Support of Self-image and Self-respect
Activities which help children speak of themselves and their family, as well as about their cultural background:
● Children are invited to dramatize a scene, in which they play themselves and members of their family. In order to facilitate the involvement of children in this activity, the teacher asks children specific questions: “What do you have to do in the morning before going to the kindergarten? What do you have to do before you go to bed?”
● As a stimulus for the discussion, let’s show the children pictures: “This is Mom. She is reading a book to her daughter. What does your mom do together with you? This is Dad. He likes washing dishes after dinner. What does your Dad do at home?” Naming some specific subjects helps kids learn new things from their surroundings.
● In cooperation with the children, create individual or common stories “Everything about me” (favorite activities at school, at home, favorite foods or colors, friends, etc.) and “My family” (family members or entertaining activities the family does over the weekend, on holidays or after dinner).
Activities in which children present their families may sometimes provide information about non-standard educational influences, or about a serious family conflict. In such a situation, it is necessary to respond sensitively and, if necessary, request a consultation with a psychologist. If there are children from a socially disadvantaged environment in the classroom, we should select questions about the family and their shared experiences carefully to eliminate situations where the child will not be able to answer because they do not have any experience of the situation in question unlike other children (e.g. expensive trips or holidays).
Activities which will help children show a positive attitude towards themselves and others:
● Children draw their own portrait.
● Children connect cut-out parts of the human body, and in doing so, support a positive self-image: “What do I like about myself?”
● To create a relaxed atmosphere, we can use appropriate music: “Do you like this song? Do you sing such songs at home, or are they different?”
● Some children need to be sure their best friend is at school, someone who sits next to them so that they can play with the friend, and so on. We can support friendships between such a child and their peer who will become their “best friend”.
● Ask a child to draw or cut out pictures of their favorite activities, foods, colors, etc. and build a collage together.
● The teacher’s presence has to be ensured when children are parting with their parents. In order to facilitate the separation, we can make use of a morning routine – the parent can read or draw with the child, the child should know how much longer the parent can stay with them: “Your mom will stay with you for another 5(10) minutes and then she has to leave.”
● The child can draw a picture for the parent or dictate a note which the parent will take home.
Activities aimed at supporting a child’s self-confidence:
● The teacher prepares a box with strips of paper from which a chain can be made. Whenever a child acquires a new skill or is successful in classroom activities, this is written down on a strip of paper and attached it to a chain.
- When creating new situations to practice the acquired skills children have learned, we try to support children’s self-confidence – e.g. when children are being taught to count to five by heart, let the children choose the items they want to count. Let the children sit at lunch in fives, set down five cups, five plates, and the like on the table. We can also number the seating positions and the children have to find the correct number when sitting down. Thus, learning becomes meaningful and useful.
- At the end of the day everyone can share their positive experience of the day with others in the group. We can ask questions: Was your work at the table a success? What did you do? Did you use a lot of colors and cover the whole page with them? What colors did you use?
- The child may dictate to the teacher a note for parents with information about what they did at school during the day.