Little Citizens

It was 10am on Wednesday morning and “Pepine”, the chef puppet, accidentally set his cardboard house on fire.  Morris Street School Readiness students took turns pretending to dial 911 and recited their addresses and phone numbers.  Our preschool friends dressed as fire fighters and responded to the scene to extinguish the paper flames. Preschool assistant teacher Anyelin Aracena led this role play activity to the excitement of all participants. Fall is a time when community is explored as part of our preschool curriculum.  The benefits to this exploration are an essential component to a young child’s social-emotional development. 

During the preschool years, children develop an understanding of their own and other’s feelings.  Teaching preschoolers to be good citizens includes respect for others, honesty and a willingness to follow rules. The skills learned during this time in a child’s life help guide him/her throughout adulthood. 

To help foster social-emotional development and citizenship:

Encourage Dramatic Play- Role playing and dress-up help build social-emotional competence as well as language skills. Children build rules and increase their ability to see things from other perspectives.  Preschool children usually enjoy pretending to be important adults in their lives-parent, doctor, police officer etc. 

Create a supportive environment with basic rules- A warm and caring environment is essential. Children are more likely to accept the values of the classroom or community and respond in a caring way if their own environment and needs are met. Preschoolers begin to discover themselves and their relationships with others. Basic rules such as saying please and thank you, covering one’s mouth when sneezing and cleaning up one’s toys are valuable.

Model /guide appropriate behavior- Be emotionally responsive (empathy) and encourage conversations about other’s feelings-“How do you think John feels about you taking his toy”?

Field Trips- At the Morris Street School Readiness Classroom we were very fortunate to take a field trip to the Danbury Fire Department and will welcome a presentation from the Danbury Police Department later this month.  Trips to the Danbury Library, post office, grocery store, local farm and city hall help children explore their community and the world around them.

Positive experiences during the preschool years can set the stage for children to anticipate becoming a member of other learning communities throughout their lives.  Moreover, providing opportunities for children to learn kindness, respect and self-expression not only fosters social-emotional development, but young productive citizens.