Children should have no difficulties understanding the classroom environment, the teacher’s expectations and their daily routine. Shelves containing aids and materials in the classroom should be marked with stickers. Frequently used props should be stored in lower shelves. A visibly displayed daily schedule with pictures of activities in the classroom is recommended.
We encourage friendship among children, allowing them to help each other without the need of assistance from adults. If the child asks for help when it is not necessary, the teacher should encourage the child to try to complete the task or activity independently. “I’ll watch you complete this puzzle. Which parts will you try first? What do you do now?” When the child repeatedly asks for assistance: “Please show me the puzzle when you finish it.” We encourage the child to build on previous experience, for example, “You did it all by yourself last time, remember? You know you can do it. Just try!”
If the kindergarten is working with activity centres (as a part of the Začít spolu program), display a printed copy of the list of all children in the classroom. A child working in a given centre can mark their name on the list. The children can follow their daily schedule and the teacher gains knowledge of their favourite activities.
• During the morning circle, ask each child to say something positive about a friend sitting next to them.
• Helping children express emotions in an appropriate manner – the teacher expresses feelings and demonstrates them. “I’m sad, because today someone tore a book during playtime.”
• The teacher can prepare a board game with images depicting different emotions. When a child gets an image, they can choose to answer in one of two ways: 1) name the feeling and 2) tell what might have caused this feeling.
• When communicating with children about emotions, it is advisable for teachers to communicate through a puppet or a plush toy. When asked about their feelings, children often prefer to communicate with a toy. Use the toy to express emotions: “Rex is happy today because Janka recited a poem for him.”
• Cut out faces from paper and make puppets, with different expressions corresponding to individual emotions. When children are unable to express their feelings, their puppet will help.
• Play “Whose voice is this?” In this game, one child hides and the rest of the class must find them by tracking their voice. Children explain how they choose to express their happiness, sadness or fear.
• Let children collect various stones and pebbles while outside. Using acrylic paint, the children can paint different parts of the face on each one (eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, etc.). The children then draw an outline of a face on a piece of paper and, following the teacher’s instructions, create a face that corresponds with their current mood by placing the painted pebbles on the paper. The teacher then has a conversation about the feelings they have expressed.
• Create a book of emotions for the whole class in cooperation with the kids.
• With the aid of this emotional inventory, children can recall their pleasant and unpleasant experiences in the last week or month, i.e. classify their feelings and affections at school: First, let the children converse freely. The second step involves an analysis of the situations, including the unpleasant ones – a group debate on whether they could have been avoided or handled otherwise. The objective of this exercise is to strengthen positive feelings, in order for the children to notice positive situations, to help them learn to observe surrounding phenomena differently and to help them learn to control their feelings, i.e. promoting self-control.