Are there any childcare workers out there who could give me some advice?

Question

one ofmy assesments requires me to suggest what i might say & do to encourage a child to become more involved in play which will encourage the childs cognitive development.The child is a 3.2 year old Aboriginal child who rarely engages in activities that require any length of concentration.thanks for your answers!

Answer 1

I think you should begin by observing the child's activities to see what interests him/her.  Then choose a suitable activity, maybe a puzzle with a picture that interest the child and invite the child to join you.  Most children love dinosaurs, trucks, and family, so there should be something that would interest the child!  Most children enjoy building with blocks also, so that might be another good choice of activities.  Also, painting, drawing, and cutting and gluing are interesting to most children.  Whatever activity you choose, include lots of conversation and encourage the child to solve problems encountered in play.  (That puzzle piece doesn't fit?  I wonder if you can turn it so fits?  Try it.)  If you do this daily, and gradually increase the amount of time you try to engage the child and the complexity of the activity, the child's interest should increase.  This should also support social activity, since other children are likely to join in your play which will give you a chance to model appropriate social skills and encourage the target child to socialize more with the other children.

Answer 2

I teach specal needs early childhood.  You need to look for motivators and tap into them, often at this age food is a great motivator.  Look at the childs lunch, what does she like eating?? Can you make it with her and the group to engage her and then follow on to making "pretend" food for dolls and teddies.  These children have difficulty with the more abstract consepts of play.  So keep in related to everyday activites and things - food and eating, role playing whats around her - cooking, sleeping, daily activites with pretend props eg, small bed and dolly needs sleep.  If you can get a doll with closing eyes and then you can play dolly asleep/awake etc.

Good luck

Answer 3

In what is the child interested? Is she used to being outside? Is she interested more in outside than inside things? Can you capitalize on that by using nature activities? What is her family life like? What is important in her family and in her culture? Can you bring aspects of her home life into the classroom - books, props in the dramatic play area, props in the building area with which she is familar (such as sticks and stones? Is this a case of trying to socialize a child from one culture into another?