Guest Author - Alice Rienzo
As a Nursery Leader, you have probably been exposed to the complexities of teaching children ages 18 months to 3 years. On the other hand, this may be foreign soil to you. No matter what your situation or experience may be there is a solution. Children this age need to feel loved and secure in their environment. Part of that includes knowing what they can expect and when. This two-part article explores various ideas to aid in setting up a basic schedule that can be a weekly foundation.
It’s nap time for most children right around the moment they are expected to come into your classroom and glean something from the lesson you have lovingly and prayerfully prepared. You find to your dismay, they are not as receptive as you would expect or would even prefer. Perhaps they are clinging to their parents. The solution, albeit not immediate, is to have a schedule that a toddler can count on each week.
Prior to the arrival of the nursery children, set the mood. Reverent music, either church or classical, is a wonderful way to induce a calm atmosphere. This also means that you cannot walk into the classroom after children have already begun to arrive.
When a child arrives with a parent, they should be encouraged to engage in free play. This could include the parent, or if the child is comfortable in this environment, the parent should be encouraged to leave at an appropriate time. Select toys that engage the child’s imagination. This is not a “free-for-all.” Toys should be rotated to keep interest level high. Free play can be as long as an hour, or until the children seem restless. The idea is to plan the same type of activities in the same order each week. Time is not the issue – order is.
Once you feel the children are ready to move on to the next activity, encourage everyone to join in having a lively clean up. Children are always willing and eager to help if they know food will be their reward! Follow free play with a snack. You could assign a snack helper each week. This is a wonderful way to show the child that he or she is important and keeps them busy at work. As a side note, it might be helpful to keep a chart that shows whose turn it will be on that day. If that child is absent, move on to the next name.
Many nursery leaders struggle with how to present a lesson to toddlers that only want to fidget and squirm. Adults can become very frustrated and possibly sabotage their own efforts by requiring the children to sit still and be reverent. At this age, toddlers are not pre-designed to sit still. Likewise, reverence is foreign to them. I have found the best chance for presenting a lesson is during snack time. You may not think you are captivating their interest - trust me, they are listening.
In Nursery Leader Basics and the Lesson, we will explore some age appropriate activities you may use to work into your weekly schedule.
