is also essential for their language development. Your responsiveness to their sounds
teaches them that communication works, and encourages their communication skills.
Looking at picture books together is a way of teaching them to recognise things around them, to
concentrate, to listen and to talk. Use simple picture books and simple words, to describe what you are
doing and to identify the pictures (for example, “Let’s sit here on the red cushion. I’ll hold the book
and you sit on my lap. Here is a picture of a cow. See this big cow. The cow goes ‘Moo’.”)
The physical closeness and cuddling that takes place when you hold a baby and look at a book
together, is important to create a sense of safety and sharing. It also helps to develop the baby’s
positive attitude to books and reading. Babies learn how to hold a book, turn a page, and read from
left to right, from this process of being held and read to. This has a long-term effect on their
relationship to books, confidence with beginning to read when they are older, and their confidence
with language.
QUOTE
“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the
quality of our lives.” – Anthony Robbins
Talking to toddlers and young children
Young children are beginners at

expressing their thoughts, feelings,
ideas and concerns. This self-
expression relies not only on
language skills but also on social
and emotional development and
language therefore also feeds
social and emotional development.
By using activities such as
storytelling, rhymes and songs in
your daily programme, you will
stimulate their vocabulary and
understanding of language.
Figure 1.9 Reading with babies, toddlers and young children can help them develop their
communication skills
They will gain confidence in expressing themselves, from this language practise. By talking to them,
one-on-one and in a group, you encourage them to verbalize their own thoughts, feelings and ideas
more fluently. Listening is also an important part of the shared communication, as your listening
rewards and reinforces the patterns of the children’s speech and interaction.
(Think of the traditional African call-and-answer songs – the isicathamiya – which tell a story.) You
should be aware of your talking and listening so that you consciously use them to promote the
children’s language development.
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DEFINITION
Isicathamiya: is a singing style that originated from Zulu tradition.
The art of listening and talking to children
Listening and talking should be done carefully and with your full attention. Take time to listen to what
the children say, and respond with attention to their messages. The message may be nonverbal, or it
may be in what is not said, or it may carry a very strong feeling beyond the words. Read the example
below about Karen and Vuyo, and then do activity 10.
Example: layers of communication

Karen (6): My daddy is coming home from the hospital today. He’s got plaster on his leg and
a big bandage on his tummy!
Vuyo (6): Well so what! My daddy is a doctor and he can even make the plaster for your
daddy’s leg.
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Activity 11:
Listening to layers of meaning
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 6. CCFO: Communicating, working
Work in small groups, make notes on your answers and then report back your information to the class.
1. Read the example above, and share your ideas in your group about:
 what each child is saying
 what feelings the child is showing in their communication
 what could be going on between the two children
 what might be going on in each child’s own family
2. Suggest what you would like to say to Karen as a response when you overhear this conversation.
3. Suggest what you would like to say to Vuyo as a response.
4. What questions could you use to find out a little more about the children’s family lives, without
being too direct or confronting?
Place your notes inside your Portfolio of Evidence.
Using questions to grow the conversation

The children’s language skills will grow if they are allowed the time to express what they mean. Your
listening encourages this, and is vital to the children’s development of language skills. Use sensible
and meaningful questions to respond to what the child has said. This reassures the child that you have
indeed been listening. To expand and grow the conversation, use leading questions. This expands the
topic and builds upon what the child is saying. In this way, your communication helps to promote
development, provide cognitive stimulation and improve social skills.
DEFINITION
Leading questions: are questions that ask for clarification, or give direction and
guidance.
Examples of leading questions are: “What games should we play on our picnic day outing?” or “What
happens to the playdough if we don’t put it back in its box?” Questions like these stimulate
imagination and thinking, which promotes language and communication skills. Another kind of
question which helps keep the conversation going, and encourages participation, is the open-ended
question.
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DEFINITION
Open-ended questions: invite further conversation because they have no specific right
answer.
Examples of open-ended questions are: “What news would you like to share about your weekend?” or
“How do you think the fox can get across the river?” This type of question allows the children to
reach their own conclusions and not worry about whether the answer is right or wrong. Open-ended
questions keep the atmosphere positive as there is no way to give a wrong answer. Children grow in
confidence, imagination and language ability, by making conversation as they answer.
Chatting is good for development

Language development,
like other aspects of
development, benefits
from an allowing attitude
from the facilitator. Allow
any and every opportunity
to be one where talking is
allowed. Set the tone with
your own chattiness,
which shows that talking
is welcome.
Babies benefit
enormously from the
attention of a chatty adult,
as their social and
language skills are
stimulated, even though
they may not yet be able
to answer. Toddlers and
young children will chat to you when you ask how things are going, at any point of your day with
them. Show interest in their pet, their family, their special interests or hobbies (for example Cayley is
interested in horses and Nthuseng likes dancing and singing with her older sister).
The moments in the programme when you have time to talk, could be during snack time, when they
arrive at the ECD centre, during toilet and hand washing time, or when they are packing up to go
home. Use these opportunities to show a lighthearted and easy interest in them. Avoid probing or
curious questioning, allow the child to say as much as he wants, don’t press for information or the
conversation will become stiff. Aim to have a relaxed short chat, and bend down to make eye contact
on the child’s level so that your respect for him and interest in him is clear.
What should we chat about with children?
Any interesting experience will provide a topic for conversation. Children also prefer to talk during an
outing or activity, so use this opportunity as it will be more meaningful and lively. This will also
reinforce any learning that is taking place during the activity.
Also encourage the children to talk to each other. This opportunity frequently arises during
arguments, but do encourage it at other times, too. Promote the conversation by suggesting “I’ve
heard that you’ve got a story to tell Monelisi – why don’t you tell him about it?” or “Stephen has a
new puppy. Ask him how he chose it!”
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Activity 12:
Talking and listening to children
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 6. CCFO: Communicating
Spend snack time or hand-washing time in the company of your group of children and look for
opportunities for conversations. Make observational notes later, about how you experienced the
process of listening and then making conversation with the children.
1. Spend the first day listening only.
2. Spend the second day listening and also starting conversations. Think of some conversation topics
to introduce (festivals, birthdays, pets etc).
3. Spend the third day using a puppet to focus on children who are more withdrawn and who seldom
talk. Use the puppet to engage with them a little, for example, let the puppet character ask them to
teach him how to wash his hands or how to make his own snack, and ask them to suggest what would
be a good snack.
Place your observational notes inside your Portfolio of Evidence.

Write some self-reflection notes about your experience in your journal.
45
Using circle time to build communication skills
Circle time can be used to improve the children’s

communication skills. Singing a song, telling a story or
using finger puppets to act out a conversation, are ways
to build language practice into the day. Use group time
to have a general discussion on topics that are popular,
for example plans for a religious festival, or someone’s
new baby sibling or puppy. Try using ‘what if’ questions
to start an imaginative conversation. Talking in groups
can also be focused on counting, ordering or grouping.
The group is a flexible context for any purpose, and
language skills are built by all of these suggested
purposes.
Figure 1.10 Hand puppets and finger puppets can be used to act out a conversation
and build language practice
Every activity includes communication

The children communicate all the time, in formal activities or in play. Respond to the child’s
expressed feeling as well as to the obvious content of the communication.
In each activity, the children may need to talk and work with a partner, or listen to others in a group
and then add their own contribution to a discussion. These opportunities stretch their understanding
and get them to develop an integrated set of communication skills (listening, thinking, responding to
the social cues, saying their say).
Using books and stories

A book is a resource not just for its story but for the questions you can ask about the pictures or
events. Pictures evoke feelings and associations (linked ideas) about the children’s own lives. Allow
time for children to sit and look carefully at picture books on their own, in the book corner. The
stimulation of thinking and feeling which pictures provide, will lead to the development of
understanding and feed into language skills.
Use storytelling as well as books to gain access to the children’s concerns, fears and experiences. For
example, asking questions such as “How does this boy feel about what his friend did?” or “ Do you
think she should go to the party after all? How would you feel if it was you?” This helps to open up
opportunities for discussion and the expression of feelings.
Choose books from other cultures and other countries to add to the learning experience and to
stimulate the children’s interest. Children love to hear about other children’s lives, so they will easily
identify with children in other contexts and be interested in the differences.
Special books to deal with tough issues can be

very useful in your ECD centre. These ‘issue-
based’ books on emotional issues like death,
divorce, anger, separation, fear of the dark,
adoption, provide an easy entry to these topics.
They can help to start a discussion and give
permission to the child to admit to feelings he
may not have been able to articulate before.
46
Activity 13:
Building a resource list of issue-based books
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 5. CCFO: Collecting, communicating, working
Work in groups.
1. Each group should identify two topics from the list, and then find books that deal with these topics:
Divorce, death, sexual abuse, hospitalisation, adoption, separation, fear of the dark, bedwetting,
jealousy, anger, disability, refugee/immigrant adjustment.
2. Compile a bibliography or list of these books. Bring at least one book on each topic (from a library
or resource centre) to class.
3. Each group should present their two topics and share with the class the two books they have found.
In the presentation, the group should give a brief evaluation of the best features of each book. Write a
brief summary of your group’s presentation.
4. If you cannot find a copy of the book to bring to class, print out a sample or review from the
internet, to pass around for everyone to read and look at.
5. Compile one collective list and have copies made for everyone in the class.

Reflect on the books that you thought would be the most useful, from all those
presented by the various groups, giving reasons for your choice.
Using issue-based books to deal with feelings

By seeing how the characters in the story cope with their strong feelings, children can learn to deal
with their own emotions. Your role as facilitator is to steer carefully through the strong emotions,
accepting whatever the child would like to express, and responding with empathy and warmth. A
good technique is to first acknowledge the feeling, almost echoing what the child has said, for
example, “So you felt really sad when your Dad left.” The child will then have the opportunity to
expand on this, or move on to something else: “Yes, I cried with my teddy behind the couch. But Dad
came on the weekend and took me to his new flat and showed me a bed for me there with a new
Spiderman pillow.”
The language of praise

Be careful when you praise the children for their efforts; avoid making general and grand statements
like “That’s so wonderful, I’ve never seen such a beautiful painting” or “You’re such a star, you’re
our class genius”. Rather focus on the activity and the effort the child has made, because the grand
and sometimes insincere praise can put pressure on them to perform at an unrealistic level. Superficial
or thoughtless praise can also drive children to compete, instead of simply enjoying the creative
activity for its own sake.
47
Aim to make your comments open-ended and encouraging, acknowledging the work
that has gone into the product, or the unique feature the child has created. Examples
are:
“This painting has lots of tiny dots. That must have taken some time and a steady
hand to make those.”
“Your tower of blocks is so tall. I hope we can show it off to the others before it falls
down!”
Feedback should also function to confirm learning, for example by saying, “Let me
see, Tienie, you’ve woven your blue thread very evenly in and out through the mat,
well done.”
Try to link the importance of the skill to the bigger task it may represent, so that the
child gets a sense of real achievement: “You certainly know your shapes; that will
help with learning Maths at big school next year.”
Activity 14:
Questions and encouragement
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 6. CCFO: Communicating, collecting
Work on your own at first, and then with a partner for Question 3.
Answer the following questions. Keep your answers for future reference.
1. Do some research and prepare a two-page essay about the role of language in the development of
babies (1–12 months).
2. Identify three ways to build a conversation with a child.
3. Work with a partner, taking turns to be facilitator and observer during the next week, as you
practise your skills of talking and listening to children. Your partner will assess your level of skill on
the following rubric, on the last day of your practice:
1 2 3 4
Not Attempted but not A good and Excellent
sufficient satisfactory satisfactory effort skill
Listens attentively
Uses leading questions
Uses open-ended
questions
Acknowledges child’s
feelings
48
Responds warmly and
appropriately
Place your written answers and your assessment result inside your Portfolio of
Evidence.
49
Topic
Valuing the child

7
Value the child
Your study of facilitation for holistic development so far has included these skills:
 communicating sensitively
 having an anti-bias approach
 being positive, warm, supportive and caring
These skills will not only help the child to develop but your caring approach will also be copied by the
children, as they mirror your attitude. If you can enjoy your time with the children or find something
to enjoy in sharing the daily activities with them, they will feel affirmed by your pleasure in their
company.
A caring child (case study)

Once I returned to a school where I used to teach, and I arrived at about 3pm for a meeting. I
went straight to the meeting room and started doing a little writing work while I waited for the
meeting to start. (When I used to work there, I would arrive at 1:30pm, have lunch and then
help out with the after-school programme till 5pm.)
A little 2 ½-year-old girl came by to say hello. I could see that she was making progress as
her conversation skills had improved. For example, she used to repeat everything you said to
her, such as “Good morning, Erica!” Then she would reply “Good morning, Erica!” On this
day when I was sitting in the meeting room, she came in and was quiet for a few minutes,
then she patted my shoulder and asked “Ms Goh, you don’t eat lunch today? Are you hungry?
You want biscuits?” I was stunned. That feeling was so sweet, as her little act of caring made
me feel cherished.
I realised that this little girl is so observant. I remembered how she was the one who used to
say “Hello, Ms Goh!” and follow me all the way to the kitchen every afternoon when I ate my
lunch. I used to tell her to return to her play and that I would come back to her after my lunch.
Never belittle a 2 ½-year-old child – she may show you that you have much to learn from her:
to be observant, to be sensitive and to show that you care.
Adapted from: http:nurtureourchild.com/laughter/the-little-observer
Copyright 2008 Nurture our child with love and patience.
Valuing the child means building the child’s self esteem in many ways. In all the literature about
keeping children safe from abuse, the most useful strategy is to build the child’s self esteem so that he
or she won’t accept being badly treated but will protest about it. This will also make the child
confident in reporting anything that gives him or her a ‘no’ feeling. (Strategies to teach children to
resist and avoid abuse are included in Topic 8.)
For this reason, all the strategies to build the child’s self-esteem are useful in keeping the child
emotionally and physically safe.
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By applying all the strategies mentioned in Topic 6 (responsive communication, emotional warmth,
sensitivity to individual needs), you can create a climate of safety and warmth in the ECD centre, and
give each child the reassurance that he or she is seen, heard, included and valued.
Activity 15:
A game for children to value each other
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 7. CCFO: Communicating
1. You should facilitate the following game called ‘Good number’:

This is a group game in which the children take turns to say positive things about each other. Each
child has a number. The first child (any number) goes into the centre of the circle, picks up the red
ball, calls out any number and says “Number (X) tells good jokes” or “Number (Y) is good at eating
spaghetti” or “Number (Z) is good at squashing mosquitoes” or “good at wearing blue shoes” or
anything they can think of. The child whose number is called must run to the middle and pick up the
red ball and call out another number, and say something positive about that person. (The children are
thus being praised randomly by their peers for good and also silly things, resulting in giggling, good
feelings and opening up of awareness of their own value.)
2. Write up your observations about the group game and adjust the game to meet the needs of your
particular group of children. Keep this as a resource.
Sometimes it is a difficult challenge to express a positive attitude towards a child who communicates
negatively, as the following activity shows.
Activity 16:
Showing that you value the child
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 7. CCFO: Communicating, working , collecting
Work with a partner. Read the following example and discuss your answers with your partner.
Michael, age 3, has a habit of saying negative things about ECD centre experiences at the end of the
day when his mother fetches him. She asks him how the day went and he says things like, “I didn’t
like the singing and I didn’t like David pushing me over.” He does not report any positive events to
his mother and does not respond positively to friendly gestures from the other children.
1. In what way could you express something positive to Michael about himself? Try to identify
both verbal and non-verbal responses that would be positive.
2. In what way could you reward Michael for saying positive things? Try to identify both verbal and
non-verbal ways of rewarding him.
3. What kind of activities would help Michael make friends at the ECD centre?
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4. Share your information with the class and collate your notes.
Verbal and non-verbal responding
Your notes from the activity will probably contain some new ideas, but here are a few suggestions to
add to your skills:
Ways to say something positive to a negative child:

 Look for small positive actions to reward with a sincere comment of praise
 Say you are glad to see him when he arrives, and give him a smile when you say goodbye
Ways to communicate positively and non-verbally with a negative child:

 Include him as a helper on an important task every day and occasionally on small tasks
 When he starts making a negative comment, touch him on the shoulder, make eye contact and
listen. (Follow this with the verbal response of accepting his feelings.)
Ways to verbally reward a child for positive statements:

 Notice and respond to his statements with something like, “That’s a kind thing to say, Sam,
that’s a good way to be friends with Tienie.”
 Amplify what he has said (make its effect bigger) by echoing his statement and spelling out
the good effect he may be having on others, for example:
 Sam: I was so busy with that pedal car! I pushed Tienie all around the garden.
Facilitator: You were a busy boy! Did you really push that pedal car all the way around the
garden? You gave Tienie a good ride.
Ways to reward a child non-

verbally for his positive
statements:
 Smiling, making eye contact, nodding
in agreement to his remarks
 Giving him a hug or a pat on the back
to show you are sharing his positive
feeling.
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Topic
Safeguarding the child

8
Accidents frequently happen to children, and they are targets for abuse. The vulnerability of babies,
toddlers and young children, means that you carry a very serious responsibility. It is not only your
responsibility to care, but also to deal with any situation in which the child’s safety is threatened while
in your care.
In this topic we consider physical safety measures you should take, and emotional support and
education you should provide, to make the children less vulnerable to danger. At times, your own lack
of experience or low frustration tolerance may put you at risk of abusing the children in your care.
Newspaper article: Punishment at playgroup
Child, 3, scalded with water as ‘punishment for soiling pants’

Cape Times, 6 November 2008
Pretoria: A three-year-old child is being treated for burns in hospital after allegedly being
scalded by hot water by a caregiver at a nursery school as a form of punishment. The incident
apparently took place after the caregiver, who is due to appear in court on Friday, got
frustrated with the child frequently soiling his pants.
During questioning by the police the caregiver admitted using hot water to bathe the child, ‘to
teach him a lesson’. The child’s father said his son had been in hospital for a week and had
burns to his face, chest and stomach. The distressed father said he was also angry because the
other nursery school staff had failed to take the child to hospital immediately.
‘They called my wife to tell her to come as the child was ill. All that time he was in pain but
nobody did anything about it.’
‘What kind of madness is that?’ he asked.
This newspaper article is shows how the stresses of working with small children can result in those
children becoming targets for the frustration of the caregiver. It may be helpful to have a class
discussion on this newspaper report, before proceeding with this topic. You can start this discuss by
first completing activity 15.
DID YOU KNOW?

The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern
Africa (CAPFSA) promotes optimal health and
development of all children in South Africa. CAPFSA
aims to reduce and prevent intentional and unintentional
injuries of all severity through research, education, environmental change and
recommendations for legislation. To achieve this they work in cooperation with
government, industry, non-governmental and community based organisations,
community groups and individuals.
Tel: 021 6855208
Website: www.childsafe.org.za
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Activity 17:
Safe channels for caregiver frustration
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 8. CCFO: Communicating, collecting, working
Work in groups of four or five.

Take 10 minutes to discuss your feelings and ideas about the newspaper article.
1. Report back to the class a summary of your group’s main feelings and ideas about the article.
2. Now work in your group again to answer the following questions, making notes to keep for your
reference.
2.1 Why is it inappropriate for a three-year-old child to be soiling himself so often?
2.2 What are your guesses about why he was doing so?
2.3 Is it helpful to punish a child for lack of control over bowel movements?
2.4 What could you do if a similar thing was happening to you as the caregiver for the child?
2.5 Identify the steps to take if you are feeling frustrated or unable to cope with any of the children’s
behaviour in your ECD centre.
2.6 Name the support systems that are available to you both at your place of work and at home, to
avoid your frustrations reaching a breaking point.
Place your written responses inside your Portfolio of Evidence.

Write some self-reflection notes about your response to this article in your journal.
Facilitating for safety
To ensure that children grow and develop as they should, the playgroup should provide a safe and
contained space for them. The age range in the playgroup may vary from babies as young as three
months who need hands-on attention and high standards of hygiene, to toddlers who are constantly
exploring; and young children are also intent on learning and trying out new skills that may lead them
into dangers you cannot imagine. Not only physical safety, but also emotional safety is the right of
every child.
Making the play space safe

You are under a legal obligation to ensure that your ECD centre is safe for the children in your care.
This safety extends from the smallest part of an activity on the shelf, to the outdoor limits of the play
area, the boundary fences, the awareness of the staff and the maintenance of the whole venue to high
standards.
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A safe environment for babies
Babies’ needs for disinfected bottles, nappy changes and frequent feeding, make strict hygiene
essential. There should be sterile nappy buckets with tight lids, separate storage spaces for bottles and
food, efficient disposal of waste (disposable nappies and wipes) as well as regular washing of the
changing area with disinfectant.
Equipment should be regularly disinfected, baby toys washed and disinfected, and food storage
facilities should be adequate. Every baby and child at the ECD centre should have a new facecloth
every term and a peg for hanging a bag with a change of clothing. Babies’ hands should be washed
before they eat (if they are eating solids) and their hands and faces washed again afterwards. You
need to be alert and very careful to protect the health of the babies in your care.
Babies also need a high level of safety in their play and sleep area. Cots and mattresses should be
clean (a weekly wash of laundry is essential, and equipment should be wiped down with disinfectant
once a week). The safety requirements for toys and resources for babies are the same as those for the
whole playgroup.
Checking toys and resources
 Check that toys and surfaces are not painted with toxic paint.
 Toys should have no sharp edges, small parts or sharp points.
 Toys with moving parts should not be able to shoot or eject parts that will injure other children.
 Remove small objects that could be swallowed when your attention is distracted.
 Check toys, tables, and equipment for sharp edges.
 Make sure wooden surfaces have no splinters – sand them with a piece of sandpaper immediately
if you find splinters.
 Make resources for very young children with extra care.
 Check that the toy is appropriate for the child’s age and skill level. Demonstrate it, watch the
child using the toy, and ensure it is safely put away.
 Learning resources that are safe for older children can be hazardous to little ones.
 Store toys on sturdy open shelves where children can easily reach them and put them away.
Label the shelf with a picture to indicate what is stored there. Ensure shelves are strong and will
not topple over if a child climbs up onto them.
 Wash and repair toys regularly.
 Keep in mind that toddlers trip and fall easily, and that with babies 'everything goes into the
mouth'. Keep track of smaller items and be sure to clear them away after use.
DID YOU KNOW?

CAPFSA has four general recommendations when buying toys for children:
S for size; the smaller the child the bigger the toy needs to be
S for shape; which means no sharp or rough edges
S for surface; this should be nontoxic and non-flammable
S for strings: no cords, ropes, ribbons or strings on a toy for a young child
Cited on www.childsafe.org.za/ntoys.htm, 11 January 2009 (Kidsafe Summer, 1995)
Playing safely with crayons: an unexpected problem
55
Two three year olds were playing hospital-hospital.
Jenna had been in hospital at 22 months, for a
dangerously high fever and febrile convulsions. She
had to have suppositories inserted anally to bring her
temperature down. The facilitator was unaware of this.
Jenna and Mimi were playing happily and when the
facilitator popped her head around the corner of the
play house, Jenna asked: “We’re playing hospital-
hospital, is it ok if I put a crayon in my bum?”
“No,” said the facilitator, “crayons are for drawing, you mustn’t put them in your bottom.”
“Oh, okay,” said Jenna, removing a crayon from her anus.
Homemade resources
Homemade play resources can meet the children’s needs very well and can be very economical to
make. When making a resource for a toddler or infant, make sure that:
 It is too large to be swallowed;

 It does not have detachable pieces that can lodge in the windpipe, ears, or nostrils (for example
pellets from a leaking bean bag, or stuffed doll);
 It will not break easily, leaving jagged edges (i.e. no brittle plastic or glass);
 It has no sharp edges or points (avoid using wire inside a stuffed item);
 It won’t pinch fingers or catch hair;
 It has not been put together with easily exposed pins, wires, staples, or nails;
 It is painted with non-toxic paint, or varnished or laminated.
Guidelines for safe play

 Always stay close by and see what children are doing when they are playing, inside or
outside. Learn to see where accidents may happen, and act to prevent them.
 If you are painting toys, toy boxes or furniture, use non-toxic paint or cover the paint with
varnish.
 Have rules about putting toys and equipment away at the end of play, to avoid accidents and
keep the equipment in good condition.
DID YOU KNOW – CHILD POISON SAFETY TIPS

 Use child-proof packaging
 Keep medicines and household chemicals locked up out of reach and out of sight
from young children.
 Keep the poison control center number next to your telephone and call immediately
if a poisoning occurs.
[Cited on http://www.mychildsafety.net/child-poison-safety.html]
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Safety outdoors
Note these safety features that are essential
for the outdoor play area:
 A high safety fence
 Child-proof gates
 Space for movement between pieces of
equipment
 Equipment suits developmental needs,
for example not too high off the
ground for three-year-olds
 Soft surface like lawn or bark chips, Figure 1.11 Make sure that there is a soft
and some paved areas surface like lawn around jungle gyms and other
 Proper drainage so that puddles don’t outdoor climbing equipment
build up
 Concrete anchors for large pieces of equipment
 Tall equipment a distance of three metres (minimum) from the fence
 Use shaded areas for any metal equipment
 Oil swings, check connections, oil wooden equipment
 Regularly replace sand in sandpit
Every day rules for safety
Every day is a day to check for hazards indoors and outdoors. Accidents happen very easily, and to be
safe, follow this checklist daily. It adds to your workload but is essential to the safety of every child:
Daily safety checklist Yes

Tidy away toys and check on whether the children have tidied efficiently so that nothing
is left lying around to trip on.
Check that children do not use outdoor climbing equipment if their clothing hampers
movement or their shoes have slippery hard soles.
Dry any wet or slippery areas or cover them with mats or sand.
Keep matches locked away and keep children away from any stove in the kitchen.
Lock away poisons, medicines, and cleaning materials – some of these look like ice
cream!
Remove keys from doors as these could be swallowed or injure a small child’s head. Put
away breakable objects, secure and cover rubbish bins, clean up any broken glass or
cigarette butts in the bin area.
Check electrical cords for wear and tear, tidy away accessories and cables.
Sweep up seeds or plant bulbs that might look tempting to chew on. Speak to the children
and warn them not to use any plants or leaves to make ‘food’ or ‘soup’ when playing.
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Figure 1.12 Growing safely poster by CAPFSA
[Cited on http://www.childsafe.org.za/online.htm, 11 January 2009]
58
Be prepared for an emergency
An emergency situation can happen at any time. Your first-

aid kit and system of emergency procedures should be in
place to deal with an emergency today. The children’s lives
may depend on your quick and efficient response. Tick off
the following requirements to ensure you have the resources
to cope.
 A list of emergency phone numbers next to the

telephone.
 An emergency plan to cope with natural disasters (such as floods or storms) and human-caused
disasters (such as fires or armed robbery.) Such a plan should include emergency numbers of a
rescue service as well as a safe place on high ground or a safe room in the playgroup premises.
 An evacuation plan (to be practised regularly with the children and staff).
 Fire extinguishers should be maintained.
 A first-aid box should be stocked with essentials.
 Staff should be trained to use a fire extinguisher and to administer first aid.
 Know where to find the electrical mains and the water mains.
Keep a register of the children and have it at a central spot from early in the morning once the register
has been taken. Use the register to check which children have been evacuated and to identify which
children may be missing.
Coping with floods: an emergency plan

 Give the alarm
 Inform the authorities
 Seek shelter on high ground
 Take food and warm clothes with you
Coping with a fire: an emergency plan

 Give the alarm
 Telephone the fire brigade
 Turn off the electricity at the mains
 Close the doors and windows to slow down the progress of
the fire
 Evacuate the building as quickly as possible
Coping with a violent/terrorist attack:

 Give the alarm
 Inform the police
 Seek a safe room in the building
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 Stay away from the windows
 Lie flat on the floor
 Stay calm and cooperate to avoid further violence
When children go missing

Children should know some basic safety rules of the ECD centre, for example, to tell the person on
duty outdoors when they go inside to the toilet, and not to go out of the ECD centre gate without an
accompanying adult.
You could do a ‘rule walk’ once every month to walk around the playgroup building and outdoor
space, inviting the children to tell others what rules apply in which spaces. In this way, the children
can get to know which areas are out of bounds.
Case study: Going out for ice cream

Three five-year-old boys left the ECD centre and went onto the pavement outside to buy ice
creams when they heard the ice-cream vendor ringing his bell. They
walked out of the gate with an unsuspecting visitor, and told him,
“We’re just going to buy ice-creams.” They found that they could not get
back in and became worried.
The primary school was on the same grounds, so they went to the Grade
1 class of one boy’s brother, whose teacher then accompanied them back
to the gate and rang the bell to alert the ECD facilitator. The facilitator
had been aware that the boys were not around but had not yet done a
thorough check to find out if they were missing.
Teaching about stranger danger

Child abuse is a common topic in the media, but to teach the children to value themselves enough to
report it is not so easy. Children are most often abused by someone they know, and the only safeguard
we can offer them is to teach them to report it and avoid those situations where possible. Consult the
list of issue-based books that you compiled earlier, and choose some that could be used in the
playroom regularly, for discussions at circle time.
In a book published by RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect),
called A Trolley Full of Rights, children are encouraged to ‘Run, yell and tell’ when they meet
someone and have a ‘no’ feeling about their behaviour. RAPCAN suggests teaching these strategies to
children:
 Stay an arm’s reach-plus away from strangers.

 Stand up, back up and run to someone who can help you if you feel afraid.
 Don’t talk to strangers, unless you are looking for help. In that case, choose a person you
think you can trust.
 Don’t take anything from strangers.
 Don’t accept a ride from a stranger.
 Don’t go anywhere with someone you don’t know.
Practise these actions in a special activity so that each child gets a chance to role-play the actions.
The protection of self-esteem
60
A child with healthy self-esteem will not accept being badly treated but will object to it. Self esteem is
a kind of inoculation against abuse, as it makes children more confident and outspoken. They are thus
not shy to tell an adult about anything that gives them a ‘no’ feeling.
Activity 18:
Case study: The ice-cream walk
Instructions for the activity :

Work in small groups to discuss the following questions:
1. How should the ECD staff have known that the boys were missing?
2. What strategies can you use to ensure that you are always aware of whether a child is missing?
3. Whose responsibility was it that the children left the premises with the adult?
4. Summarise your suggestions about ways of staying safe, to make a set of guidelines to give to
parents.
5. Now work on your own: Make up a story for your group (age 4–6), about how the boys went out
for ice cream. Discuss the story with the children and use the opportunity to stress how they should
stay safe (for example, always telling a grown-up where they are going, always knowing a parent’s
phone number, not going out of any gate without an adult).
6. Write up your observational notes on this discussion.

Write some self-reflection notes about your response to this example.
61
Topic
Modelling life skills

9
Your behaviour is a powerful influence on the children, so you should always be aware that you are a
role-model for them. It is also valuable to learn conflict-management skills to stop conflict developing
out of control and to prevent children acting out their feelings destructively. Your role and your skills
are needed to promote the children’s development, keep a harmonious atmosphere and show how to
deal with social situations calmly.
Simply by being in the presence of the children, you are showing and teaching them certain values,
knowledge, life skills and attitudes. What you are consciously teaching to them in the activities is
learnt as well, but not as easily.
EXPLANATION
Modelling: describes the social learning that takes place when the child or observer
identifies with a role-model and unconsciously copies her or shapes his/her own
behaviour to fit that of the model.
Facilitation for life skills development
In this discussion of how children learn life skills through modelling, you are introduced to the ideas
of psychologist Albert Bandura, who explained how a role-model may influence our behaviour.
“Of the many cues that influence behavior, at any point in time, none is more common than the
actions of others.”
“Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one
forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information
serves as a guide for action.”
– Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977
DEFINITION
Life skills: the social skills that humans use to manage their own lives and their
relationships with others.
Your important role as the facilitator makes you a powerful person in the child’s life. Your
responsibility is to get involved in encouraging and promoting the child’s development. The child
learns from you not only because of your action and teaching, but also because of your importance as
a role model. This also increases the child’s motivation to learn.
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How does modelling take place?
Firstly, the child is paying attention to the facilitator because he regards the facilitator as a warm or
powerful person.
Second, the child’s memory, mental images, and imagined rehearsal of what the facilitator is doing,
serves as a saved resource to draw on later.
Third, the child begins to copy the image or behaviour. The child may also observe himself acting out
the copy of the behaviour and may refine it and change it until it matches his inner mental image.
The motivation for this process comes from any good reason to imitate the behaviour:
 The behaviour may be rewarding in itself, or
 It may lead to some imagined reward, or
 The motivation may simply be that the child now feels he is like the important and powerful
role model.
Figure 1.13 Modelling is when the child or observer identifies with a role-model and unconsciously
copies her or shapes his/her own behaviour to fit that of the model
You can’t always choose which behaviours you model

The quality of your attention, your attitude and your social skills are being communicated to the
children all the time. Your positive and flexible approach gives the children a sense of security and
says, “I am in a good relationship with the world around me.” This is the best message you can give
the children through your behaviour, but if your own attitude is far from that, be aware that whatever
your attitude is, it is being communicated to the children at every moment.
The core learning behaviours

Attending and problem solving are core behaviours in all learning, and by modelling them, you set a
good example for the children to follow, and to succeed at their own learning.
Your focus of attention when helping a child with a craft activity or with tidying up, demonstrates
how to get the job done, and how to solve problems through effort and focus.
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Your own life skills
You are an example for the child to follow, and the other valuable skills that you model for the
children can broadly be called ‘life skills’.
To the child, the caregiver represents the outside world. Your own life skills of cooperation and
competition, conflict solving, building and keeping friendships, managing relationships with sincerity,
sharing and loyalty are shown to the children as you interact with them every day.
Your life skills are a foundation for the children

The diagram below shows how your own values and habits form a foundation that influence the
children. For this reason, it is important that you have a healthy relationship with yourself.
Self-
acceptance
Care for the

physical body Allow feelings
and social self
Aspects of
relationship
to yourself
Take Respect the

responsibility body’s needs
for yourself and rhythms
Comfort and
nurture
yourself
Figure 1.14 Manage your relationship with yourself in a healthy way, so that this is modelled for the
children
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Attitudes and values
Your interaction with the babies, toddlers or young children reveals your values. By singing, playing,
and talking to the children, you clearly show your attitude. To become more aware of what your
values and attitudes are, use the following activity as a beginning of a reflective process of increasing
your self-knowledge.
Activity 19:
Getting to know all about me
Make notes about how you felt and what you did on the way home yesterday. Reflect on your values:
Think of how you behaved towards others and towards yourself yesterday as you left the ECD centre
building to go home. Think about the things you did before you arrived at home. Close your eyes and
see yourself in your mind’s eye, travelling home by taxi, train, car or on foot. Notice in each thing you
did what your motivation was, for example, “I bought fresh fruit on the way home for my brother who
is not working but who surely tidied up for me while I was at work, because I want to show him I
appreciate his help.” OR “I called my partner on my cellphone and arranged to have a chat together
before supper because I want to treasure our relationship.” OR “I hurried home to help my daughter
with a school project and I took her to the library because I want her to do well at school.” OR “Some
taxi driver splashed me with water as I walked past while he was cleaning his taxi. I swore at him
because I was angry that my clothes were all spattered with dirt.”
In each sentence underline the feeling or value that was in the activity.
2. Now read over your sentences again and make a list of the values, for example:
Values
 Gratitude (for brother)
 Caring (for relationship with partner)
 Respect for education (of daughter)
 Love (for daughter)
 Self-sacrifice (to take daughter to library instead of going home to relax)
 Anger/punishment/revenge (towards taxi driver)
3. How would you describe your relationships with these people?
4. What effect do your values have on your relationships?

Write a paragraph or two about what you have learnt about yourself , in your
Journal.
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Children do what they see
The way you manage your relationships teaches the children how to manage theirs. Children do what
they see, even when they see poor examples; they learn social skills almost by breathing! Your own
mistake in communicating, or an unguarded moment of anger, may be seen and absorbed by the child.
The child’s parents are the most powerful models but the fact that you are in daily contact with the
child, means that you may be the second most powerful influence. Your values will colour and affect
the child’s own relationships.
Modelling for the developmental level
Always bear in mind that the children can only make sense of your behaviour and values at their
current level of development and intellectual understanding. Have realistic expectations and trust that
the children will absorb and use as much as they can at any point.
Modelling inclusivity
Your own acceptance of a variety of cultures and of disability depends on how comfortably familiar
you are with those differences from your own culture and life. Refer back to Topic 3, and your journal
notes on what you learnt about different cultures and abilities. Use those notes to chat to the children
often (at least three times a week in circle time) about what you know about other cultures and
disabilities.
Use the analogy of all the flowers in a garden – they are different colours, shapes and sizes, and that’s
how people are too. Make a photographic collage of children (and friendly-looking adults) of other
cultures and those with disabilities, and chat to the children about the new faces you keep adding to
the collage. Teach the older children the song We are the world and encourage the idea that all the
children all over the world are like one big family. The children will grow up in a much more
integrated world than you are currently experiencing, and they need your foundation of acceptance to
manage that gracefully.
 Collect pictures, artifacts and music about different cultures and kinds of disability.
 Make a rule that discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, culture or disability will
not be allowed, and anyone who does so will have to spend 20 minutes weeding the garden
(or similar ‘community service’).
 Show a good example of unbiased attitude and behaviour to anyone you meet in the ECD
environment, or on outings with the children, or in story books or resources. Have anti-bias
resources in the playroom (consult your list of issue-based books) and include a variety of
cultural festivals and foods in your programme.
 Take pride in the multicultural openness of your ECD centre. Show respect and compassion,
and the children will behave in a respectful way too.
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Activity 20:
Modelling co-operative behaviour
Work on your own and then with a partner. Read 1 and 2 before you begin.
1. Act out the following story in your own words, using two puppets to model ‘working together’
(cooperation). You could also make up your own song about ‘working together’ for the children to
join in.
This is a story about two puppets, a brother and a sister, who must build a wooden house before the
rainy weather starts. They have to work together. The one puppet (Eben) only wants to play in the
forest with his dog, and the other puppet (Maya) wants to finish the house and put on the roof.
Gradually Maya gets Eben to start moving the logs to build the house, and praises him. Eben becomes
very proud of himself and his work. They work hard together and finish the house. The two puppets
end by singing a song about working together, sharing and helping. They bake bread together and are
safe and warm in the house when the rain starts to fall on the roof.
2. Invite the children to observe how you and a partner are going to work together to mend some toys
at snack time. Role-play with your partner to show a happy relationship in which you share the
resources (glue and cardboard) and help each other to mend a broken toy or puzzle. Sing the song
about working together, sharing and helping.
3. For the next three days, encourage the children to “work together” whenever possible, and sing the
song. Say warmly “That’s right” or “That’s much better” and make eye contact when the children
show cooperative behaviour.
4. Record how many examples of co-operative behaviour (or even the children singing the song on
their own initiative) you can see in activities during those three days.
Day Day Day

1 2 3
sharing
helping
singing the song
Your modelling of cooperative behaviour will be assessed by your supervisor, on the following rubric:
Criteria for brochure Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4

(inadequate) (adequate but (good (excellent
needs coverage of and eye-
improvement) criteria) catching)
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Facilitator qualities/behaviour
Developmentally appropriate
modelling (without effort) for age
group
Behaviour has positive feeling tone
Encourages and shapes appropriate
behaviour through deliberate
intervention (with effort)
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Topic
Facilitating holistic
10 development
Why is holistic facilitation important?

The current education system is focused on developing the child as a whole person, enjoying rights
and responsibilities and a place in society. To reach this goal, you need to stay aware of the
importance of being focused on the learning process as well as the learning outcome; the process
always includes the whole child (thinking, feeling, working, talking, sensing) and the outcome will
represent only a small part of what the child experienced in the process.
Think of all the small actions that go into baking a cake; we are not aware of them when we eat a slice
of cake, but they are all essential. In this way, attend to the child’s learning and discovery process as
he learns skills and creates products (a painting, a puzzle, a game with a friend), and find ways to
value and encourage him in everything he does. The child needs to know that whether or not he
succeeds at copying a pattern or growing a bean sprout, he is a person with qualities and abilities that
are important and deserving of attention.
The history of holistic early childhood education

Planting a children’s garden
Friedrich Fröbel, who lived two hundred years ago, was a charismatic champion of ‘natural
education’. He developed a new philosophy “kindergarten” – a combination of the German
words for children and garden. His programme integrated gardening, music, dance and
storytelling. It also incorporated playful interaction with a series of educational toys. Known
as “Fröbel’s gifts” the toys included building blocks, parquetry tiles, origami papers,
modelling clay and sewing kits.
Fröbel’s motto, “Kommt, lasst uns unsern Kindern leben” was translated to “Come let us live
for the children” and showed Fröbel’s enthusiasm for nurturing the personal experience of
each pupil.
From: Studying the Creation of Kindergarten by Bill Lucas on 2005/10/24
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/person/124-billlucas
DEFINITION
Holistic development: the development of all domains of the child’s abilities: physical,
intellectual, social and emotional, moral, language and creative abilities.
How to facilitate for holistic development

As explained in Topic 9 about modelling, your example is vital to guide the developing child. Not
only your behaviour but also your attitude should show respect, nurturing and positive attention to the
child. You are an important and powerful influence on the child, and you represent a part of the
outside world beyond the child’s family.
 Treat each child as special and take the individual learning level into account.
 Use creative ways to address holistic development. Stimulate imagination and excite the
child’s intelligence and creative energies with music, drama, storytelling and interaction.
 Provide a variety of resources that children can explore in different ways.
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 Allow learning through action, free play, exploration and discovery.
 Teach in a holistic way by using a natural setting and the resources at hand, for example teach
about weather during a rain storm, ask children to identify noises, notice the direction of the
wind and rain, tell stories and sing songs about the weather, notice the effect on plants in the
garden, and go out afterwards to notice the result.
Activity 21:
Discussion on holistic development
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 10. CCFO: Communicating, working, collecting

1. Discuss your idea of holistic development and together work out a good definition of holistic
development.
2. Go through your notes and journal writing to find an activity you have facilitated that you think
addresses the child’s development in at least three domains. Explain to your partner how it does this.
3. Discuss with your partner an area of facilitation that you still feel unsure about, and share your
ideas on how to improve this.
4. Give feedback to your partner on what has been valuable for you in this activity.

Write a paragraph or two about what you have learnt about yourself , in your
Journal.
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Topic
Positive conflict management

11
The techniques of conflict management apply not just to three-year olds but also to international
politicians. These skills and behaviours that you must teach and model for the children will be good
training for their future lives and for successfully managing conflict at home, work and in the wider
world. First they must learn to manage their feelings in a socially acceptable way, and then you should
teach them how to resolve conflict for themselves.
At the end of this section we discuss physical punishment. It is illegal to give physical punishment
(smacking, hitting hands etc.) at schools. Only parents are allowed to do this at their own discretion,
but it is emotionally damaging and is not an effective way to change behaviour.
Managing children's feelings
Case study: Feelings and behaviour say the same thing

Karabo (3) has not been invited to her friend Ella’s birthday party. Ella is inviting only her
neighbours and no other children from the ECD centre. Ella is very excited about her party
but Karabo can’t understand why she is not invited, if they are in fact friends. The facilitator
has tried to explain to her but Karabo continues to feel sad, hurt and left out.
On the Friday afternoon before the party, Karabo takes some rotten guavas from under the
tree outside, and when she says goodbye to Ella, she angrily hands her a rotten guava and
says, “This is for your happy birthday party.”
The above example shows how:
 Karabo’s feelings are still very intense despite the efforts of the facilitator to explain that only
Ella’s neighbours are invited to her party.
 Karabo has acted out her feelings by choosing a rotten guava to give to Ella as a contribution
to her birthday party. The bad fruit clearly represents the bad feeling Karabo has about being
left out of the party. She is showing her bad feeling to her friend by giving her the fruit.
 Karabo’s feelings can be allowed further expression by the facilitator. The facilitator could
also encourage the parents to allow Karabo to experience her feelings at home, until they
subside.
 The ‘acting out’ behaviour of the gift of the rotten guava is not socially acceptable behaviour.
This behaviour can be dealt with on the spot by saying something like, “That’s not a happy
wish for Ella’s party. We all know you are sad and upset about not going to Ella’s party. You
do feel sad and left out but you mustn’t spoil Ella’s birthday. For birthdays we only give nice
things as presents. That guava shows how sad and horrible you feel. We will throw it away
now and you can sit by me until your mom comes to fetch you. When you’re feeling better
you can maybe give Ella a birthday hug.”
 Karabo may not be able to let go of her disappointment enough to give Ella a hug, but she
should be steered to the rubbish bin with the guava. Keep close to her, as this will be
comforting to her. This is enough of a resolution of the situation for the time being, until she
is ready to reach out to Ella again, or until Ella is able to accept her feelings.
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What is allowed and what is not?
Feelings are allowed; socially unacceptable behaviour is not allowed.
Feelings can be managed by listening to them with attention and patience, acknowledging them, and
naming them for the child. By offering your acknowledgement of the feelings (for example, “It
sounds like you feel really sad and jealous of Leo’s new friend?”) you make it possible for the child to
clarify his feelings for himself. Again, don’t worry about anything else at this point, like whether you
agree with the child’s behaviour or not. If you acknowledge the child's feelings, this makes her feel
safe while she struggles to manage them.
Feelings can be given an outlet that is more appropriate than the ‘acting out’ that the child may be
doing. Provide safe expression for feelings by offering these safe ways as alternative outlets for
intense feelings:
express anger by tearing newspapers or old telephone directories, stamping feet,

punching a punch bag, running around the garden, or doing a ‘woodchopper’ expulsion
breath: clasp hands together above head, bend knees slightly with feet hip width apart,
breathe in and then swing hands down between bent knees in a chopping action,
breathing out fast with a loud breath, repeat a few times
There are also creative ways to express feelings: by using voices – singing, chanting, growling,
whispering or using a nasty voice; through art activities like painting; and through stress management
tools (examples follow in the next section).
Behaviour that is socially unacceptable, such as throwing toys in anger, should be limited. It is more
constructive to do something with the feelings that will lead to a resolution, like expressing them
safely and trying to mend relationships. Set limits for children, to help them stop destructive actions
and offer them an alternative outlet for the feelings. For example say, “I know you’re sad, but hiding
here and chewing on a book is spoiling the book, and that isn’t allowed. We could go to the bottom of
the garden together and sit there behind the tree so that you can cry in private until you feel better.
Maybe we could count the yellow butterflies when you have finished.”
Stress management tools

You can build stress-releasing exercises into your ECD programme, to release the build-up of
unexpressed feelings and stresses. These techniques help to keep the pot from boiling over, as their
regular use will keep the children calmer and better able to deal with everyday frustrations. Choose a
few techniques, demonstrate them once a week and use them as part of your response to cues
whenever tension is building. Do them as part of your intervention when the children are struggling
with feelings. Allow at least five minutes to do one of these stress-busters:
 Slow breathing: Sitting cross-legged on the floor, or comfortably on a chair, take deep
breaths, breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth, slowly. (This slows down the
heart and has a calming effect.)
 Guided imagery: Get the children to lie down on their backs with eyes closed, and guide
them through these images: “Let's imagine… a beautiful field of green grass where you can
lie on your back and look at the soft clouds floating in the sky;
feel your body relaxing into the earth, getting heavier as you let go of all the feelings; OR
‘imagine your heart glowing like a golden light with love, peace and quietness’ (or similar
guided imagery).
 Massage: Children sit in a circle for a massage, all facing left, so that they can massage each
other’s backs gently and slowly; they could also use this circle to do a back tickle.
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 Floppy bodies: Stand and shake out hands, feet, shoulders, arms, legs, wiggle hips, shake
head, shake out the feelings, and become all floppy.
 Lie down straight with feet flopping the side and hands gently resting palms up. Begin to
relax your toes; when they are all relaxed, focus your attention on your legs, imagine them
relaxing completely… (and so on, progressing up to the top of the head, and end with a deep
breath in, and a stretch and breathe out).
These relaxation techniques are good for facilitators too.
Helping children manage their feelings

It is important that you model a process of dealing with feelings that show that there is a beginning, a
middle and an end to strong feelings.
 The first step is to check what you are modelling for the children – are you stressed, is your
voice and your manner tense? You should be sharing appropriate feelings and showing
appropriate ways of working through them, for example, “I’m sad that my dog died. Today I
need to be a bit quiet and remember her; maybe I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow or the next
day.” This will help the children to cope with their own feelings in a similar way.
Here are some other techniques you can use to help children learn to deal with their feelings
constructively:
 Allow all feelings: don't encourage 'good feelings' or discourage 'bad feelings'.
 Teach 'feeling' words, like ‘angry’, ‘sad’, ‘jealous’, ‘happy’, ‘excited’, ‘disappointed’,
‘lonely’, to support children who are struggling with vocabulary and with feelings. Use the
issue books mentioned earlier as a
starting point.
 Help children accept, express and

move through their feelings to a new
point of understanding.
 Remind children that feelings don't

last forever, that another day will
come when they will feel a bit better.
It is slow work to focus on feelings, allow

their expression, deal with the process of
accepting and healing, but it is best to do this
work carefully as it is an investment in
teaching children to manage their feelings
healthily for the future.
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Activity 22:
Supportive behaviour management

1. Read the example of Karabo and Ella again. Identify a similar conflict situation that has
happened recently at the ECD centre and describe it in your notes.
2. Read through the criteria in the rubric. Take turns to role-play a facilitator’s good response to
the two children involved in the conflict situation, using the skills identified in the rubric.
3. The other person should observe the response and make notes about the strategies and
responses used by the ‘facilitator’.
4. Rate your partner’s performance of managing strong feelings, on a scale of 1–4 by using the
following rubric:
Criteria for brochure Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 (good Score 4
(inadequate) (adequate but coverage of (excellent
needs criteria) and eye-
improvement) catching)
Management of feelings
Allowing feelings to be expressed
Helping child to articulate and

name feelings
Separating feelings and behaviour
Suggesting creative outlet for

feelings
Managing destructive or
inappropriate behaviour through
limit-setting and encouragement of
alternative behaviour
Place written work in your Portfolio of Evidence.

Reflect on how well you managed to play this role of managing feelings and
behaviour.
First teach social skills

The children in your ECD centre will come from different backgrounds with different levels of
parental expectation of good behaviour. It is helpful to set up basic rules for behaviour and good
manners, which all the children must adhere to. This creates clear limits for everyone. First you
74
should research what good manners are and how useful or constructive they may be to social
relationships. The changes in society and the multicultural mix have blurred the rules for good
manners – so it is necessary to clarify for yourself what you expect from the children as ‘good
manners’.
Teaching good manners in the ECD setting

Children who have good manners will enjoy better social relationships, and make friends more easily.
They should also understand that it is important to consider others’ feelings and needs, by being kind,
thoughtful and respectful. Explain to the children that having good manners helps them to make and
keep good friends. Children without good manners may find themselves lonely, or labelled as selfish
by others.
These behaviours are easy to teach to the children. You should already be modelling them for the
children – check your own manners before you attempt to teach them.
When you teach children good manners, expect that their impulsivity may sometimes overcome their
manners, and consider the developmental age of the child. Manners can be taught from an early age
but as children grow older, their manners will be more reliable.
Which rules work for your group?
Do this short activity with a partner to clarify your thinking about what kind of rules should be used in
at your ECD centre.
Discuss the rule poster with the children, ask them for examples of each rule, add examples you think
are relevant, for example ‘no hitting, as this does not respect the other person’.
Activity 23:
Research to identify good behaviours

1. Research by interviewing people as widely as possible in your community, informally, to find
answers to the question: What are good manners that children should be taught? Examples could be:
saying 'please' and 'thank you'; smiling when greeting someone; letting a friend have the first choice
or the first try at a game or activity; chewing food with the mouth closed.
2. Research by consulting the internet and library resources and find out whether these resources
agree with the interview answers you found. Note the differences if any.
3. Write up a research report with a conclusion and make a list of the good manners that society thinks
children should be taught. (Call this List A)
4. Discuss with your partner which of these could be taught in the ECD context. Make a list labelled
“Good manners to be learnt at the ECD centre”. (Call this List B)
5. Work with your partner to create an activity for each developmental age group (babies, toddlers and
young children) to teach some manners. You could refer to Topic 1 for ideas on fun activities. Your
research project and your activity will be rated by your supervisor.
75

Reflect on whether you agree with List A and List B.
Guidelines for constructive behaviour management
1. Show by doing: The children are learning social skills from your example. They will do as
you do, so be sure to use respectful language, say “Thank you” or “Excuse me”, as you would
in any social setting. These good manners then become part of the children’s own habits.
2. Encourage open-ended play, to provide practise and insight into the value of cooperation and
consideration for others. Play is a practise arena for the children to try out new skills.
3. Encourage special friendships to provide daily practise in social skills. Younger children who
are not yet able to play cooperatively will benefit from a friendship and begin to learn to
cooperate. Promote friendships amongst the children, especially stable or special friendships.
4. Encourage empathy and compassion, as young children are initially egocentric and may try to
be thoughtful, but tend to fall back into self-centredness. The children’s sensitivity will grow
as they develop, but they need to be reminded to think about how others feel.
Activity 24:
Discussing rules and their values
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 11. CCFO: Communicating, organising
1. Work with a partner and have a short discussion on the following question:
What are the values we want to teach the children through our rules for behaviour?
(This discussion may draw on ideas that came up in your research into good manners.) Examples of
values are: respect, consideration, self-sacrifice, restraint or self-discipline.
2. Now use these values make a brief list of rules for your ECD centre (for example, “Be helpful and
caring to others”).
3. Work on your own to create your own bright illustrated poster about these rules, for display at the
ECD centre at child height.
4. Your poster will be assessed with the following rubric:
Criteria for brochure Score1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4

(inadequate) (adequate but needs (good (excellent
improvement) coverage of and eye-
criteria) catching)
Sensible choice of rules
Use relevant visual
images
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Colourful, clear and
appealing
Place a copy of your poster inside your Portfolio of Evidence.

Write a paragraph or two about the values you discovered as essential to rules in the
ECD centre.
More about empathy

Empathy and compassion make it easier to reach compromises in conflict situations, so make a point
of encouraging these behaviours that develop empathy in the child:
1. Fantasy play in which children play different roles and enact different feelings;
2. Expression of feelings; give children opportunities to listen to other people's feelings too. Keep the
context appropriate for their level, as it is easier for them to hear and understand children’s feelings.
Don’t overload them with stories about adult’s feelings.
3. Noticing how others may share our feelings; link one child's feelings to another child's in a similar
situation.
DEFINITION
Empathy: the ability to feel with another person, to experience the inner world of the
feeling.
Consideration, cooperation and sharing

Young children feel good when they make a contribution to a communal need. They grow in self
esteem if they feel their help is valued. They begin to understand that helping is good for others and
also good for their sense of self and it makes them more popular in the group. Start with asking a child
to do small helpful tasks like sorting the crayons and throwing out the ones which are too short (useful
for making wax candles) and then more responsible tasks like ringing the bell. This creates a climate
of helping and consideration.
Due to their egocentric understanding, children find it hard to share before the age of two. By age
three they should begin to play more cooperatively but still have poor impulse control when under
pressure to share a precious toy.
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Below is an example of the difficulty of sharing.
Example of sharing problems

1. Candy (3) is visiting Sarah (2 ½) at the play house in the house corner. She brings with her
a blue handbag from the dressing-up box, which she carries over her shoulder. She picks up
three Lego men that Sarah has put on display like ornaments, and puts them in the bag. Sarah
says ’No!’ and tries to take the Lego men out of the bag. They struggle and begin to scream.
Sarah pulls Candy’s hair. (Aggression)
2. Thomas, aged three, has a pile of Lego in front of him but is using all the Lego men for his
building. Tina asks him for two Lego men for her bus and he simply pushes all the other Lego
blocks towards her. She tries to snatch the two red Lego men from Thomas’s building, and
Thomas lets go of it and starts to cry. (Flight or withdrawal)
3. Dikeledi, age four, is playing with the red pedal car. She gets off to go to the toilet and
comes running back to find that Sam is sitting in the seat. She shouts, “Mrs Kay, Sam stole
my turn in the car. He’s rude!” (Tale-telling).
These examples are typical of struggles with favourite toys and show how the children quickly fall
into screaming, crying, snatching or hurting when their possession of a precious object is challenged.
The children resort to aggression flight or withdrawal (as shown in the crying) and telling tales. How
do we teach them to share?
Sharing begins to improve gradually as children begin to understand that the toys are not part of
themselves but separate objects. As a result of their immature sense of self, toddlers are not
developmentally ready to share. As they grow from toddlers into pre-schoolers, they begin to
understand what belongs to their own bodies. Their understanding of their own body boundaries
improves, so they are better able to let go. From age three to age five, they slowly develop a stronger
sense of self and are not so threatened by toys being removed or going to someone else for a turn.
Making it easier for children to share

Support and encourage sharing by keeping duplicates of toys and also a wide variety of toys and
resources to choose from. Encourage turn taking so that children gradually learn to share as they get
older, set time limits for play with popular toys, and teach the social to-and-fro of asking to share a
toy.
Example of talking through a sharing situation

If Riyaad has snatched a toy that Sam was using, you can say, “Sam hasn't finished playing
with that toy yet.” Explain to Riyaad that he needs to give the toy back to Sam. Then, if
necessary, you can say, “You need to give it back. Can you do it by yourself or do I need to
help you?” If Riyaad doesn't return it, you can gently return it. Give each child the words to
say, so that over time they will learn how to talk about this together. Sam needs to know how
to say, “I'm using it”, and Riyaad needs to know how to ask for a turn: “May I have a turn
when you're finished?”
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How to resolve conflict between children
Children need to learn problem-solving skills, to cooperate, compromise, and listen to each other. A
helpful model developed by Joyce Fittro (1996) shows a step-by-step approach to teaching conflict
resolution to children, as we see in Figure 1.15.
Ask what
Decide on the happened
best option
Evaluate the
different Define the goal
consequences
Brainstorm for
options
Figure 1.15 A step-by-step approach to teaching conflict resolution to children
Ask what happened

The first step is to ask calmly ‘what happened’ and hear the story from both sides. The facilitator
should acknowledge the facts and the feelings of each child. In this way each child hears the feelings
of the other, and begins to see the situation from the other’s point of view. Some children are unaware
of how their behaviour affects others, and they must have this shown to them.
Define the goal

Define the problem in terms of what both children want to happen, and the goals they both want, for
example, “It sounds like Sam wants to build a city with roads for cars and there is no space left for
Mimi to have visitors come to her play house.” This acknowledges both their needs and the children
understand that both their needs are important.
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Brainstorm for options
Get the children to brainstorm about possible solutions. Do not add your own suggestions, just record
the different ideas and keep asking “What else?” until the children run out of ideas. You could ask the
child how someone else might solve the problem, if he seems to have no ideas.
Evaluate the different consequences

Consider each solution and its consequences in turn. Ask the children how they feel about the
different solutions, for example “What would happen if we did it this way? How would you feel about
that?” Encourage the children to evaluate the ideas.
Decide on the best solution

Restate the problem, summarise the ideas and let the children identify the most promising solution. If
their chosen solution seems unlikely to work, be ready to start the process again. Make a plan for
implementing a solution.
This process is slow but teaches children the valuable skill of thinking up possible solutions and
considering others in finding a solution to fit everyone’s needs.
The core skills for resolving conflict
This method relies on core skills which you should slowly begin to teach the children:
1. Listening and allowing: Allow the person to express the problem, tell them you have heard
and understood, accept that that is how they feel, discuss a possible meeting point where the
two points of view connect.
2. Making amends: find out what the other person wants to make things better. It may not be an
apology; it could be some practical form of action. This may involve compromise or
sacrificing something for the other person.
3. Apologising should not be emphasised too much but it does have a place. The child should be
encouraged to say they are sorry and that they care about the other person. It may not be
essential to admit that they are wrong, but the child should show that it matters that the other
person was hurt or offended.
4. It may be necessary to ask for intervention by a third party who is not involved in the conflict.
The child may take this initiative to sort out a problem. The third party is not meant to take
sides with one child but to assist both children.
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Activity 25:
Managing conflict
US: 244480. SO 1, AC 11. CCFO: Communicating, organising
Work on your own.

Use the examples of Candy, Thomas and Dikeledi.
a) Review what you have learned from this topic to help you decide how best to manage these three
problem scenarios.
b) Write a paragraph about each scenario, explaining how you would deal with each problem.
Alternatives to physical punishment
The law in South Africa says that it is illegal to punish a child with corporal punishment in the school
or ECD setting. A more constructive alternative to physical punishment is to withdraw privileges or
allow the child to experience the logical consequences of his action. Children learn gradually to
control their emotions in socially acceptable ways. We also expect them to gain control of their
behaviour and to take responsibility for their feelings and behaviour. Your role is to teach this self-
control, in manageable steps. By the age of four or five the child should have moved beyond tantrums
and outbursts, and should have better control of his feelings.
Behaviour management at different developmental stages
The techniques used for effective discipline should meet the needs of the different developmental
stages. Ann Cawood, an experienced social worker who works with parents and families,
recommends these age-appropriate techniques (Cawood, 2007: 88–89):
The baby stage

During the first year of life the baby’s needs begin to become demands, and they can be limited when
they become unreasonable. Use a firm tone of voice to begin to set limits at around six months, by
labelling the feeling, and continuing to do what you need to do; for example, “I know you want me to
pick you up, but you must wait a bit while I tidy all the cushions away.” Use the following techniques:
 Firm no-messages: “No, we don’t touch the flowers in the vase.”

 Distraction with an alternative activity: “Here’s the shape sorter. Let’s see if you can pop
them all in the holes.”
 Child-proofing: All dangerous or unsuitable objects for a baby should be moved out of reach
or locked away.
 Constant adult supervision and consistent limit-setting.
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The toddler stage
 Avoid a battle of wills by avoiding giving absolute orders that the toddler would love to
contradict. Decide on suitable boundaries (state the rule) but also give a choice, for example,
“You can eat your sandwich when you sit down quietly at the little table” or “You can have a
turn in the paddling pool when you’ve tidied the toys away” or “It’s time to put on shoes for
going home. Do you want to sit on the beanbag to do that, or do you want to sit here next to
Vuyo?”
 Give a timeous warning: Give an announcement of forthcoming tasks, to give the child time
to get used to the idea of what has to happen, for example, “It’s nearly snack time. You can go
on the slide a few more times and then it will be time to wash hands.”
 Have realistic expectations: the toddler is not deliberately manipulative or antisocial, but
simply testing limits and developing a sense of separate identity.
 Contain the feelings and limit the behaviour. Diffuse temper tantrums: Do not reason with a
toddler who is in the middle of a tantrum; hold him firmly to ensure he cannot hurt himself,
and try to calm him down with soothing words. Also respect the toddler’s limitations and do
not add stress to the situation to stretch him beyond his ability to cope with a situation (for
example, expecting him to tidy up toys immediately after a nap).
 Use natural consequences. The natural consequences of an action may be a hard lesson: if the
child hits his friend, the friend may hit back; if he forgets his snack at home, he may have no
snack; if he leaves his book outside, it may be ruined by the rain. You should use your
discretion in managing this experience, and always discuss what happened and why. This
creates a powerful conscious learning experience.
Age three to six

 Avoid overly high expectations and do not pressure the child to perform.
 Limit demanding or negative behaviour by using I-language: “When you throw your lunch on
the floor, I feel very cross because of the mess.” Follow up with logical consequences: “You
can help clean up by fetching a cloth from the kitchen, or else you must leave the table and sit
alone on the beanbag.”
 Allow time for a security object to be given up gradually.
 Reinforce rules and limits for mealtimes, nap times and toileting.
 Direct towards the consequences: Allow children to take responsibility through their
experience of the consequences, for example, if Tienie leaves the scooter outside in the rain, it
gets wet and he must dry it down with a cloth before putting it away. If you do the drying
yourself, you are depriving Tienie of experiencing the consequences and of changing his
behaviour. Encourage the children to make amends after an argument with a friend, fix what
is broken, and clean up after an accident with the paint. In this way they learn to understand
and take care in their relationship with the world.
 Encourage problem solving: This is also a core skill to empower the children to manage
situations so that they experience self-reliance on their own resources. Decision-making skills
are a by-product of problem solving.
 You can gently guide the child from a negative to a positive behaviour choice by redirecting
the child. For example, if two children are fighting over a toy tip-up truck, it would help
defuse the conflict if you could provide a second tip-up truck. If a child is jumping up and
down on a chair, you could say: The chair is not for jumping on, you may jump on the floor.”
Or, you could shift the child’s attention to a new activity, reducing the focus on the conflict
situation. Children will learn to do this for themselves if you model it for long enough.
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 Allow children to make their own choices. When you do this, you encourage them to be
independent and to think for themselves. If you provide opportunities for making choices, the
children will get used to this way of dealing with a problem situation and learn to assert their
individuality and take responsibility through the choices they make. For example, you can
say, “Oh dear, your painting is dripping on the floor. You could clean up with this wet cloth
or with the squeegee mop” or “I see your knee is hurt, Dineo, it must be very sore. You can sit
here on the beanbag while I clean it, and you can hold Tienie’s hand for comfort, or we can
go to the bathroom, but screaming and running with a bleeding knee is not allowed.”
 Making choices builds self-esteem. Just be sure that your limits for a range of choices is well
understood and that you are ready to be firm about those limits, for example, “You can have
the last piece of birthday cake if you will take the tray to the kitchen and wash it afterwards.”
You should state what decisions are not negotiable, for example, “Everyone can stay and play
with water for five more minutes if they want to, but then everyone has to wash their feet
under the tap before they come inside for story time. No sandy feet will be allowed inside.”
Developing the freedom to choose makes a big difference to the child’s self-esteem, provides
a sense of control and trust in himself, and makes him more co-operative as a result.
Age six and up

 Use all the techniques described above.
 Praise with a personalised description of the behaviour.
 Find things that the child is good at, to develop the child’s self-esteem in order to better
manage the behaviour changes that may be needed.
 Validate the child’s feelings; do not dismiss them as silly. (Cawood, 2007: 97–100).
How to manage bullying
Case study: Managing bullying behaviour

The facilitator heard about this incident of bullying from Sinazo, who was upset about the
incident. While the children were lining up outside the Friday tuck-shop, two boys started
throwing little stones that they had in their pockets, at the heads of the girls in front of them.
One girl, Sinazo, told them, “You aren’t allowed to throw things. It’s against the rules.”
None of the other children said anything because they are afraid of those boys. Sinazo felt
hurt and sad that none of her friends did or said anything to help her.
The facilitator heard the story from Sinazo afterwards. She responded in the following ways:
a) Expressing sympathy for Sinazo and the other girl who was hurt, and checking to see
whether they had any injuries.
b) Speaking to the bullies, telling them their behaviour was against the rules, and immediately
imposing a punishment by withdrawing a privilege (participation in story time, withdrawn for
three days).
c) Talking to the group about the issue at circle time and asking the children for alternative
ways of dealing with the bullies.
d) Stressing the point that the children should be kind to each other by standing up for each
other, and that all of them should protest when a child breaks the rules.
 To manage bullying behaviour, follow these guidelines:
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 Tell the children to tell you straight away if there is bullying in the ECD centre. Refer to the
rules about this kind of behaviour.
 Encourage the children to stick up for their friends and also say when things are not allowed.
 The bullying behaviour should be dealt with immediately: speak to the children concerned,
repeat the rules, and let them know there are consequences for their behaviour.
 The bullies should immediately lose some privilege as a punishment (for example, not being
allowed to join in story time but having to sit in a separate room and mend puzzle boxes with
sticky tape, in silence, while the other children are listening to the story.)
 The behaviour should be discussed in the group, where the children can say how they feel
about bullying and suggest alternative ways of dealing with the bullies. They should also
identify opportunities for the bullies to show they are sorry. The bullies should be given the
opportunity to apologise and to make amends if they can.
Conclusion
Your knowledge of development and your own creative input are the two essential parts of facilitating
fun developmental activities that are meaningful to the child’s world. Topic 1 looked at how to use
materials from nature, recycled clean materials and themes, to make activities fun, accessible and
varied. Allow activities to be open-ended, use a flexible approach, and incorporate the unexpected
into the process. Reflect on your facilitation, so that you can improve the quality of the activities and
make them match the developmental needs of the children more closely.
Topic 2 looked at responding to cues from children. A cue is a signal from a person that requests a
response. It is best to respond to cues immediately as they provide learning opportunities, may signal
a learning crisis or possibility of a skill developing to the next level of developmental ability, and may
contain an emotional component that must be addressed.
In topic 3, we discussed how to facilitate without bias and with cultural sensitivity. It is important to
grow in awareness and flexibility in your attitude to differences, so that you can become sensitive to
any bias in your own facilitation. Begin by raising your own consciousness of bias. To apply this
knowledge and develop the skill of intervening sensitively about differences of culture or ability,
approach the topic honestly and respectfully. Keep discussions on the level of the child’s
understanding and context. Use books, visitors, puppets and any opportunity that arises in the course
of the day, to explore bias and cultural discrimination in a supportive and constructive way.
Topic 4 introduced the concept of teachable moments. A teachable moment occurs when the child
steers the learning process and content according to his developmental needs and individual
preferences.
The facilitator should respond to a teachable moment with a positive attitude, compassion and
understanding. The aim is to engage the child in learning something vital and relevant to his
development, culture and personal growth.
In topic 5, we looked at how to provide a warm, accepting and nurturing environment in order to
create a climate for growth and development of children in the ECD setting. Strategies for promoting
the child’s self-esteem can be applied throughout the day, during the planned activities and at any
time. They build the child up rather than make him nervous and unsure of his abilities. This also
enhances development. Your own self-esteem, as well as your sensitivity, patience, and awareness of
the needs and personalities of individual children, will ensure the children’s development while they
are in your ECD centre.
Language is the tool for much of your facilitation of the daily programme. Topic 6 looked at how to
communicate responsively with the children at your ECD centre. Your communication should be
responsive to the individual child’s level of development, his personal context and culture, and his
learning opportunities. Your use of leading questions, open-ended questions, your positive attitude,
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willingness to give appropriate praise, and emphasis on affirming the skills the child is learning, all
contribute to promoting the child’s development.
Topic 7 outlined at the importance of valuing the child. All your positive facilitation skills are ways of
showing the child that he is valued. Your verbal and non-verbal behaviour is a resource for
communicating a sense of warmth, support and encouragement to the children.
Topic 8 discussed how to keep the children physically safe by checking toys, equipment, the building,
gates and fences, for any dangers. Have emergency plans, evacuation and fire drills, fire
extinguishers, a first-aid kit, and be practised at using all of these. This topic also looked at how to
keep the children emotionally safe by building their self-esteem and teaching them strategies for
dealing with people who may approach them or whose presence or behaviour gives them a ‘no’
feeling. Finally, this topic looked at the need for you, as an ECD practitioner, to monitor your own
stress levels to avoid becoming emotionally burnt-out and possibly becoming abusive to the children
yourself.
As an ECD practitioner, you have a powerful influence on the children in your care and should use
this to influence them positively, showing healthy values, attitudes and behaviour. Topic 9 discussed
how to be aware of your own attitudes and values by reflecting on your behaviour and how you
manage your relationships. Keep in mind the developmental level of the children and keep your
behaviour in line with what they need to learn and can understand.
Your attention and focus should be on the whole child and all domains of his development. In topic 10
we looked at how to engage the whole child by working with creative activities and in settings that
allow for all kinds of learning and exploration. This included using activities that promote
development in more than one domain at one time.
By teaching children social skills you increase their ability to handle emotional upsets and conflict.
Topic 11 discussed how modelling conflict resolution skills can empower children to become good at
problem solving and at other skills like negotiation and compromise, which help to resolve conflict.
Secondly, problem behaviour can be reduced by setting firm limits and providing children with
choices within those limits. Finally, bullying must be dealt with firmly and thoroughly, addressing
both the bully and the victim, providing an opportunity for discussion and feelings, reconciliation,
making amends, and also consequences for the bully.
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Unit 2:
Reflecting on own facilitation
Unit outline
1: Reflecting on your own facilitation

approach
2: Obtaining feedback on your

facilitation
3: Reflecting on the strengths and

weaknesses of your facilitation
4: How facilitation contributes to the

Early Childhood Development service
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Topic
Reflecting on your own
1 facilitation
In this study guide you will learn how to reflect on your approach to facilitating your ECD centre’s
activities. You will be invited to use your own reflection as well as feedback from others, to improve
on strengths and use weaknesses as opportunities to consolidate your practice.
In this first topic, you are invited to take a closer look at your facilitation skills, think about your
responses and performance and keep notes in your journal. By feeding your new awareness back into
your practice, you build on your strengths and can become more confident that your approach and
methods are working. You need to refresh your skills and your activities from time to time, and when
new children enter the group at the beginning of the year, you should be able to find new ways of
doing things that are effective and also fresh. Keep your goal in mind: to provide activities that are fun
and also promote the development of the children.
To prepare for this process of reflection, buy an A4 hardcover book and cover it with some inspiring
images and pictures, then cover it with plastic or make a separate A4 cardboard cover for loose pages
and have it laminated and bound at a photocopy shop. This will be your Journal, for reflecting on your
input into the activities, for recording your thoughts and feelings about the work, and to track your
progress as you improve your understanding, skills and knowledge of facilitation.
The value of reflection
What is the value of reflecting on your facilitation? Is there really

anything else to learn, once you know how to facilitate? Surely
you are doing your best already? The answer is that there is
always room for insight, new ideas, and better facilitation.
Here are some reasons for doing this reflection:
 To ensure quality, effective facilitation for child

development
 To be sure to match the children’s needs, developmental
levels and interests
 To find ways to develop yourself as a facilitator
 To put mistakes to good use, to generate new
understanding
The way we do this reflection is by taking the slow path to knowledge: look, listen, think, look again,
think again, and come to conclusions. New insights come from the process of reflection, they cannot
be hurried. Keep an open mind, a willing heart, a readiness to be a guide to the children rather than an
instructor who already knows everything, and be willing to take the journey of discovery with the
children.
By being willing to allow the children their process of becoming and developing, you must also allow
yourself a similar development of your skills.
But because every moment of your work with the children affects them, the aim is to become
effective and competent as soon as possible, by checking and considering what you have done,
thinking about it and learning from your reflection. Your attitude should be one of pride in your work
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combined with willingness to improve your performance. The work will be stimulating and reflection
should become a habit, a way of deepening your understanding.
Reflection will help you get to know yourself so that you will improve your emotional intelligence.
This means knowing and managing your own emotions better, staying motivated despite the work
load and stresses of working with young children, and managing relationships better.
Activity 26:
Getting to know yourself
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 1. CCFO: Identifying
1. Work on your own to fill in this questionnaire. Keep it in your Journal and refer back to it when
you need to.
Things that matter to me...
1. The qualities I look for in a friend are........
2. The qualities I like most in myself are........
3. I feel comfortable with people who are........
4. I am hurt when someone........
5. I trust people who........
6. I feel annoyed by people who........
7. People make me happy when they..........
8. I feel closest to a person when..........
9. People like me most when I..........
10. The thing I enjoy doing most is...........
2. Write a paragraph or two in your Journal about anything new you have discovered about yourself
by answering these questions.
3. Play the Potato People game with a large group (about ten people) or the whole class:
Each group has a bag of potatoes (there should be the same number of potatoes as people in the
group). Inside a box prepared by your supervisor, are slips of paper with a name of a feeling on each
slip.
Each student should take a potato and a piece of paper.
Now study your potato, noticing what is unique and different about it.
Make up an identity for the potato: sex, name, age, and a story about that potato person, including the
feeling that is on your piece of paper.
Share your story of your potato with your group.
Put the potatoes back in the bag.
Now each student must find their own potato as quickly as possible.
Report back to the group what was so unique about your potato that helped you to find it amongst all
the others. Write your responses to the Potato Game in your journal.
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(Game adapted from Sutton, 1999, quoted in Pollard.)
Our self-image may vary depending on who we think is noticing us. We may be relaxed and confident
with our families but shy and lacking confidence at work or in big groups. It is important to be
comfortable and accept yourself for who you are, including and accepting all the aspects of your
personality (including shyness or not being good at sport, for example) as part of the whole. Your
response in any situation will then be more true to who you are, rather than just a response to give
people what you think they expect. This makes life richer and more rewarding for you and the people
around you.
The value of your Journal

You have noticed that many activities require you to make notes
or comment in your Journal, to record how the activities are
affecting you. The kinds of notes to include in your Journal, are
personal evaluations of the activities you have managed;
reflection on your effectiveness as a facilitator; evaluation of the
match between the activities you have provided, that the
children’s developmental needs and personal preferences; and
personal concerns about your work, for example, thoughts about
your frustration with parents who don’t keep an evening routine
and let their children go to bed too late, resulting in the children
struggling with sleepiness the next day.
The value of a journal lies in the fact that it reflects you to

yourself and challenges you to do better next time. In the next
activity, you'll practise using your journal for evaluation
purposes.
Activity 27:
Practise evaluating your facilitation
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 1. CCFO: Identifying, working, organising, communicating
Work in pairs.
1. Design an activity to facilitate with your ECD centre. Plan and then facilitate the activity with the
children.
2. Take half an hour directly after the activity to make a few notes as your reflect on how the activity
worked, and what was valuable about the activity. Include comments on the following aspects:
 How well you managed to begin and maintain the activity
 How successful the activity was in meeting the children’s needs and developmental level
 What you thought and felt during the process of the activity
3. Improve on the activity by identifying what improvements you could make
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a) To meet the developmental goals better
b) To apply improvements in your own facilitation skills
Use your Journal for the reflection in this activity.
Activity 28:
Building on your strengths
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 1, 3. CCFO: Identifying
Work on your own. Try to be honest with yourself and record the answers to these questions in your
reflection journal:
1. What am I sure of doing well?
2. What is the special quality or strength that I bring to my facilitation?
3. What is it that I suspect I need more knowledge and experience of?
4. What skill have I struggled with for a while and need help with, but am too afraid to ask?
5. Where can I get help for this neglected skill?
6. How can I use my special quality or strength to get help with this skill or to address it?
7. What praise would I like to hear from myself for my work?
Write reflection notes in your Journal.
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Topic
Obtaining feedback on your
2 facilitation
How do you know whether your facilitation is good for the children’s development and social
adjustment? After the first year of your work, you will see changes in the children and have a clearer
picture of the improvement in their skills, but a quicker way of gauging your effectiveness is to
engage your colleagues and parents in a feedback process.
How to accept and integrate feedback
It may be difficult to hear and accept feedback from your colleagues as you begin to look critically at
your own facilitation skills. Feedback may come informally in the course of the day, as you interact
during the programme and share interesting information about the children. Such feedback may be
more conversational and not very accurate or helpful. To get a clearer picture of how your approach
and skills are working, ask a colleague for feedback at a time when he or she is not committed to an
activity with her own group.
Plan an observation and feedback session

Each facilitator has a unique and personal approach. The goal is:
 Attending to the children and promoting their development through clear communication. The
facilitator should be able to explain clearly and support the children to initiate and continue
the activity.
 The method of achieving this is through the quality of warmth in the relationship, and the
facilitator’s consistent good behaviour management, which together create a sense of security
and safety.
Open up to feedback as a regular source of support
Try to schedule regular observation and feedback into your weekly programme, to support each other
with problems and to share expertise and insight. By doing this you improve your skills. This process
of observing and giving feedback to colleagues should happen regularly for all facilitators, to share
expertise and improve the quality of facilitation.
A staff support group

Use a special staff meeting time to have a fortnightly staff support group to discuss and share
problems that you feel need more broad input. Work towards some solutions you feel you could try
out in your group, and bring feedback to the next session of the group. Be aware that any feedback
should focus on the behaviour or skill of the facilitator and should not be personal or hurtful, but
given in the spirit of co-operation and mutual learning. Keep notes about your responses to the
feedback and about what worked.
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Activity 29:
Co-facilitation for feedback
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6. CCFO: Communicating, collecting, organising
Work with a colleague, either to co-facilitate (Option 1) or to observe your facilitation (Option 2):
Option 1: Co-facilitate a structured activity with a colleague, so that your groups join but are
separately managed by the two of you. A good opportunity might be the morning ring, and your
colleague could take an assisting role and manage her group’s behaviour while you do the facilitating
of the two joined groups, and manage your own group’s behaviour. Before you begin, have a brief
discussion to point out to her any specific points of facilitation that you may be finding difficult
(identified broadly as the Problem areas in the rubric below.) Ask her to observe all aspects of your
facilitation and make observation notes later.
Option 2: Co-facilitator simply observes. Create a structured outdoor activity for your group,
including skills like walking on the balancing beam, skipping and hopping on one leg, so that you can
observe the children’s gross motor co-ordination. Consult your colleague and plan the activity to
coincide with her group’s free play time, and ask her to get another staff member to watch her
children while she joins you to observe your facilitation. Again, identify for her any specific points of
facilitation, or particular behaviour from some children that you may be finding hard to manage or
direct productively. (These are referred to as Problem areas in the rubric below and should be
identified in detail.)
Whether you have chosen Option 1 or 2, your colleague should make accurate observation notes.
Later, the two of you should have a structured meeting with your supervisor present, to discuss the
feedback. The feedback should include explanatory notes specifically about the problem areas that
were the focus of the feedback.
Score1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4
Facilitation skills
(inadequate) (adequate (good (excellent)
but needs coverage
improvement of criteria)
)
Warm and directive
Contains and focuses group on

task
Encourages participation
Problem areas
Write in your Journal about your experience of the co-facilitation or observation.
Thinking time
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Take some time to think about possible ways to do things differently. Think also about any emerging
theme or connection between the pieces of feedback you have received. You may be able to find a
behaviour or attitude that you need to include or change, that could apply to a few problem areas at
once. Keep an open mind and be willing to consider the feedback you receive.
Example of reflection on feedback

Robbie is a facilitator at a university ECD centre. He works with children in the 4–5 age
group. He has recently become worried about two children, Steve and Luthando, who
compete for his attention at circle time. They both want to sit close to him, they show off and
they disrupt the group. Neither of them has a father living at home.
Robbie asks Tshedi to co-facilitate with him for circle time one day to try to get some new
ideas on how to handle the problem.
While Tshedi is present and observing, she sees that Robbie introduces a theme, teaches a
song, gets the children to practise throwing little bean bags to each other, and finally tells a
story. In all this time, Steve and Luthando are behaving like jealous brothers trying to get as
much of Robbie’s attention as possible. There are also girls who are disruptive and compete
for Robbie’s attention but he handles this behaviour competently. The problem with Steve
and Luthando only comes up at circle time.
Seeing that Robbie and Tshedi have discussed the problem and already agree that the problem
must be that both boys don’t have fathers at home, and that they are acting out of their need
for a father figure, Tshedi suggests the following strategies:
1. That Robbie structure the group so that all the boys sit together.
2. Also, during the bean bag game, the boys in the group must throw beanbags to boys
only (and girls to girls only).
3. That all the children must sit three hand-spaces away from each other and from
Robbie, to prevent children from crowding Robbie and each other.
Robbie tries this out for the next circle time but it makes no difference. If anything, Steve
and Luthando are sulky and even more uncooperative.
Robbie asks if any other colleagues have any ideas to help him, and so Bella volunteers to sit
in on his circle time. She sees that Robbie does not deal with the behaviour of Steve and
Luthando at all, even though he is firm with the other children. She gives Robbie this
feedback and he spends some time reflecting on this, and agrees that it is hard for him to
discipline these boys because he feels sorry for them not having a father at home.
However, after some reflection he tries again, after reviewing the information about limit
setting, and realising that his soft-pedal sympathy for Steve and Luthando is actually making
them antisocial and demanding. Robbie discusses the problem with his supervisor, who gives
him this feedback: “There are plenty of children who don’t have two-parent families. Accept
it, and they will accept it. They need firm boundaries from a male figure, whether you are
their dad or not. Just be an ECD facilitator who sets firm boundaries and you will be helping
them. “
This time things go better: Bella observes that Robbie is firm with both the two boys, paying
them an appropriate amount of warm attention, but asking them politely not to interrupt
while he is telling the story, or saying that every person in the group must sit three hand
spaces away from the next person, including him. Bella notes that the two boys are quite
shocked at first that Robbie is now being a ‘bad dad’, but they respond to the discipline.
Within a few days their attention-seeking behaviour has stopped and the atmosphere at circle
time is much more relaxed.
In this example, Robbie kept an open mind and was willing to consider feedback from two colleagues
and also his supervisor. Your approach to feedback should be to regard the process as trial and error,
not failure. After doing the thinking work of reflection, and identifying what you can change, specify
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the desired changes you want to make, in your journal. The next phase is to put these changes into
action, and ask again for a colleague to observe in order to check whether you have been able to
implement the changes effectively. Use the constant feedback-and-correction loop to keep building
your skills and experience. Use your time as a student to polish your skills to increase your confidence
and effectiveness. Here is another example, which includes the issue of the multilingual classroom.
Example: Reflection on feedback on facilitation

Sita is an ECD facilitator in a multicultural ECD centre. She enjoys her work, and speaks
English with a slight Indian accent. The children in her group seem to be thriving, except that
during craft activities, some children who do not have English as their home language are
struggling to keep up with the rest of the children. Sita does not understand why this happens
only during crafts such as weaving or clay work.
She asks Robbie to observe her facilitation during two different craft activities and during a
structured outdoor activity. Robbie gives Sita the feedback that for some reason that is not
clear, during the craft activities, her accent seems stronger than it usually does, and the
combination of the high level of verbal instructions and the strong accent means she is not
understood by the children whose first language is not English. During other activities
(thinking activities or structured outdoor activities, which mean less verbal input from Sita)
Sita seems more relaxed and communicates more slowly and clearly, her accent is not so
marked, and it seems that all the children can understand her easily and follow the practical
demonstrations of the skills.
Sita considers the feedback from Robbie, which is hard for her to accept as she is unaware of
her own accent. She thinks for a while and then notes in her journal: “Why is my natural
interest in the craft activities affecting the way I speak? Maybe because I enjoy them so much
myself! Maybe I’m making it hard for these children to understand, and I need to slow down,
keep my enthusiasm under control and focus on speaking slowly when I introduce each
activity.”
In the next craft activity, Sita makes an effort to speak more slowly. She focuses some effort
on using repetition, by repeating important instructions or questions that require the learners
to respond. She tells the children they should stop her if she is speaking too fast, and she
thanks them when they do. She makes notes in her journal about each stage of the process and
finally writes, “Craft activities are now calmer and everyone seems to be joining in with more
concentration and enjoying them.”
Activity 30:
Responding to feedback
1. Share an activity with a colleague, or invite an observer to an activity. Ask them to note especially your
facilitation of the problem areas* (see rubric below) you have identified as needing input.
2. The observing colleague must provide accurate observation notes to you within the next three days.
3. Follow up with the feedback meeting with your supervisor.
4. Implement any changed facilitation techniques or attitudes.
5. Make notes on your feelings, responses and problem solving after each stage of the process:
a) After the observation b) After the feedback c) After implementing the suggested facilitation changes (if any).
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The observer can use the following rubric to assist in giving feedback:
Criterion for 1: Skill not 2: Some success but 3. Good 4. Excellent

observation apparent, needs further management on management
consolidation of skill the whole
intervention
not successful
Communicating with
children
(attending and
promoting)
Structure of activity
meets developmental
purpose
Problem areas specified

*
…
Behaviour management
Quality of the
relationship with the
children
The feedback should include explanatory notes specifically about the problem areas that were the focus of the
feedback.
6. Your supervisor will review your response to the feedback in a brief discussion or written comment.
Write in your Journal about how you integrated the feedback into your further
facilitation.
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Dealing with parents’ concerns
Parents may be eager to give feedback on their children’s improvements or may be anxious about
their development, so they will respond to the programme ( your facilitation) through the perspective
of what their child tells or shows them.
The main feedback you need to hear from parents is that the children are enjoying the activities.
Parents may be pleased that a child is singing a new song, or has a role in the end-of-year concert. If
parents are unhappy about any activities or they report that the child is unhappy, take time to find out
exactly what the issue may be.
Educating parents about to the ECD centre’s approach

Introduce yourself and your facilitation approach to the parents before the year begins. Send a brief
letter welcoming them and their children to the ECD community and explaining your philosophy in a
simple statement. Give a concrete example of how your style works (for example, “I attend to each
child’s individual learning needs and encourage participation to the best of the child’s ability. There is
no pressure to create any specific product or to compare work with other children. The focus is on the
individual child’s development.”) This helps parents recognise that your approach is focused on the
process of learning. Invite feedback from parents via the suggestion box, or by contacting you in the
afternoon, or attending the feedback session in the regular parents’ meeting.
Making time to deal with parents’ concerns

When you notify parents about any meeting, list a feedback time on the agenda so that parents can
come prepared to talk about any issue that concerns them. This may or may not include feedback on
your facilitation, but your facilitation will benefit from knowing what it is that parents wish to say.
Meet with each set of parents for a few minutes to find out what they need to tell you. Draw up a
feedback or suggestion slip for parents to fill in at any time, and have a locked box at the front door of
the playgroup, where they can leave these slips.
Responding to parents’ feedback

Parents are not usually aware that facilitation style or competence is an issue. If they do give
feedback, it must be met with respect and acceptance, and your response should be polite and
accepting. You can offer to think about their feedback and give them a follow-up phone call or brief
meeting in the next two weeks once you have reflected on the issue.
Your decision as to how to use the information depends on the nature of that information. Use these
general guidelines in responding to parents:
1. The child is your priority, so avoid putting your pride in the way of accepting feedback.
2. Listen and make sure you understand what the issue is for the parents. Reflect back to them what
you understand from what they are saying.
3. Keep communication lines open, and keep talking to them about their concerns and their child’s
participation, even if there are tensions.
4. Be willing to support the child and his parents to accept the ECD centre, and you as the facilitator.
5. Keep observational records about any parental feedback and note any conclusions in your journal.
96
Activity 31:
Responding to feedback from parents
Work in groups of four to six.

Take a few minutes to read the questions, discuss and plan your response.
1. Two group members should role-play a couple of angry parents who feel that their child is not
being prepared adequately for Grade 1. (Their child is only four years old). The other group members
should together role-play the facilitator responding to their concerns.
2. As well as dealing with the parents’ concerns, prepare a short positive message about your
approach and the quality of the care offered by your ECD centre.
3. Find a way to integrate this positive message into the response to the parents.
4. Report back to the class what you learnt about the difficulties of dealing with angry parents.
5. The group members who role-played the parents should also give feedback to the class about the
facilitator responses that were the most useful and reassuring.
5. Make notes on what worked, for further reference.
Write reflection notes on the feedback you received from the parents, in your
Journal.
97
Reading to nurture your practice
There are some very helpful books and teaching materials about early childhood education, to
stimulate and support your reflection. See the suggested reading list at the end of this study guide.
Stay in touch with ideas from other educators, by reading and continuing to discuss your work with
other ECD facilitators in your community. Be careful to keep the identifying details of the children
confidential.
98
Topic
Reflecting on the strengths and
3 weaknesses of your facilitation
Feedback shows your weaknesses – and strengths
Try to be open and accepting of the feedback you receive about your facilitation. Use it constructively
to build on your strengths and eliminate weaknesses. Use any of the following devices to analyse the
strengths and weaknesses of your facilitation:
(a) Strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT analysis)

How could Robbie (see the case study about Robbie on page 95) use a SWOT analysis to reflect on
his facilitation skills? The sample SWOT grid shows how he would conduct this self-reflective
exercise.
Strengths Weaknesses
 I am an enthusiastic facilitator  I sometimes weaken my approach by

 I am sensitive to all the learners and I am involving myself too much in the family
able to set limits for behaviour circumstances and unmet needs of the
 I invite observation and feedback from children.
others when I have a problem
Opportunities Threats
 I could be more focused on my role as  Robbie has a mistaken idea about the
facilitator and less on my symbolic role as a experience he can provide for fatherless boys
male figure for the boys in his playgroup
 I could be firmer with the boys  Boys who act out are in need of firm limit
setting and clear rules for behaviour
Using the SWOT analysis above, Robbie realises that he is a good facilitator on the whole but has a
weakness of becoming too involved in the family circumstances of the children, and tries too hard to
provide what he thinks is a therapeutic response. What really happens then is that he weakens his
facilitator role.
His strength is that he has the willingness to consider feedback and review his own performance in
search of a solution to what is not working. He is also able to change his behaviour when necessary.
The weakness identified in the feedback is not a matter of Robbie not knowing what to do, it is a
focus that is inappropriate for his facilitator role (he is trying to be warm and accepting of the boys’
needs for a father figure but this warmth is at the cost of his firm management of the group; the boys
need this firmness too and that it the limit of Robbie’s role and responsibility to them).
The strengths Robbie already has can easily be applied to his handling of the boys’ behaviour, once
Robbie understands the mistake he is making.
The opportunities are the positive changes Robbie is able to make to his facilitation once he
understands what is needed. He sets firm limits, remains warm but responds with clear messages
99
about what behaviour is unacceptable in the group. He makes use of the opportunity to simply apply
skills he already has.
Activity 32:
Using SWOT analysis to improve facilitation
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 3, 5. CCFO: Communicating, collecting, organising
Work on your own.

Look back at Activity 29. Make a brief summary of a) the feedback b) the changes which were
suggested.
Apply a SWOT analysis of the feedback and discuss the implications for the strengths and weaknesses
of your facilitation.
Write a paragraph in conclusion about your understanding of how to improve your facilitation.
Write reflection notes on the feedback in your Journal.
(b) Using mind maps

A mind map is a visual tool that can help us understand and use the feedback Robbie received. This
one is really a flow diagram, as it shows the flow of information, the change Robbie made and the
resulting improved facilitation and improvement in the children’s responses at circle time.
Change by Reflection
Robbie by Robbie
Circle time Poor response Observation Feedback

problem from children
Circle time Good response

solution from children
Figure 2.1 Example of a mind map
100
(c) Drill down for information
The information about what has not worked in your facilitation may not be so easily accessible. In
order to analyse what happened, try the ‘Drill Down’ technique of asking questions and getting to
smaller and smaller details of information that may reveal the root cause of the problem.
Example of the ‘Drill Down’ technique

Question: Why did the boys act out in Robbie’s circle time?
Answer: They were responding to his mixed messages and lack of clarity about limits for
behaviour, which made them feel unsafe about what he expected and allowed.
Question: Why was he giving them unclear limits for behaviour?
Answer: Because he felt he had to be more considerate towards them because they lacked
father figures, and he had to play the role of a kind father figure to meet their needs.
Question: Why did he think he had to do this?
Answer: Because he thought it would help them, and because he didn’t realise that by being a
firm facilitator, he could provide a more helpful experience for them.
Question: Why didn’t he realise he had to be just a firm facilitator and not a kind dad?
Answer: Because he was confused about his role as a facilitator and his role as a male figure
in the boys’ lives.
Question: How did he stop being confused?
Answer: The supervisor understood his confusion and spoke to him firmly, encouraging him
to be a good facilitator and to give up the idea that he could be an important male figure to the
boys in any other way in the ECD context.
This technique of revealing the weakness of Robbie’s facilitation can also be graphically presented as
a flow diagram of the drill-down questions and answers, or it could be turned into a checklist.
d) A GAP analysis
The GAP analysis of a situation asks about the gap between ‘What is our situation now?’ and ‘Where
do we want to be / what outcome are we aiming for?’ By using these two questions, you can focus on
the gap between your current level of facilitation skills and the outcome (in terms of success of
activities and happy atmosphere in the ECD centre) that you want to create.
Use these steps to close the gap:
1. Reflect on what you can change

2. Gather knowledge from reading, asking colleagues for input, asking your supervisor for feedback,
and then brainstorm possible solutions
3. Select the best solution
4. Apply the solution to get closer to the outcome you want.
5. Ask the GAP questions again: ‘What is the situation now?’ and ‘What outcome do I want to reach?’
to see if you have managed to close the gap.
101
Topic
How facilitation contributes to
4 the ECD service
Your role in the ECD service
Once you qualify as an ECD practitioner, you will be part of the ECD service and will have to uphold
professional standards of practice. To do this well, and to contribute to the service nationally, you
should keep building your skills and knowledge.
To summarise the process of feedback on facilitation, consider the following steps:
1. Record the feedback you have received

2. Take time to reflect on the changes you can make to your facilitation
3. Implement the changes when you next have an opportunity to engage in a similar activity
4. Make recommendations from what you see as the result of those changes
DEFINITION
Recommendations: proposals for changes to improve something.
An example is that you might recommend that the timetable for use of the outdoor area
could be reviewed, to make it possible for different groups to use the outdoor area at
different times.
The role of the ECD service in education in South Africa
Children’s literacy levels at primary schools in South Africa are currently poor. To improve them,
children need a solid foundation for their early development and to have a good relationship with
learning. The Early Childhood Education service in South Africa plays a vital role in preparing
children for formal schooling, introducing them to stimulating activities, teaching them social skills,
building their coordination, cognitive skills, moral, creative and language skills, introducing them to
books, working in groups, becoming independent and becoming confident people.
To keep standards of early childhood education high, or to improve them where they are low, your
reflection on your facilitation can add to the pool of knowledge available to other practitioners. Your
role is to keep your own standards of practice high, to generate new knowledge and to share your
expertise about facilitation. If all practitioners do this, the growth of skills and expertise will have a
positive effect on the development of all the children in the ECD centre.
To be sure you are providing a high-quality ECD service, (for the sake of children’s rights), you
should make a habit of reflection, evaluation and improvement on the quality of your facilitation.
When you cooperate with other ECD practitioners to do this, you will all raise the general standard of
early childhood education and also positively grow the literacy levels in primary schools, as a result.
Use not only reflection, but also various other sources for your learning: workshops, journal articles,
books, TV or radio programmes about ECD, other ECD practitioners, and your own questions. It is
very useful to discuss case studies with colleagues as this is the way to learn the principles, rules,
exceptions and general background of ECD work.
102
Problem solving to improve standards of facilitation
Don’t be afraid to try something new; use your store of experience, insight, knowledge of the children
and of your own strengths, to try out a new skill or change one you are used to. Be willing to try,
make mistakes, and try again. Use the feedback and your reflection to record your conclusion about
what needs to be done, then simply do it.
 Stop to check what is happening and take stock of the situation.

 Look closely at what is going on, reflect on it so that you understand it.
 Make the decision about what corrective changes to implement, and keep observational
records about these.
 Put the changes into action in your group.
 Again, stop and check that the new strategy is working.
 Share the information so that everyone may benefit.
6. Share and 1. Take stock

improve
5. Check 2. Reflect
4. Action 3. Decide on
changes
Figure 2.2 Problem solving steps
Record recommendations and share them
103
When your facilitation is evaluated by an observer, this provides you with a kick-start to changing the
techniques, attitudes and behaviours that need to change. The next step is to build on your strengths
when you try out new attitudes and skills. Finally, you should record the positive changes as
recommendations for action, for other ECD practitioners to benefit from your experience.
Write your recommendations in simple clear language. They may become part of the ECD knowledge
base, so be as specific as possible about the behaviour, attitude, knowledge or skill you are
addressing. Keep your sentences short. Future facilitators will rely on your recommendations to
improve their own facilitation. File your recommendations in a logical way for easy access in the
future.
Activity 33:
Making recommendations from facilitation feedback
US: 244480. SO 2, AC 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. CCFO: Communicating, collecting, organising
1. Read the case study about Robbie’s facilitation again.

a) How useful do you think it is to consider the supervisor’s feedback to Robbie?
b) Would you recommend similar attitudes and strategies to other ECD practitioners all over South
Africa? Explain why you say so.
3. Write up a set of recommendations that could be used by ECD practitioners in South Africa, using
the case study feedback from both Robbie and Sita’s facilitation, and the opportunities from the
SWOT analysis.
Write reflection notes on the feedback you received from the parents, in your
Journal.
104
Conclusion
The Journal is a tool for recording notes, ideas, insights, and thoughts about your facilitation and
learning experience in working with the children. The aim of reflecting is to improve your
performance and also to gain insight, to enrich your understanding of how your facilitating role is so
important. Topic 1 examined the value of the journal to provide a space for reflecting on your
experience of the facilitation process.
Try to focus the feedback you receive (from colleagues and parents) on improving your facilitation
approach. Colleagues can help you identify problem areas by sharing their insight or observer point of
view, and your reflection about this feedback can lead to growth and change in your facilitation. Take
time to reflect on the feedback you receive, keep the child’s interests as your priority, and aim to use
the feedback constructively.
It is easier to analyse facilitation skills and their weaknesses using a method that isolates the skills to
be improved. This gives the facilitator a sense of pride in the skills that are working well, and makes it
possible to view performance critically and quickly address the weaknesses. Topic 3 looked at
analytical methods such as the SWOT, GAP or the drill-down method.
Reflection should focus on the essential and constructive changes to make, to improve facilitation.
The improvements in facilitation are valuable as a source of information to the Early Childhood
Development Service. For this reason they should be clearly identified as recommendations.
Recommendations should build on strengths and address identified weaknesses, and should therefore
be constructive. Finally, clear records of these recommendations are needed as future facilitators will
need to use them, without any familiarity with the context in which they were made. Clear, simple
writing is needed if the recommendations are going to be useful to the Early Childhood Development
service.
105
Suggested reading list:
 Cawood, A. Children need boundaries: effective discipline without punishment. 2007: Metz
Press, Cape Town
Vivian Paley:
 White Teacher
 Wally's Stories
 Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner
 Mollie is Three
 Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays
 The Boy Who Would Be A Helicopter
 You Can't Say You Can't Play
 Kwanzaa and Me: A Teacher's Story
 The Girl With the Brown Crayon
 The Kindness of Children
 In Mrs. Tulley's Room: A Child-Care Portrait
(During the years that Paley taught, she took the stories that children tell as part of their play and
made them part of her daily curriculum. Her curriculum is not limited to learning the alphabet; it also
includes thinking about larger questions such as fairness and justice, and about what it means to go to
school - both for teachers and children.)
106
References
Books
 Derman-Sparks, L. Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools For Empowering Young Children. 1989,
Washington, DC: NAEYC.
 Grobler, H. M., Faber, R.J et al. The Day Care Handbook. 1987. Kagiso Publishers: Cape
Town
 Berne, Patricia, and Savary, Louis. Building Self-Esteem in Children. 1989. Continuum
Publishing Co.: New York.
 Branden, Nathaniel. How to Raise Your Self-Esteem. 1987. Bantam Books: New York.
 Briggs, Dorothy Corkille. Your Child's Self-Esteem. 1970. Doubleday: New York.
 Buscaglia, Leo in Living, Loving, Learning. 1990. Fawcett Books: USA.
 Canfield and Wells. 100 Ways to Enhance Self-Concept in the Classroom. l976. Prentice-
Hall: New York.
 Cawood, A. Children need boundaries: effective discipline without punishment. 2007: Metz
Press, Cape Town
 Coopersmith, Stanley. The Antecedents of Self-Esteem. 1967. Freeman: San Francisco.
 Dixon, Dorothy. 37 Activities for Developing Self-Esteem. 1990. Twenty-Third Publications:
Mystic, Connecticut.
 Felker, D.W. Building Positive Self-Concepts. 1974. Burgess: Minneapolis.
 Grollman, Earl. Talking About Divorce and Separation. 1975. Beacon Press: Boston.
 Gurney, Peter. 'Self-Esteem Enhancement in Children: A Review of Research Findings.'
Educational Research, Vol. 29. 1987.
 Lerman, Saf. Building a Child's Positive Self-Image, Booklet 5, Responsive Parenting. 1984.
American Guidance Service, Inc.: Minnesota.
 McEvilly, Kim, and Tiley, Jean. A Sound Foundation. Education for Primary School. 1990.
Houghton: South Africa.
 Missouri LINC. Instructional Materials Lab. 1987. University of Missouri Press. Columbia,
Mo.
 Rosemond, John. 'Happiness Doesn't Foster Self-Esteem.' Knight Rider Newspaper. March
1990. North Carolina.
 Schilling, Deanna E. 'Self-Esteem: Concerns, Strategies, Resources.' Academic Therapy.
January 1986.
 Stoppard, Miriam. Know Your Child: How to Discover and Enhance your Child's True
Potential. 1992. Struik: Cape Town.
 Van Horn, James. 'Dear Parent.' Scranton Times. 13 May 1991.
 Walters, Jack. Healing the Fractured Self. 1984. Seabury Press: Minneapolis.
107
Internet articles
 Joyce Fittro: Resolving conflict constructively and respectfully (HYG-5218-96)

 Getting to Know Yourself: Developing and Accessing Intrapersonal Intelligence Among
Early Adolescents by Dina Pollock (Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute)
 http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/6/01.06.01.x.html
 http://www.childsafe.org.za/online.htm, 11 January 2009
108

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Facilitate holistic development

of babies, toddlers and young

About this study guide 4

Unit 1: Facilitating the development of babies, toddlers and young children

Unit 2: Reflecting on own facilitation 88

Reading list 108

When you see this icon, it describes an important concept or explanation.

1.4 Facilitate, using an approach that takes advantage of teachable moments.

1.10 Facilitate to ensure the holistic development of children.

Specific Outcome 2: Reflect on own facilitation

2.1 Consider own facilitation approach s to support learners.

2.2 Apply effective communication skills to support learners.

1. Using developmentally appropriate

2. Responding to cues from the

3. Facilitating without bias and with

4. Taking advantage of teachable

5. Managing children in a way that

7. Value the child

8. Safeguarding the child

9. Modelling life skills

10. Facilitating for holistic development

11. Positive conflict management

A holistic approach includes fun

Links to the Components

Case study: An under-resourced ECD centre

Does the resource fit the developmental need?

How do I choose resources?

Fun ECD learning resources for each age

Babies 1 month to 12 months

 Soft toys made of a variety of different textured fabric

 A variety of story books to be read aloud

 thick short crayons

Young children 30 months to five years old

Children five to seven years old

Does the resource create fun?

Suggest to the children that when they go

US: 244480. SO 1: AC 1. CCFO: Working, organising

US: 58761. Exit Level Outcome 4

Work on your own and also with a partner.

Write in your Journal.

Are the activities developmentally appropriate?

Concrete learning experiences

Semi-concrete learning experiences

Abstract learning experiences

Make the familiar into something new

Commercially available resources

Themes are a way to bring

A theme makes it easy to find

US: 244480. SO 1: AC 1. CCFO: Identifying, collecting

US: 58761. Exit Level Outcome 4

Looking out for cues

Cues can be seen on different levels:

The cue and the teachable moment

The role of cues in facilitation

Skills of attending to cues

Case study: applying skills to respond to a cue

More about active listening

More about observation

US: 58761. Exit Level Outcome 4