Category: Dodge Questions

Question 1: Think about the children and families in you program. Do you know how each family feels about children dressing themselves? Is it something they feel strongly about?

Answer 1: Within the classroom that I observe and participate in throughout the week, thinking about the children that are within the classroom, I do not particularly know how any of the parents would feel about their child dressing themselves. Although at some point, children would need to learn to dress themselves so when the time comes they are able to execute these actions as best as possible. Some parents and/or guardians do not want their child to “grow up too fast”. Some caregivers find comfort in their child needing their help and guidance when doing simple activities or even everyday actions. For example, in one of my observing classrooms, a child who turns two within the next two weeks drinks out of a zippy cup and still used a pacifier. The instructors of the classroom find it important to have the parent drop off the child without a pacifier in order to guide them in new learning and adapting to change. The parents may feel that the child is not ready but if a toddler is not taught how to adjust and act without such items, they will become dependent on them as time goes on which makes it harder for the child to adjust to a change. On the other hand, some caregivers, tend to begin with the process of guiding and engaging with children so they may learn how to be independent as soon as possible. For example, a parent may act out putting on pants or a shirt within the comforts of their own home and then allow the child to interpret through action what they have observed.

Question 2: The next time you are engaged with a child in the routine of dressing, pay attention to what you say. How much do you talk with the child? What do you talk about? Are you giving directions, correcting behavior, describing the routine, talking about articles of clothing, and/or simply engaging in casual conversation? Try to use this time for less directive language (giving instruction and correcting behavior) and more language building. Challenge yourself to use rich vocabulary as you engage in this routine (e.g., “Let’s put your soft, corduroy overalls back on. They will keep you warm and cozy on the playground today. It is chilly outside.”

Answer 2: When observing within my infant/toddler field experience classroom, the teacher sometimes talk often but sometimes they do not, it depends on the child and their mood. The teacher normally engages with the child as they either changes the child’s clothes or assist the child in changing their clothes. The educator normally asking the child questions about the clothes they are wearing and the clothes they are putting on by asking the child about the color, pattern if it has one, material (whether it is soft, warm, fuzzy, big, little, etc.). The teacher sometimes gives the child directions if the feel that they need assistance but if they know that the child has the capability of putting on the clothes properly they will engage them by saying, “You are almost there, you are so close.” This also lets the child make predictions and use information gathered from their previous experiences. One thing I experience today within the infant/toddler classroom, was when a child was in the dramatic play aware, and the child wanted to put on a princess shirt. I watched in order to let the child attempt to do it alone but was readily available if needed. As I noticed she began to get frustrated, I asked her to come over to me so I can help her put the outfit on. As I was helping her, I calming explained that the big hole in the top of the shirt is for only her head, not both her head and arm. I stated, “When we put on our pretty pink princess shirt, the big hole at the top if for our head, not our head and arm, there is another hole for your arm.” After explaining this, she tried to put the shirt on herself and succeeds. With this conversation, while I did not directly give her direction, I made a comment, she still, took this information into consideration when attempting to put the outfit on again shortly after. Within this encounter, I could have done better when stating descriptive words like “soft” but at them moment it had not crossed my mind.

Question 1: Can you think of a bedtime ritual that you have used effectively with your own children or the children in your care? What was it? How did it make the child feel about going to sleep?

Answer 1: When it comes to bedtime, the children I have watched and even my own brother, I have implemented different bedtime routines because they are each different. Due to not being in a classroom or teaching in a learning environment as of yet, I only have limited experience with this matter. When it comes to my autistic brother and his night time routine, he is somewhat different. After brushing his teeth and laying him in bed, he does not go to sleep unless someone is laying next to him, otherwise he will stay up all night and whine, someone can leave after he is sleep but otherwise he will not fall asleep. Before he does go to sleep, when he lies down, he tends to want his favorite Goofy doll in his arms, if he does not have this (or some replacement that is the same size) he will not want to go to sleep unless he is super tired and someone is laying next to him and holding him. Sometimes when he is lying in the bed, to tire him out, I will put on SpongeBob or Dora the Explorer, while this normally is not recommended for younger children, my brother has autism and is 23 years old, so with his routine and nighttime rituals, this has been a constant since he was smaller and was approved by doctors due to his mental development being that of a child between one to three years old. For other children, there would be a different ritual.

When it comes to other infants and toddlers that I have watched and put to bed, their nighttime routine is somewhat different. To begin, I would ensure the child has a clear diaper, we do not want them to fall asleep with a soiled out dirty diaper or clothes as this can cause them to develop a rash and or different infections if not cleaned properly in a certain amount of time. After this, I would ensure that the child is in the proper sleeping position for their age range so they are comfortable, secure, and safe while sleeping. Normally when I put young children to sleep they do not feel any particular way about it. Only time they have some sort of issue or begin to fuss is if I take them away from what they are doing to have them take a nap or go to sleep such as if they are playing with their toys or drawing. Most of the time, because they are used to the routine and nighttime rituals, they do not fuss but their are those rare occasions.

Question 2: Take time to consider each child in your room. What are his sleep patterns like? How does he prefer to fall asleep? What is his mood generally like when he wakes up?

Answer 2: Within the infant toddler classroom that I observe during class time, the children in the class tend to sleep through the night from what their parents say except for the infant that is within the class. So far, I have only observed two children call asleep within the classroom during my scheduled time. The first child was cranky and crying majority of the morning until they were able to take a nap. Once they woke up they felt refreshed and ready to play and happy. The second child that I have observed did not seem as cranky when they were tired, they seemed less active and more worried about sitting down and did not want to participate as much within activities and the classroom routine. After they woke up from their nap within the quiet area, they seemed quiet but did not seem upset to be woken up because they went straight into lunch time. I feel that the second child would have been much more frustrated and upset if they were woken up in a different manner other than to lunch time. I say this because if the child was woken up to another child screaming in their ear, they might have been upset and started crying or screaming themselves, but because of the gentle and tender care from the caregivers, they were not woken up with fright or had a rude awakening.

Question 1: Would you describe yourself as a healthy eater? How does your approach to nutrition influence how and what you teach children about healthy eating?

Answer 1: When it comes to myself and my personal habits, in all honesty, I would not consider myself to be a “healthy eater”. The reason I say this is because as an adult and being a student observer and attempting to have some sort of work life balance, I tend to mismanage my time and begin to skip cooking home cooked meals, this leads me go to fast food restaurants such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, etc. for food. As an instructor and a student educator now, I try to make it a point to practice what I preach; this means that as much as I say that a healthy diet and intake throughout the day is essential to learning and development, I must follow my own advice. Eating healthy does not just mean eating only vegetables, only eating once a day, etc. Eating healthy can be mean something different to everyone but the base would be 3 full and nutritious meals a day with snacks.

Question 2: Think about mealtime in your classroom. Do you encourage conversation among children and/or talk to preverbal children? How would you describe this routine time of day (e.g., peaceful, lively, chaotic)?

Answer 2: During mealtime within the classrooms I observe and participate in, I tend to communicate and talk to the children about what and how they are eating. Many times when a two year old or even an 18 month old is eating I would engage with them. For example within the infant/toddler classroom I observe on Thursday within my EDEC 4551 class, I engage with the children by asking them questions to see how they react. If a child is eating Cheerios with applesauce, I could ask them, “Do you like cereal?”, “How do you hold your spoon?”, “How do you pour your milk in the bowl?” Questions like these do not necessarily need a verbal response because the child can just show how they might react.

Question 1: How do you feel when you are changing diapers? How do your feelings about diaper changing influence your interactions with children during this routine?

Answer 1: When it comes to changing diapers, I have not changed diapers within a classroom setting but I have changed my little cousins, my nephews’, and even my autistic brother’s diaper. When changing diapers, this does somewhat change my feelings toward changing the diapers because I have made a genuine connection with the ones that I am changing. When changing my brother’s diaper, I know that it is important to let him know, “Okay, now we are going to stop playing for a while and change your diaper and we can come right back.” With my nephew because he is not yet one years old, he is a little harder to communicate with. When beginning to change his diaper, I typically try to get his in a playful and good mood before taking him to the changing station. I also typically have one of the toys that hang from the ceiling for him to look at, or if I don’t have that I sing to him. With having a personal connection with them, I know what can calm them and help them get through the 3-5 minutes it may take me to change their diaper and make sure they are prepared for more playtime.

Question 2: How do you feel when a child has a toileting accident? What do you say or do? How does this makes the child feel?

Answer 2: When a child has a toilet accident, I do not necessarily feel any sort of way but I do think about different strategies that can be used in order to begin them on their potty journey. With young children, on of our many goals as an early childhood educator is to get them potty trained and have them go to the rest room by themselves. I may not say anything can be upsetting for the child but I would definitely assist them in changing their clothes and making sure that they understand that it is important to let someone know that they need to go to the bathroom if they have to. The child may feel bad because they were not able to communicate that they had to use the bathroom where they did. The child may not have any certain emotions for the matter because they are still young or they are still within the phase that they think that this is still normal for them to wet themselves as they are.

Question 3: What do you want to teach children about their bodies while they are learning to use the toilet?

Answer 3: One thing I want to teach children about their bodies is that they are all different in their own way. Not every child learns to use the toilet at the same time, some children learn later or earlier than other children. I would inform children that they have better knowledge about their bodies than anyone else. They know when they have to use the bathroom or when they are hurt or anything else better than anyone else so it is best for them to learn how to communicate this with those who are around them.

Question 1: Do you say hello and good-bye to each child and family member everyday? What message do you think your hellos and good-byes (or lack of them) send?

Answer 1: As a future educator, saying hello and good-bye to each child and their families is essentially for everyday. When you greet the families and they are entering and even speak when they are leaving, it sends the message that you are acknowledging their presents within the classroom community. When families feel welcome within the classroom, this sends the message that their child’s learning and development is a priority because creating a connection with them and those who are close to them is a priority. This also leads into creating a connection with those who are within the classroom in order to get a better understanding of each child’s background. When you have a better understanding of the child and their background through connections made with the family, then you have a better idea of how to engage and develop the child’s education overall.

Question 2: What do you think about a child who cries a lot when his parents say good-bye? How does his crying make you feel? Do you feel differently about a child who never cries at drop-off time?

Answer 2: When a child cries a lot when their parents say good-bye could mean several things to me overall. When a child cries at departure, the children then this could mean that their child has separation issues and they do not want to be far from their parent figure. This could also mean that the child is not comfortable within the environment that they are in or the child could be having a bad day overall. When a child cries at drop off, this does not necessarily mean that the child hates being dropped off, they could just be having a bad morning or even be upset from some other unrelated matter. When a child never cries at drop off, I do not necessarily feel differently. No matter how the child comes into my classroom, my goal is to make sure that they are in a safe, developmentally appropriate, environment that caters to each child’s individual learning needs.

Question 3: What might explain some parents’ attempts to leave without saying good-bye? What are they feeling? How do you feel when parents leave that way? How do the children feel?

Answer 3: There is a few different reasons as why a parent might leave the classroom without saying goodbye to the child. One might be the fact that they are sad themselves or even scared of seeing their child leave them so soon. When parents leave “too soon” I never overthink it because parents are human too, sometimes they forget things, they have a lot on their mind, they might be sad to see their baby go and think that the sooner they leave the easier it will be. Depending on the child, the child might feel okay with the parent leaving because they know that they are in a safe space and environment. Some children might be sad or cry because they feel that they might have been abandoned, which in this case is the educators job to reassure the child and make sure they know that their parents are coming back for them later or even distract the child with different activities to get their mind off of it.

Question 4: How do you help parents reunite with their children at the end of the day? How does a parent feel when her child cries or keeps playing? How do you feel?

Answer 4: At the end of a very long day, when parents have arrived to pick up their child, this can be a joyful moment for most. Some parent come in and grab their child and go but with a simple transition then the child can feel content with leaving school and going home knowing they are back with their loved ones. A parent could come into the classroom and talk to the child about what they are doing in order to make some sort of connection with the child before pulling them away from any activity they may be doing. A parent might feel that their child is not interesting in them anymore or not too fascinated with the idea of coming home with them when the child does not want to leave the classroom or they might be thinking of new ideas of how they might engage with their child later on in order to get the same, if not a similar, reaction out of their child. Overall, I do not feel like the actions of the child reflects poorly on the actions of the adult or their skills of being a parent. As educators, although we are allowed a glimpse of a families’ life, we never know the full story. A parent may feel guilty because their child is having more fun at school than at home because they may be busy all the time, the story is never clear to understand therefore it is not my place to judge as an educator.