Ledford, Dawn

CHDV 110 Principles and Practices

Guidance Scenarios
Scenario 1:
Julia put down the Lion King book for a minute so she could go to the bathroom
and when she came back Lisa was reading it. They are now pulling on the book
and getting angry. How would you respond?
Response:
What guidance tool will you use? Why did you choose this tool?

For this situation, the guidance tool I would use would be the Conflict
Resolution tool. I would use this tool because it allows children to be involved
in the process of handling conflicts. The book indicates that when children
are consistently involved in handling problems, they start to do it effectively on
their own and with their peers (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte,
2010, page, 193).

I would go through the process with the children. It includes a cool down,
identifying the problem, describing feelings, going over solutions, choosing
one to try, and a follow up. I would have to begin the process by walking over
and initiating a cool down. The book gave the example of describing that the
children were upset and then asking them to take a deep breath to get calm.

In this process I might have to address the feelings of the children because it
can allow them to understand their own feelings better. Conflict is often
accompanied by anger, a powerful emotion that can be hard to understand
and express (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 191).

Give a detailed description of the steps you would take in using the guidance
tool, including specific language you would use and how the child(ren) might
respond each step of the way.

When I saw the girls pulling on the book and getting angry, I would say, Julia
and Lisa, you both are upset, lets put down the book and just take a deep
breath to calm down. I would then go to identify the problem, Okay, what
seems to be the problem girls?

Julia would explain that she went to the bathroom, and Lisa might say that
she did not know she went to the bathroom, but she was reading it now. I
would go on to say, Julia feels like you should get the book because you had
it first, and Lisa you feel as if you should have it because you didnt know

Julia had it before that. So what do you girls think we can do for a solution?

The girls might suggest that they could read it together or that Julia could
finish it first because she had it. If they decided to read it together, I would
encourage them and say that I was glad they worked it out. If they agreed to
let one finish it first, I might suggest to look for another Lion King book while
the other girl is finishing.

After the situation, as part of the Follow up in the Conflict Resolution

Process, I could invite the children to reflect on what could be done to prevent
problem in the future and on how their solutions worked out (Christensen,
Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 193).

What short term and long term goals for guidance would you be supporting with
your choice of guidance tool?

Short term goals: The short term goals I would be supporting for this would be
safety and personal security. I would quickly get to the children and start
resolving the conflict before the girls would get physical towards each other.
It is important that the children calm down before they hurt each and
especially if the conflict involved them hurting each other.

Long term goals: In using this guidance tool for these two girls, I would be
supporting the children being able to better solve their own problems in the
future. As the book suggested, the goals are to develop inner control and
cooperation skills that children need to live effectively in a community
(Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 194). As the children
go through the Conflict Resolution process, they will learn more each time on
the steps they need to take, like calming down and discussing the problem.

Scenario 2:
John and Sara have discovered that they can make small balls with play dough
and sling them across the room with their plastic spoons so they stick to the wall.
They think it is very funny! How do you respond?
Response:
What guidance tool will you use? Why did you choose this tool?

The guidance tool I would use in this scenario would be Redirection. In this
situation, the children were causing damage to the environment and possible
creating a hazard. When children are behaving in ways that are unsafe or
that cause damage to the environment, you can redirect their energy and
attention to an activity similar to the one that is unacceptable (Christensen,
Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 197).

Since the kids are being playful and not trying to hurt anyone, I would respect
that. They just do not know that some things can be harmful so this is where
the Redirection would be the best approach. It is also not a distraction, which
tells children that their interests are not worthy or valued (Christensen,
Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 198).

I would end with Reflective and Response (R&R) statements. These would
help to encourage the children to participate in the safe and non-harmful
activity. These statements support childrens sense of self and their learning
about people and relationships.

Give a detailed description of the steps you would take in using the guidance
tool, including specific language you would use and how the child(ren) might
respond each step of the way.

When I saw John and Sara slinging the play dough balls across the room
onto the wall, I would say, Hey you guys, it looks like your really enjoying
slinging those play dough balls across the room. Why dont we get out the
bouncing balls and play with those so the wall does not get damaged or they
fall off and hit someone.

The children would probably like the new idea, and when they saw the
bouncing balls being pulled out more children would likely join making it even
more appealing.

I would keep on eye on the children playing, and for my ending R&R
statement, I would say something like, You guys really seem to be enjoying
the bouncing balls. If they had been playing with them for a while, I might
add that they had been playing with them for a good amount of time.

What short term and long term goals for guidance would you be supporting with
your choice of guidance tool?

Short term goals: Short term goals that would be supported by this choice of
guidance tool would be to redirect the children quickly so that no one and
nothing got hurt or damaged.

Long term goals: Long term goals that would be supported would be that in
the future, the children would know not to do that same activity. Another goal
would be that the children are comfortable with authority and respect when
the teacher suggest something to them. Teachers should also show the
children respect to help achieve this goal. Authority that is authentic and
lasting is based on mutual respect; it is used wisely and with compassion
(Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 195).

Scenario 3:
The children are allowed to play with paint in the art area, but Jose carried his
paint brush over to the block area where he is making on of the blocks blue. He
is concentrating very hard on painting the block. How would you respond?
Response:
What guidance tool will you use? Why did you choose this tool?

For this scenario, I would also use the Redirection strategy as well. I would
use it for this because the child is not causing harm to a person, and he is
really dedicated to painting the block which he might think, hes allowed to
paint.

It would be a decision that was fast but effective. As teachers in classrooms,

you would need to make on-the-spot decisions in response to what children
need, what will help individual, and what is needed for the class as a whole
(Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 198).

In this situation, I might go over guidelines with the whole class after the
situation. Guidelines help children to develop skills for regulating their own
behavior (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 197).

Give a detailed description of the steps you would take in using the guidance
tool, including specific language you would use and how the child(ren) might
respond each step of the way.

When I saw Jose painting the block blue, I would go over to him and say,
Jose I notice that your concentrating really hard on painting that block. You
know that we paint in the art area, so why dont you come paint whatever you
want on the supplies we have over there so nobody gets paint on them when
they play with the blocks.

His attention would be redirected so he could go back over to the art area and
not damage the blocks. After he got back to the area and started painting, I
would go over some of the guideline for the class like the ones stated in the
book. I would say, Lets go over our class guidelines real quick, they are,
take care of others, take care of yourself, and take care of our things which
are toys, book, tools, and our environment. I would have the children say
them with me so it could help them to remember the guidelines. When you
use guidelines you can make expectations more clear than if you rely on
narrowly defined rules (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010,
page, 197).

What short term and long term goals for guidance would you be supporting with

your choice of guidance tool?

Short term goals: The short term goals I would be supporting would be the
protection of the classroom objects. It is important to keep the classroom
environment equip to the areas of play for all the children. If things in an area
get damaged and cannot be used, other children will not have the opportunity
to play with them.

Long term goals: Long term goals I would be supporting by using this
guidance tool in this situation would be to change the childs actions in the
future and be aware of the places where certain things are done, like painting.
Another long term goal would be that the child is able to deal with transition.
When the teachers use redirection, children have to get used to the transition.
The book states that children are not good at waiting so it should be done
quickly (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 120). These
goals will help to make the child more aware and understanding of guidelines,
and ultimately more independent.

Scenario 4:
Brenda loves playing in the house area. She always wants to pretend that she is
the baby and that Desiree is the mommy. They play together for long periods of
time without conflict. However, when another child tries to enter the play, Brenda
becomes frustrated and angry, sometimes yelling at the other child. Today, when
Katie wanted to join in their play, she grabbed up all the dress up clothes and
said, No one else can play in our family. Its just the mommy and the baby!?
How would you respond?
Response:
What guidance tool will you use? Why did you choose this tool?

For this situation, the guidance tool I would use, would be the I-message.
This tool has three elements to it, it states the specific condition or behavior
that is problematic, it states how the teacher/adult feels, and it explains how
the behavior affects the adult (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte,
2010, page, 187).

I would choose this strategy for this particular situation because I-messages
are a way to communicate your problems and feelings without blaming
children. An I-message invites a child to participate in solving the problem
rather than telling them what to do (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and
Nolte, 2010, page, 187).

I would also give the children choices to help the issue and to build a
classroom that promotes respect and fairness. By acting a certain way,

children can see those actions and learn. As the book states, Children can
learn to treat others with respect and fairness when teachers strive both to
model and to teach these beliefs and values (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik,
and Nolte, 2010, page, 194).
Give a detailed description of the steps you would take in using the guidance
tool, including specific language you would use and how the child(ren) might
respond each step of the way.

After I saw Brenda grab up all the clothes, I would say, Brenda and Desiree I
see that you two are playing house but, Brenda, you do not want Katie to join
in, and Katie, you want to join in. This situation worries me because I do not
want either of you girls to get your feelings hurt.

I would then go on to discuss solutions and choices that the girls could make.
I might say something like, There are plenty of clothes here for everyone,
and families can be big. Katie could be the sister or even the nanny.

I would encourage the girls to want to play together but if Brenda still said no,
I would try to talk to her about other things that Katie could do and I would
listen to their solutions. For example, If Katie said she wanted to be the cook,
I would say that would be good because she could make the baby food. I
would just try to encourage them and stay positive while showing them
respect at the same time.

What short term and long term goals for guidance would you be supporting with
your choice of guidance tool?

Short term goals: The short term goals I would be supporting with the use of
this guidance tool would be to get the children to compromise so both girls
would be satisfied. I would also be supporting children playing together so
that everyone is happy and everything runs smoothly. it can be useful to
learn about some particular attitudes and practices that can assist you in
keeping groups running in a smooth and amicable manner (Christensen,
Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 194).

Long term goals: Long term goals I would be supporting would be classroom
management, and because of the I-message, the children would develop
problem solving skills. This would keep the classroom running in a productive
manner and make the children more independent and capable of dealing with
conflicts on their own. Other long term goals that could be gained with this
situation would be the childrens knowledge of fairness. When a teacher
states that there are plenty of items, or there can always be more than one,
children remember that and can intern learn to be more fair.

Scenario 5:

3 Year-old Stephan has trouble sitting at circle time. If he sits near you he talks
out constantly and pulls on what ever is in in you hand. If he sits across the
circle from you, he pushes the other children and tries to sit on their space, or
rolls out into the middle of the circle. How would you respond?
Response:
What guidance tool will you use? Why did you choose this tool?

For this last scenario, I would use the I-message as well. I would use it in this
situation too because it is not like two children are aggressively arguing, it is
one child who does multiple things that can be disruptive.

By the use of the I-message in this situation, I can maintain my rights, get my
point across, and avoid hurting the child or my relationship with them
(Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 187).

I would also add part of the Conflict Resolution process to the I-message
process to help the child understand his behavior. I would use the steps of
brainstorming solutions and choosing one to try. I might ask the child how
they feel before this to help identify more or the problem and why they are
doing what they are doing, but I would never make them tell me if they did not
want to. If children are uncomfortable with labeling or discussing feelings,
never insist that they do so (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010,
page, 192).

Give a detailed description of the steps you would take in using the guidance
tool, including specific language you would use and how the child(ren) might
respond each step of the way.

After noticing Stephans repeated behavior during group time, I would talk
with him and say, Stephan, I notice how you have a hard time sitting still
during our circle time. Sometimes it concerns me when you pull on things
from others and when you push the other children to sit on their spot because
I do not want anyone to end up hurt or mad.

I would then go to the parts of the Conflict Resolution process. I would say,
Stephan, why do you act this way during circle time. How do you feel when
we do circle time?

The child might respond to this by explaining that he does not like to sit for so
long or he might say that he is bored and it is no fun. If he did not describe
how he feels, I could help by asking him if he felt a certain way. I would then
go on to ask what he thinks could be a solution to situation. He might say to
let him draw or play with something during the time. I would suggest making

circle time not as long and ask what he wanted to try. He would decide
something he wanted to do, and I would observe and see if the solution had
worked. If not, another solution could be tried.
What short term and long term goals for guidance would you be supporting with
your choice of guidance tool?

Short term goals: The short term goals supported with this tool would be
having the child understand his actions. Once a child understands their
feelings and actions or why they are doing them, it can be easier to find a
solution. Before you can help children learn to resolve conflicts peacefully,
you must help them to identify and acknowledge their feelings (Christensen,
Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 191).

Long term goals: Long term goals supported with this would be to ultimately
end Stephans disruptive behavior at circle time, and to have him understand
what made him disruptive and why he was disruptive. Problems and conflicts
are an inevitable aspect of group life, both in and outside of early childhood
programs (Christensen, Feeney, Moravcik, and Nolte, 2010, page, 191).
Having children learn to deal with their personal problems and problems with
others is always a goal that should be strived for.