As Miss Adele says, “Every day is an adventure in the Threes!” That’s true… in the Twos and in the Fours, too!
For young children, every day IS an adventure… filled with new experiences, new concepts, new challenges, new words and new emotions. With all the ‘new’ constantly coming at them… it’s no wonder children crave a stable environment marked by predictable schedules, consistent routines, and clear expectations.
Knowing what to expect and what’s expected of them gives children a sense of security and makes them more confident and willing to participate, ask questions, take risks and express their creativity.
At CCNS, we help children understand what’s expected of them by consistently using three core behavioral expectations. They are:
Be safe – we take care of ourselves.
Be kind – we take care of others.
Be responsible – we take care of things, we follow directions.
These simple, easily understood expectations are introduced during the first days of school, are posted year-round in the classroom, and are shared with CCNS families to foster a universal language around encouraging and managing children’s behavior.
In school and on the playground, these core behavioral expectations are used by teachers and working parents as the basis of all acknowledgement, guidance and discipline. For example, you might hear:
The trucks need to stay on the ground. It’s not safe to take them up on the slide.
I noticed you took turns on the tire swing when others were waiting. That was very kind.
It’s clean up time. Please be responsible and tidy up the things you were using in the dramatic play area.
By referencing these core expectations every day, the children are more likely to behave in ways that meet those expectations and are quicker to correct when a teacher, parent or another student puts their actions in the context of being safe, kind and responsible.
Ultimately, and ideally, successful application of our core behavioral expectations results in being able to spend more time on active, engaged, thoughtful play – which is great… because as we know, these children have a lot of adventuring to do!
