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Dear Families,
Since September 2013, Brooklyn Free Space educators have engaged in ongoing professional development with the Bank Street Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice (ERP). This practice, based on the well-documented connection between a child's emotional well-being and learning potential, supports teachers in developing emotionally responsive school routines, curriculum and adult-child interactions. Medina, Laura, Ryan, Kezia and I have been collaborating with the center, and we bring what we learn back to our classrooms and colleagues. We know that children and families love to have their familiar routine and all classroom teachers present for the school day, and we balance this with the need to support our teachers in their professional development, and to model for our children continual learning and growth.
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 BFS teachers recognize the social and emotional development of children as the foundation of early childhood learning and use ERP to reinforce their approach. By being able to tune into the developmental issues that are important at a specific age group, they accept each child's feelings and respond to their needs for recognition, comfort and inclusion. Instead of distracting children from feelings of sadness, anger or frustration, we develop language to address such issues within the classroom. Lesley Koplow, founder of the ERP approach, writes about this in her classic book on the subject, “ Unsmiling Faces; Creating Preschools that Heal”. She believes that teachers who successfully build emotionally responsive classrooms work to build a balance between creating an open atmosphere where expression is welcome and creating a safe atmosphere where there are clear boundaries for behavior. |
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"When adults have a deeper understanding of child development, they are able to better support healthy, emotional expression."
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When adults have a deeper understanding of child development, they are able to better support healthy, emotional expression. Understanding a child’s developmental milestones, makes them better equipped to handle particularly challenging behaviors. For example, a child, whose attachment needs were not sufficiently met in the first year of life, may still seek constant recognition as a 2-3 year old. A child who did not fully resolve autonomy issues at 2 years old, may still be strongly pushing boundaries as a 4-5 year old. When you know why something is arising in a child, you are less likely to take it personally, or to simply attribute it to “bad” behavior, and can look for solutions that meet the deeper underlying needs. For example, Pre-K teachers know that their 4 year olds are going to be exploring issues of power and powerlessness. With this awareness, they can be prepared to give children many opportunities for making choices, many arenas for being empowered helpers, and many opportunities for active, physical play that challenge their growing bodies.
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"These are some of the ways I play with my friends."
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 Emotionally responsive teachers use their understanding of child development to inform their classroom curriculum. As Marion Hyson notes in “ The Emotional Development of Young Children; Building an Emotion-Centered Curriculum", that emotions, as the primary motivators and organizers of all development and learning, when focused on, increase the likelihood that children will benefit intellectually and academically. We can see this manifested in the Jitterbug and Dragonfly classrooms, where there is a clear understanding that our youngest ones need to be connected with emotionally before they are ready to engage fully in classroom routine. The children are able to take their time to ease into routines such as circle time, sitting for snack or lunch, or listening to a story in the beginning of the year, and are then ready to delve into an exploration of the world around them. An emotion-centered curriculum then pays deep attention to the learning and activities that happens in the classroom environment, making sure they have an emotional relevance for children. This intersects wonderfully with our emergent curriculum approach, where we listen to and observe the children closely to understand their rising interests and ideas. |
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"The fundamental understanding that guides us, as we begin to prepare our young ones for transition, is that children can have so many different feelings about change and growing up."
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As you have experienced at BFS, the transition period at the start of the school year is taken very seriously. We know that children who are worried about separation from their parents and caregivers have trouble staying focused and being receptive. There are also many feelings of excitement, fear, anxiety, and joy about asserting yourself and making new friends in a new classroom environment. This is why we have a phase-in schedule to ease children into the day, why teachers will work in partnership with parents to create a drop-off time with comforting routines, and why the first month of school is focused on books, activities, songs, etc., about the self, family, and building friendship connections.
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"These are my friends. These are my teachers."
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The transition to the end of the school year, also has to be approached with intention and thoughtfulness, with an eye to the developmental needs of the children. ERP advocates for children to be well prepared for predictable separations, especially as many children have experienced or will experience abrupt ones in their lives (death, divorce, moving). The timing of facilitating the transition process is important. To children whose sense of time is not concrete, starting the transition talk too soon can have them thinking that the end is imminent. If we wait until the last week of school, there is little time to process.
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 The fundamental understanding that guides us, as we begin to prepare our young ones for transition, is that children can have so many different feelings about change and growing up. It is not surprising when a child saying goodbye to their classroom, which has become a home away from home, can cause separation anxiety. Children who may be anxious about leaving their teachers, classmates, classroom or school manifest their anxiety in many different ways. They may seem to regress and be quick to cry or tantrum, seem to forget classroom rules, be less respectful of their teacher’s authority. Some children may withdraw, or feel very impatient to move on to the next level. It is our job as adults to recognize the root of this behavior, and help them navigate the underlying feelings.
At the end of May, that this discussion of change is introduced at BFS, allowing children ample time to process the attendant emotions effectively and in a way that makes sense to them. Our teachers will spend these next few weeks helping your child reflect on their experiences, as part of their current classroom's community - their individual growth, friendships and learning journeys. They will also talk about what new adventures your child might have next year in their new school or classroom, offering assurance that they will still be safe and cared for in this new space. Our younger children will visit the older classrooms to observe and note what they see, and the older children will read books about Kindergarten, as well as create their own books about their transition to a new school.
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"Next year, I will be in a different classroom.
I may be excited.
I may be scared.
I will make new friends and I will learn new things."
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As the school year comes to an end. the adults that make up this school community will also experience strong emotions. Teachers (and directors) can feel a sense of loss and abandonment when the children move on, especially as it can be emotionally difficult for some children to maintain strong connections with their former teachers. As parents, we might be excited for our children to be “big kids” and celebrate their blooming independence, but at the same time mourn their "little kid" needs. In addition to being fun, our end of year events, such as the gala, camping trip, family picnic, and graduation celebration, create an emotionally-responsive climate, allowing us ALL to have a positive sense of closure to the school year.
Stacy
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