We are learning about our responsibilities in School-age 3 at RisingOaks Early Learning | John Sweeney. Some children have shown an interest in helping to keep our classroom clean. We are helping our friends understand when it is their mess to tidy and that it is great to help tidy even if it isn’t our mess. Some friends enjoyed sweeping the classroom when there weren’t many friends left later in the evening. Learning that we must clean up before moving onto a new activity and or communicate with our peers to see if they are ok with some things being left out if they are not done yet. Our learning aligns with the ELECT document in building our lifelong learning to enhance our social and emotional domains and helps to develop communication and cognitive skills such as problem solving and communication with peers.
One evening there weren't many children left in our room but many had left before tidying up. Christine began cleaning up the messes and stacking the chairs. One friend Sofia asked “why do you have to clean everything?” Christine responded “Because we can’t leave a mess” Sofia responded noting the mess was not made by Christine so she wanted to help. Christine knew the mess was not Sofias either but was very appreciative of her help. The next day Christine gave Sofia a sticker to say thank you for her help. Some children noticed and asked why Sofia got a sticker because they wanted a sticker too. Christine shared the experience to express that Sofia helped to clean the messes they had left behind.
While sitting in the classroom that afternoon one child asked “Christine, if I clean up my blocks do I get a sticker?” Christine explained that when you take out a toy and make a mess it is your responsibility to clean it up. The child then said “what if I don’t clean them up then?” Christine explained that then there would be a negative consequence. This might mean that when your parents come you will have to tidy before you leave or tomorrow you cannot play with the blocks. Christine and the child then had a conversation about which messes are our own responsibility and it is expected as their job to tidy them and some examples of ways to be helpful. The child then said “so if I do those helpful things I will get a sticker?”. Christine responded saying "not always, it's important to help because it is kind and maybe if you help others they will help you too."
Two friends asked one day if they could sweep the floor. This was helpful and they seemed to have fun sweeping together. This became a daily job that they chose to do and appeared to look forward to. A few times Christine rewarded them with a sticker but not every time which helped them to understand you don’t always get a tangible reward for being helpful. The children expressed they feel good when they are helping out. Some children joined in on helping a few by stacking chairs and washing the tables knowing they may not get a sticker. Some days when many children helped they were proud to see how fast everything was completed. A few days in a row Christine noticed these children began tidying before cleaning up their snack napkins. We had a conversation about the importance of completing our own responsibilities before doing extra.
It is wonderful to see the children beginning to feel the reward of being helpful and keeping our space tidy. The children are showing maturity and growth by demonstrating responsibility. When referring to the HDLH document when the children feel a sense of responsibility to their environment they have a stronger sense of belonging. “Belonging refers to a sense of connectedness to others, an individual’s experiences of being valued, of forming relationships with others and making contributions as part of a group, a community, the natural world.” (HDLH, 2014).
