Hey Georgia childcare teachers, I heard through the grapevine that you’re starting to look for summer camp programs! Did you know that summer camp programs can help children develop a sense of community? Having a “sense of community” means being able to see oneself as belonging to a group and sharing a substantial amount of its characteristics, beliefs, and practices. A sense of community involves actions as well as feelings, such as providing help and support to other members of the community. Not only can your summer camp program provide this for children, but the early childhood classroom can also be seen as a community whose members share an age range, educational interests, time, and friendship (Epstein, A. 2009).
With April being Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect Awareness Month, what better time to get children in your program to develop a sense of community and a feeling of security than now? Because young children are essentially social beings, communities are meaningful and appealing to them. The early childhood classroom is usually a child’s first community beyond those provided by their caregivers. How children interact with one another helps them internalize new information and shapes the way children think. Collaborative activities allow children to learn from and teach one another.
Here are some ways teachers in your program can help children to develop a sense of community within their own classrooms:
- Create an environment where children are expected to be kind and supportive of one another.
- Arrange the classroom so different size groups can gather.
- Establish a consistent daily routine.
- Call attention to activities the whole class can participate in.
- Organize activities that promote participation with others.
- Involve children in the community beyond the classroom.
By creating a sense of community within our early care programs, children can take these skills they have learned and become lifelong members of a collaborative community.
We here at H&H Child Care Training believe in helping teachers like yourself develop these skills for both you and the children in your care. Not only will this help you create a sense of community for your children, but it can also help your program achieve higher levels within Quality Rated’s requirements.
Some courses to help are:
Community and Family Engagement in Childcare
Classroom Management is Collaboration!
Bridging Intent and Response: Communication
All our online courses provide text, voice, and videos to make the content engaging as well as informative and are Bright from the Start approved for clock hours! Search the GaPDS website under our Approved Sponsor Organization code (TR-ASO-76) for a full list of all our courses!
Visit our website to see a full list of classes on how to support the children in your classroom today!