UNIT

1
UNIT 3--Social Competence in Young Children

• Chapter 13--The Pleasures of Meaningful Work

2
Questions to Answer

• Do you think that young children are too little
  to do anything really helpful at school?
• Have you ever wondered just what kinds of things
  children might do that would be real work but not
  too hard for them?
• Have you ever wondered how to get children to
  want to pitch in on work projects?

3
Introduction

• Children can learn to serve the group.
• Answer a phone graciously (4s and 5s).
• Scrub table for snack time or lunch.
• Serve self from serving bowls.
• Pass trash basket.
• Pick flowers and arrange.
• Paint a mural for a wall.

4
Introduction (cont)

• For adults to have good feelings about their work
  -- foundation laid in early childhood.
• Many textbooks avoid this idea.
• Freud normal person should be able to love and
  to work.
• Maslow -- commitment to an important job and to
  worthwhile work is the path to human happiness.
• Start at age 3 or 4 to establish wholesome
  conviction that work is rewarding -- gives
  meaning and satisfaction to life.

5
Teaching Children to Dislike Work

• Models to dislike -- home or school.
• Select chores dislike most yourself -- and insist
  a child use and put-away this equipment/material
  immediately when finished.
• Make work tedious and long drawn out. Force to
  finish every task begun.
• Make sure all work at same time -- to be fair.
• Provide no variety to the work -- keep it dull.
• Never allow enough time -- remind constantly to
  hurry.
• Expect a great deal and be critical.
• Tell child exactly how to do be rigid and
  demanding - point out mistakes.
• Compare achievements -- point out failures.
• If child shows interest in helping -- accept with
  condescending indulgence --over thanks and
  acceptance.
• Act abused yourself -- talk to others about how
  tired you are and complain about the work.

6
Teaching Positive Values of Work

• Work allows child to experience pleasure of
  accomplishment linked with helping other people.
• Experience achievement -- social value --
  accomplish a task -- help others at same time
• Teacher needs to say thank you give
  appreciation.
• Work increases reality of role-playing.
• Kids imitate adults gain insight into adult
  world.
• Career education girls evidence knowledge of
  more restricted choices limited stereotypes.
• Allow children to assist a person -- the nurse,
  gardener as means of experiencing careers.
• Take field trips.
• Visitors to the school (parents, grandparents).

7
Positive Values (cont)

• Work presents many opportunities to achieve
  something together.
• Help each other -- cooperative endeavors.
• Work presents many opportunities for doing
  something that benefits the group.
• Develop sense of family and togetherness.
• Pass napkins at snack -- block washing, painting,
  and storing experience.
• Teacher point out how child is helping the group
  in some way!
• Work is an ego strengthener.
• Strengthen ego and build self-esteem.
  (especially valuable for retiring or very
  aggressive child).

8
Incorporating Meaningful Work in the Life of the
School

• Wash dishes after cooking.
• Load sand put under swings.
• Plant/weed garden.
• Fertilize/water garden.
• Spread/dig compost in garden.
• Cut /arrange flowers.
• Clean aquarium.
• Set up rabbit cage.
• Feed/clean rabbit.
• Mix paint.
• Wash fingerpaint tables.
• Cut fruits/veggies for snack.
• Hope set up snack baskets.

• Fetch juice for snack.
• Cooking.
• Carry messages.
• Sand/wax/fix music blocks.
• Saw square corners off tables.
• Putty holes in woodworking table.
• Fill holes in edges of new shelf with putty.
• Dye eggshells and crush for collage.
• Nail seat more firmly into boat.
• Hammer nails back into bench.
• Take down bulletin board.
• Hose off sidewalk.

9
Not All Work Experiences Are Successful

• Not all work projects turn out well!
• Talk about failures -- learn from them.
• Jobs can be too difficult, and kids dont have
  the skills (ex garden and hard ground).
• Job can be too tedious and dull.
• Adult standards too picky! (grease on tricycles).
• Plan too much in one day bake and decorate
  cookies.
• Admit openly to children things did not work out
  well teachers then analyze or analyze with the
  kids.

10
Ways to Plan Work Opportunities So They Remain
Appealing!

• Job should be short or broken down into short
  portions.
• Able to finish in one day -- older kids can
  handle two days to finish.
• Child have privilege of selection and right of
  rejection in choosing jobs!
• How do kids tell play and work apart not based
  on what they think is fun work you have to do!
• For kids work is teacher structured or dominated
  -- play is what you want to do!
• Work is what you have to do.

11
Planning Work Opportunities (cont)

• Reasonable expectations by the teacher.
• Goal is pleasure in process and accomplishment --
  not perfection in performance.
• Adjust work to reality of childs ability and
  what she wants to do.
• Let them volunteer.
• Need real tools to do the work.
• Can be scaled to size hammers, well-sharpened
  saws, real C-clamps.
• Dull, tiny tools build frustration and encourage
  children to give up in disgust.
• Materials that attract
• Anything involving food.
• Anything involving earth is fun.
• Anything involving water is the most fun!

12
Planning Work Opportunities (cont)

• Most work requires supervision.
• Adults might think easier to do themselves takes
  longer adults underestimate abilities of kids.
• Take time to talk about how hard the children are
  working.
• Teachers own attitude is significant.
• Attitudes are catching.
• Teacher who enjoys her job shows work can be
  pleasurable and challenging.
• Teacher respects childs work.