Being a childminder
By Gemma MacLachlan
This is a case study from Gem MacLachlan. Gem is a childminder and one of our hub partners, she worked with Julian Grenier looking at collaborative learning from a childminders’ viewpoint.
When children join my childminder setting, Little Nomads, it’s often the first time they’ve had to manage sharing time, attention and resources with other children of their own age. For lots of them, that’s difficult. There are times when they will struggle to manage their emotions and play together. Coming into the setting gives children a valuable opportunity to develop socially and emotionally. It’s a time to learn both about making choices and doing your own thing and also joining in with others. Children learn to be leaders and followers.
Everyday conflicts are also an opportunity for learning. For example, when we went out into the forest recently, Lisa snatched the binoculars off Adam. Instead of just telling Lisa off, I talked to her about the importance of waiting for her turn. Maybe she could have asked Jason about what he was looking at, during this time? I also spoke with Jason about the importance of noticing when someone is waiting and being ready to share.
As well as dealing with conflicts reactively, talking them through and helping children to find solutions, sometimes it’s also important for me to set the scene. The next time we went to the forest, I gave the digital camera to Jamal because I judged that he was the child most likely to share. We all talked about the importance of kindness, of helping other people to feel happy rather than just putting our own needs first. Jamal was open to sharing the camera with the others and set a positive model. When we got back, we spent time looking at the photos together over lunchtime and talking about what we’d found in the woods. That emphasised teamwork – it’s not just about a group of individuals going out, it’s about working together.
Through that teamwork, children become more resilient, more confident about having their own ideas as well as following other people’s. They become more reflective, and more confident about trying things out and asking others to help them. Over time, the children become better at managing conflicts between themselves and regulating strong emotions. That’s required me to do a lot of modelling, explaining, listening and mediating. Sometimes I model sharing with my assistant: one of us will ask the other politely for something. I spend lots of time listening to children saying how they feel, and I also explain to them how others might be feeling. Sharing books like The Colour Monster (Llenas, 2016) is a good way of encouraging children to name and talk about their feelings, too.
As the children become more aware of their feelings, and the feelings of others, they are increasingly able to talk about problems, find solutions, manage their emotions, and advocate for each other. They can comfort each other when they are upset or angry, too. Lisa is getting much better at waiting for her turn, and Jason understands that it’s important to be aware of other people, not just focus what he’s doing.
The content within this reflective case study will be used as part of a new Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) book called EYFS into Action.