National Network for Child Care's Connections
Newsletter
Deborah Nelson
Completing postgraduate work in art therapy
Edgewood College, Madison Wisconsin
Copyright/Access Information
We all know that play is the real work of young children. And
we know that school-age children also need play for the healthy
development of body, mind, and spirit. School-age children, however,
also need the sense of accomplishment and self-esteem that comes
from being trusted with a job to do.
In every culture, families decide when children are "old
enough" (developmentally ready) to begin to learn how to
do work. This point signals a transition from watching the parent
or caregiver at a task, to being taught how to help the adult
with the task, to being given the responsibility of doing the
job on their own.
Children who are not given responsibility in their family, home,
after-school program, and peer group will have trouble relating
to the needs of others. They will also have trouble recognizing
or feeling confident about their own abilities.
Showing respect for the child's developing skills takes patience
and skill. It is often easier for busy caregivers and parents
to do a task themselves than to spend the time needed to teach
the child how to do it. Adults who want things done perfectly
may also feel the need to straighten towels, refold socks, or
reset the table. This gives children the message that their efforts
aren't good enough, and many children stop trying at all.
Everyone suffers when adults fail to teach responsibility. Adults
suffer because children without these skills leave any space they
visit in a shambles. Both parents and caregivers often complain
that these children won't help - around the house, in the child
care program, anywhere, ever. But children suffer also. They never
have the chance to feel pride in their work. Some children feel
defeated before they even begin a new activity.
As school-age caregivers and teachers, we base our expectations
on what we know about child development and the abilities and
temperament of the children in our programs. Learning manual skills
- for example, using tools to help fix a loose banister or put
up new coat hooks - gives the school-age child a sense of growth
and competence. These same skills will come in handy, of course,
for building boats, constructing forts, and making birdhouses.
The options now open to that child are boundless. The opportunities
for play and work are both enhanced. The child is able to say,
"I can help!"
Housekeeping, although much maligned, is an excellent way for
children to do "real work," especially when everyone
works together to get the job done. When children help take care
of the rooms they use and share - the animals and plants that
are in the room, the furniture, the toys and equipment, the play
yard, and the neighborhood - they develop feelings of ownership,
belonging, and pride.
No doubt about it, some jobs are more fun than others. Some people
are better suited for some jobs than others, too. The bottom line
is that all the jobs need to be done to make life better for everyone.
Everyone has a part to play in making this happen. When children
do their best and make a significant contribution, it honors the
group and the individual. With these beliefs in mind, a program
I worked with a number of years ago instituted the pizza-pie work
chart and the "cleaning party."
A parent asked me why her nine-year-old son was cleaning the gerbil
cage when she arrived early one Friday afternoon. She felt we
were using her son and the other children to do the teachers'
work. Besides, she said, "he was really too young to be much
help."
I explained that we all took responsibility for caring for our
room and play yard. I also told her that her son did a careful
and conscientious job of caring for the animals. I noted that
he was also good at using the dustbuster and that he would often
choose - on his own - to rake wood chips. I invited her to ask
her son to explain the finer points of gerbil maintenance while
he completed his job. The boy - who was too young to be much help
- gave a beautiful demonstration and explanation of the how-to
and importance of his job. When he was done, the two left the
program and headed to the grocery store to shop together. But
first, they stopped at the play yard to see the wood chips he
had raked.
It is sad when we underestimate what a child can do. Children
look to the adults in their lives to tell them who they are and
who they can become. Our low expectations can become a self-fulfilling
prophecy. If a child feels she is able to contribute to her family's
well-being and her friends' comfort, she is not apt to suffer
from low self-esteem and poor self-worth.
And what about the pizza-pie work chart? Using a large flip chart,
we worked as a group to list all the jobs that needed doing to
keep our environment (inside and out) the way we wanted it to
be. All answers were recorded. Some of the jobs could be listed
together, and this made a piece of the pie. When we had covered
all the jobs, each child was given a wooden clothespin. The children
then printed their names on the clothespins with thin-line magic
markers.
We made Friday afternoons from 2:30 to 3:45 our "cleaning
party." If a child was absent, another child would do the
job if it involved a plant or an animal or something that would
smell by Monday if the job were left undone (like taking the lunch
garbage to the trash can). Some jobs had to be done daily, like
feeding the fish and changing the water for the animals. After
this was done, the child was free to help a friend with her job.
Or he could start a new job that he thought was overlooked, such
as rewinding yarn skeins, sorting out the scrap-paper boxes, or
cleaning glue tops. After our cleaning party, we would meet briefly
on the circle to discuss any problems. Then we moved the clothespins
in a clockwise direction on the pie chart. That told everyone
what job they would have next week. We also noted big jobs that
we should put on a list for Family Work Saturday, held twice a
year.
Family Work Saturday gave parents, teachers, and children a chance
to work together to clean and improve our space. If someone couldn't
come to the Work Day, he could sign up to contribute needed materials
or to loan equipment. Some people stayed all day, while others
put in a two-hour shift and went on to their own family chores.
Children were proud to see their parents' names on the sign-up
sheet. Work Saturday gave the adults another important opportunity.
Parents were able to model cooperative effort and to show that
they valued sharing work to meet a common goal. Everyone felt
proud of our results.
So what do we know about "real work"? We know that children
need adults to trust them. We know that children can learn and
want to learn. If we are patient, model responsibility, and give
developmentally appropriate instruction, children will learn.
Children are proud when they are given the responsibility of "real
work," the unspoken signal that you know they are growing
up.
Use clean pizza round of cardboard. Cover with clear contact
paper.
1. Group Meeting - brainstorm list of jobs that need doing.
2. Have each child put his or her name on a clip-on wooden clothespin.
3. Job responsibilities last for 1 week.
4. Rotate on Friday afternoon after cleaning party for the next
week's job assignments.