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Muiphy, Lois B.; Leeper, Ethel M.The Ways Children Learn. Caring for Children, NumberOne.Child Development Services Bureau (DHEW/OCD),Washington, D.C.Children's Hospital of the District of Columbia,Washington, D.C.; Menninger Foundation, Topeka,Kans.; National Inst. of Mental Health (DREW),Rockville, Md.DHEW-OCD-73-10267316p.Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government.Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 20402 ($0.40)

MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29*Child Care Centers; *Child Development; *EarlyChildhood Education; *Guidelines; *Learning.erocesses

The booklet is the first in a series on the ways thatchild care centers (7an contribute to the healthy growth, anddevelopment of preschool children and focused on are the ways inwhich children learn. A child is said to be equipped to learn throughthe use of his senses, his muscles, curiosity, language, andorganizing ability. It is explained that a child learns throughactivities based Oh exploration, trial and error, avoidance of pain,pleasure, limitation.. Participation, and communication. The child isthought to need to learn to trust the world, know his own body, knowfamiliar objects, engage in human relationships, know time concepts,have realistic fears, know how to handle anger, know hou to cope tiithfrustration and know how to be responsible. Teachers are encouragedto gain the confidence of the child, provide an atmosphere forlearning, br, a good example, talk and listen, help a child controlbehavior, and love the child. (For other booklets in the series seeEC 052 601 through EC 052 604). (DB)

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EDUCATIONTHIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROMTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING FT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONSSTATE() DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFF ICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OFEDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY

DHEW Publication No. (CCD) 73-1026

LOIS B. MURPHY, Ph.D.ETHEL M. LEEPER

caring for childrennumber one

THE WAYSCHILDREN LEARN

Preface

Acknowledgments

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How is a Child Equipped to Learn? 5

SensesMusclesCuriosityLanguageOrganizing Ability

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How Does a Child Learn? 7

Exploration 7Trial and Error 9Pain 9Pleasure 9Imitation 10Participation 11

Communication 11

What Does a Child Need to Know? 12

Trust the WOrldHis Own BodyFamiliar ObjectsPeopleTimeRealistic FearHandle AngerCope with FrustrationBe Responsible

How Can the Teacher Help?

Gain Confidence of ChildProvide an Atmosphere for LearningBe a Good ExampleTalk and ListenHelp a Child Control BehaviorLove the Child

U.S. DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFAREOFFICE of CHILD DEVELOPMENTBUREAU of CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1M)., 20402 - Price 40 cents

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preface

The influence of a good child care centeris not limited to the children who are cared for,the staff itself, or the mothers who participate.Older and younger brothers and sisters, friends,neighbors, volunteers may all gain from changesbrought about by the child care center. In someinstances, the neighborhood is brightened up,inspired by the attractiveness of the center, andpride emerges to spark new efforts. Schoolteachers and principals, ministers, and localagencies also grow more helpful, more interestedin children.

This comes from the friendliness of thecenter staff to the whole family and to the neigh-bors. It also comes from th;) quality of everyaspect of the child care centerthe cheerfulsetting, the good food, the well-organized spacefor activity, the children's progress in learningand self-control, the experience of helping to im-prove the center itself and the neighborhood, theresulting good feelings, and a contagious senseof progress.

At one child care center on a dirt road fullof deep ruts and holes, with some adjacent yardsfull of junk and neighboring houses in a run downcondition, major changes occurred. The city streetdepartment improved the road; the real estateagent repaired and painted nearby houses whileresident owners painted their own; and volun-teers from the police department cleaned up thejunk. Yards bare and full of scraggy weeds wereseeded and made neat. It all takes effort, butthe response releases new energy.

Thus child care centers have the oppor-tunity of providing massive help for the nation's

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children through contributing to wholesome physical, mental, and social development, and also toan improved environment for the children. Thechild in a good center all day will receive goodfood, exercise, and rest to build a healthy body,as well as assistance in correction of physicalproblems.

Through constant communication withteachers and aides, language is developed, vo-cabulary is enlarged naturally, thought is stim-ulated, and a healthy self-concept evolves. Useof toys and other play and work materials in-volves exercise and development of sensory-motorskills, along with many concepts of color, size,shape, weight, balance, structure, and design.Stories and songs encourage integration of feel-ings, action, and ideas, while developing imagina-tion.

Spontaneous play in the housekeepingcorner or with blocks allows the child to play outhis observations of the family and the community.Other children may broaden their ideas and skillsthrough watching and joining in the play.

Neither health, nor adequate mental de-velopment, nor constructive social behavior canbe guaranteed for the rest of the child's life if thefollowing years do not also meet his needs ade-quately. But good total development in childhoodcan provide prerequisites for further growth andcan help to prevent the beginnings of retardation,disorganized behavior, early delinquency, andemotional disturbance.

acknowledgments

I owe most to two groups of workers withyoung children: first, my former colleagues atSarah Lawrence College, who taught the childrenat the Sarah Lawrence Nursery SchoolEvelynBeyer, long time director of the nursery school,and Marian Gay, Rebekah Shuey, and also col-leagues at Bank Street College for Teachers withwhom at different times I shared teaching andresearch experiences. But in addition, I owe muchto the directors and teachers of many nurseryschools and day care centers across America andaround the world. Especially exciting to me werethe Basic Education schools of India, initiated byGandhi and Zakir Hussain; and Bal Ghar in Ah-medabad, Indiaa unique integration of the bestAmerican nursery school concepts, Montessoriprinciples, Basic Education, and some traditionalIndian patterns, organized with a special balanceof good structure and flexibility that I came toknow as Kamalini Sarabhai's genius.

I am equally grateful to the creative staffof the North Topeka Day Care CenterJosephineNesbitt and Forestine Lewis, who "dreamed up"the center to meet the needs of deprived childrenin their area; and among the intercultural groupof teachers and directors, Sarita Peters, MaryWilson, Jane Kemp, Connie Garcia, Chris Smitheach of whom had special talents in handlingthe children, stimulating and supporting theirgrowth. Cecile Anderson has been especially gen-erous in sharing her unique storytechniques,observations of children's favorite stories, andways of looking at children's constructiveness andpride in achievement. Among the volunteers, Lil-lian Morrow was an ;nspiration to all of us with

her sensitive, skillful, and quietly warm ways, andCarol Rousey contributed expert and helpful as-sessments of the children's speech and languagedevelopment.

The leadership of the local 0E0 direc-tor, Robert Harder, and later J. A. Dickinson, stim-ulated staff, parents and neighbors, Girl Scouts,occupational therapy groups in local hospitals tohelp paint, plant shrubbery, build outdoor playequipment, provide toys so as to make possiblea pleasant and well-furnished environment forlearning and for total development. Shirley Norris,director of Kansas State Day Care, Anna Ransom,wise dean of Topeka day care efforts, and Mr. S.Revely, the local realtor who renovated the neigh-borhood houses for the Center, all gave time,energy, and warm interest to the development ofthe Center.

I also want to express my appreciation tothe responsive mothers whose progress alongwith that of their children gave me a new under-standing of human potentialities in children andadults of all ethnic groups in America and theurgency of making it possible for these to be ex-pressed.

These guidelines were initiated by Dr.Caroline Chandler, former Chief, Children's MentalHealth Section, National Institute of MentalHealth, and were supported by PHS Grant R12MH9266, the Menninger Foundation, and Chil-dren's Hospital of the District of Columbia. Theywere prepared under the supervision of Mrs. FrancBalzer, Director of Head Start's Parent and ChildCenter Program.

Lois B. Murphy, Ph.D.

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When a center is near a brook or on the edge of a lake,explorations with water, sand, and stones encouragediscovery and creativity.

Learning is a natural part of life. Every normalbaby comes into the world with all the equipmenthe needs to learn. Without a teacher or a schoolbook, the infant begins learning from the momenthe is born. if he is given the freedom to find outabout his world and the encouragement to do so,he will continue to learn for the rest of his life.

If learning stops along the way, it is be-cause the adults around the children have allowedhis natural learning urge to suffocate. The challenge to the mother and the child care teacher isto keep the learning processes aliveto see thatthe child has many different experiences in whichthe learning equipment he was born with canwork for him. A child in such an environment willlearn for himself.

how is a childequipped to learn?

SensesEvery normal human being is equippedwith senses that tell him about the world aroundhim. He sees, hears, tastes, feels, and smells, andby doing so, learns what the objects and peoplearound him are like. The infant feels the warmthof his mother's arms; tastes the milk she feedshim; and hears her voice. Soon her face comesinto focus and he sees what she looks like. As hegrows bigger and is able to move about more, hepicks out the things he wants to look at. Hechooses the colors that please him most. Hesmiles in the direction of the voices he recog-nizes. Learning body control and coordination is a challenge.

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By .;:he time the child comes to a childdare center, he already has stored up a vastknowledge of his world lust by looking, listening,touching, tasting, and smelling. Chances are healready has some positive likes and dislikes whichmake him a little bit different from every otherchip. The wise teacher makes the most of thechild's sensory equipment by providing a varietyof experiences that allows him to broaden hisknowledge of the world through all of his senses.

MusclesHave you noticed that an infant rarelylies still unless he is sleeping? If you have evertried to keep up with a two-year-old, you knowthat he is always climbing or running in the op-posite direction. This is how the very young childlearns what his muscles can do for him. Manybabies pull themselves to their feet to try outnewly developed arm and leg muscles, only to findthey have not yet learned how to sit down again.They will stand and cry until someone helps themdown. But within minutes, the average baby isstanding again, trying out his new-found skill.With constant practice the infant learns to mastereach new movement.

By the time he is three years old hismuscles probably are coordinated enough for thecomplex movements demanded in the playground.Now is the time for him to learn more about hisbody and how it operates in space. He learnt, thatif he moves it in a certain way, the swing will gohigh. He also learns, sometimes painfully, that hecannot get off the swing while it is moving. Onthe sliding board he learns to climb, sit, push off,and slow down. The jungle gym reminds him thatif his feet are dangling in mid-air, he dare nottake his hands off the bar.

An adult may not realize that these areskills a young child must learn before he can feelcompletely at ease in his world. The child careteacher recognizes a child's need to use all hismuscles and provides plenty of opportunities foractive play.

CuriosityThis is the push to learn. Human beings are born with an overwhelming drive to findout about their world. It is curiosity that makesthe baby snatch at the eye glasses of the personholding him. It is c ilosity that leads the toddlerto pull the clothing out of the bureau drawers.And it was curiosity, still hard at work in adult

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scientists, that drove men to land on the moon.When curiosity is given freedom to operate andleads to satisfying experiences, it will grow withthe child and keep him learning all his life.

If the curious child meets with too many"no, no's" and disapproving looks from grown-ups, he will soon get the idea that curiosity issomething to despise. When this natural desire tofind out is gone, learning stops.

The young child who is given the run ofhis home and is allowed to do many things forhimself (with necessary supervision to assuresafety) is richer for his experience. Not only hashe become familiar with common householdequipment, but he has learned how to do morethings and probably knows the names of theobjects he handled.

To poke, peer, push, and pull at thethings around him is the young child's way offinding out. To ask endless "why?" questions ofgrown-ups is another way. To take apart and puttogetherto try and fail and try again until hesucceedsall these are ways a child learnsthrough his curiosity.

The child care teacher understands thisand encourages it. She knows that a child mayquickly forget facts that are taught to him, but herarely forgets knowledge that he discovers forhimself.

Language"You are a regular chatterbox,"sighed the weary mother. "You are just like aradio."

"No, I'm not," replied the little girl posi-tively. "You can turn a radio off."

How true! Just try to turn off the smallchild who finds as much pleasure in practicingher new ability to speak as she did in using herarm and leg muscles. In the same way that achild's muscles develop with age so that he canperform ever more difficult feats, so a child'slanguage ability develops from the infant's "da-da" to complex sentences. While it is a greattemptation to grown-ups to "turn off" the chatter-box, wise mothers and teachers know that thechild who can express himself well in languageis more at ease in a world geared to communica-tion by words.

Language goes hand-in-hand with curios-ity. As a child discovers things for himself, hewants to describe them, talk about them, ask

questions about them. He wants a name for eachobject he handles. He wants to be able to tellother people what he does, how he feels, what hethinks.

Children who come from families wherethe grown-ups and children hardly ever talk toeach other often have difficulty expressing them-selves. The child care teacher can help these chil-dren by using the many natural opportunities forspeech that come up during a regular day at thecenter.

"Hi, Jimmy, you look happy today.There's Sandy, and she's wearing red shoes."Teacher greets each child with a sentence just forhim. Even if the children do not answer, they arehearing words, and that is the first step towardsaying the words.

Lunchtime leads to more different wordstalk about food and its taste and appearance,what foods the children like and dislike, wherefood is grown, and how it gets to the center. "My,this celery is crisp today," teacher remarks. "Oh,I see Sally has eaten all of her mashed potatoes.Weren't they creamy? Dear me, my ice cream istoo soft. It must have been out of the freezer toolong. Do you like ice cream hard or soft, Martin?"

Teacher's questions encourage the chil-dren to express their own feelings. "What color doyou want to make the rabbit, Sally? Which storyshall we hear today? Did it scare you when thewolf jumped at Little Red Riding Hood?" Theteacher goes through the day talking about every-thing as it happens and trying to get the childrento reply. At first they may just listen, but soonthey will find that it is fun to have someone elselisten to them, and they will begin to use thewords they have heard.

Organizing AbilityDid you ever stop to thinkabout the number of different experiences thatcome to us through our senses every minute ofour lives? While looking at television, for instance,our eyes see the pictures, our ears hear what isbeing said, yet we may feel a breeze blowing inthe window, may taste the coffee we just drank,and smell the coffee aroma. We sense all of thesefeelings at the same time. Yet, through it all wecan understand what is happening on TV. Un-consciously we are sorting out the impressions,or stimuli, that we can't use (the wind, the smellof coffee) and are storing the stimuli that we want

(the TV program). We are able to do this compli-cated task because ,ve have developed the abilityto organize our experiences into patterns that canbe used over and over again in daily life. Thisability involves the higher processes of thinking.

The baby looks and looks; he listens andlistens; he tastes and Lucks; and he feels withhis hands the things around him. He combineswhat he sees, what he feels, and what happenswhen he does something to these things. All thishard work produces patterns in his mind whichhe can use in thinking. These patterns becomemaps of the world the baby knows. They helphim behave in certain ways in certain situations.Each child develops his own map of his environ-ment and his patterns of behavior.

As the child's world broadens, he mustrearrange his map to cover a wider area and toinclude more experiences. When the baby givesup his bottle and begins to drink from a cup, heha. replaced an earlier pattern with a more com-plex one. This is the process of growing up. It isa kind of learning that continues throughout life.When the ability to unlearn old patterns and learnnew ones stops, one becomes set in his waysout of step with the times. No matter how old aperson is when he stops developing new mapsof his experience, he stops learning.

The knowing mother and teacher will seethat it is always rewarding for the child to unlearnold babyish habits and learn new more matureones.

!low doesa child learn?

ExplorationHow many words would it take todescribe what it is like to wade ankle-deep in acold brook? Yet, you have only to plunge a barefoot into a cold stream once to know forever afterexactly how it feels.

This is the way children learn for them-selves about the world. They explore it with all

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their senses. They do various things to the objectsaround them to see what difference it makes. Whata thrill it is for a young child to mix the pigmentand water together to make his own paints whichhe uses to draw a picture for mother!

The curious child, however, is not necessarily the cleanest child. Experimentation is oftenmessy, and the harassed mother or teacher istempted +o scold, "Now look at the red spot on

floor, Dan. Next time let me mix the paint."Unfortunately, the next time Dan's curiosity prodshim to try something new, he may remember thefrown and play it safe by ignoring his urge. Achild learns to enjoy learning only when curiositypays off with pleasure.

The child care center encourages Dan'sexploring nature by providing a wealth of toysand materials, such as sand boxes, blocks of dif-ferent sizes and shapes, objects of different textures and weights, and sorting boxes, plus lots oftime outdoors where the possibilities for explora-tion are endless.

Trial and ErrorThis is a way of learning by doingand profiting by the mistakes. It is how adults,as well as children, must approach most new situations. When a young child begins to put togethera new puzzle, he uses trial and error, trying tofit first one piece and then another until the rightone falls into place. The next time he makes fewermistakes. After several times he can do it correctlyon the first attempt.

When a child approaches a problem bytrial and error, he eventually learns to solve it, andin the process he learns that mistakes are a natural part of learning. It helps him to accept his ownerrors as a step toward accomplishing his task.

PainAn infant several months old will cry whentaken to the clinic where he has been inoculatedbefore, even though no one has come near himwith a needle. He remembers the pain from thelast time and makes it quite clear he wants nomore of the needle, doctor, or office. One stingusually is enough to keep an older child from try-ing to pick up a bumblebee again. Because pain isone of our most vivid experiences, it jolts us intolearning rapidly what is likely to cause pain so thatwe may avoid it in the future.

Children may learn things as a result ofpain that we do not want them to learn. If a childlearns after a burned finger not to touch the stove,

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Building with blocks helps children clarify their ideas ofhouses and other structures.

he has stored away useful knowledge. Sometimesadults intentionally hurt a child to teach him alesson, but end up teaching him the wrong thing.

When a teacher slaps a child for spitting,for instance, the child may learn that spitting iswrong, but that slapping is all right because eventeacher does that. A beating is more likely to teachthe child to hate the person giving the beatingthan to teach him not to do whatever he did thatprompted the beating.

Pleasure"More! More!" shriek the childrenwhen the out-of-breath teacher tries to bring agame of "Ring Around Rosie" to an end. Theyare having fun, and human beings want to repeatactions that bring them pleasure, just as they wantto avoid situations that cause pain. When learn-ing is fun, children naturally want to keep onlearning.

If Tommy finds a brightly colored pebbleon his way to school, and teacher displays greatinterest in it, he probably will look even hardertomorrow for something to show her. Tommy'spleasure in the attention he receives helps him tosharpen his powers of observationan importantskill in the process of learning.

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Learning about balancing develops coordination.

Smiles, conversations with teacher, praiseof work well done, and the general feeling of self.satisfaction that comes when you know someonerecognizes youall of these are rewards that spurchildren and adults on to further learning andgreater accomplishments. Wise teachers andmothers use such rewards freely.

ImitationDid you ever try to tell someone howto skip rope or catch a ball or make a bed? You canspend hundreds of useless words and still not getyour message across. Fortunately, we usuallydon't try to use more than two words, "Watch me!"Then we do what we are trying to teach, and ourpupil learns by observing and imitating.

And success brings triumph and pride,

Young children learn by copying whatgrown-ups and other children do. When a child hasa warm relationship with another person, his de-sire to imitate that person is very strong. "Heroworship" it is sometimes called. If only the desireto imitate would automatically turn on when thehero's behavior is worthy of imitation and turn offwhen it is not

Because imitation is such a strong urge inchildren, it is essential that young children be ableto identify themselves with a grownup whosestandards are high and whose approach to life isworth copying. This hero can very easily be thechild care teacher whom the child considers a spe-cial friend.

ParticipationThis is a first cousin to (earning byimitation. It means joining in the action. Teachersfind it is the easiest way to irtroduce a newcomerto life in the child care center. Instead of trying toteach him the words and actions to a singinggame, the teacher will take the child's hand andlead him in paying the game. Soon the newcomerknows it as well as everyone else.

CommunicationCan you imagine what it mightbe like to live in a foreign country where everyonespoke a different language that you couldn't speakor understand? Think of the frustration in gettingeven the basic necessities of life! How could youask for a drink of water?

This is what life would be like if we did nothave language to communicate with the peoplearound us. We live in a world of words. They link

us with our environment and give us a means ofsorting out the information we receive. We usewords to identify, classify, and compare objects.Vague ideas become clearer when we put theminto words. We use words to ask for what we wantand to tell how we feel. Sometimes just putting ourworries into words makes them go away. Withoutwords we would not be able to think in an orderlyfashion,

The child who has few words to call uponis bewildered in a society that is so geared to lan-guage. Perhaps his mother is away at work all dayand he spends considerable time with other chil-dren. Or maybe his parents are too tired afterwork to talk with him very much. Before he canbegin to enjoy all the thrills of learning, he mustfirst learn to communicate with his teacher andhis classmates. Once the channels are open, learn-ing comes spontaneously.

Imitating someone he loves, Bill is a "trucker-man" like his father.

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Learning parts of the body is fun.

what does a childneed to know?

Trust the WorldWould you take the word ofsomeone you didn't trust? Of course you wouldn't.Neither will a child. If his world has been unkindto him and given him more punishments then re-wards, he is suspicious of everyone and every-thing. His mind is closed to the joys of discoverHgnew knowledge. Even with the help of the mostunderstanding teacher, he cannot learn by any

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method until he first learns that there are peoplewhom he can trust.

The child who has enjoyed a close rela-tionship with his family since babyhood, on theother hand, rushes to embrace the world andeverything in it. He instantly trusts his teacher be-cause he has never known anyone he cannottrust.

The challenge to the child care teacher isto help the distrustful child overcome his feelingstoward the world. A little mothering on the part ofthe teacher goes a long way toward establishingtrust. Once the child feels secure, he is ready toreceive new knowledge.His Own BodyA person's own body is his mostimportant possession. An infant will focus his eyeson his own hand, fascinated by its appearance. Aschildren grow older they not only remain con-cerned with their own bodies, but become aware

of the bodies of others as well. They recognize thatsome people are bigger than others, or fatter, orshorter. They also notice that boys are differentfrom girls.

Learning the names for the parts of thebody, possibly pointing out the knees, eyebrows,hips for instance, on a large picture, can give achild more assn ante about his own body. Gameslike "Looby Lou" (I put my right hand in, I put myright hand out) znd dancing give a child practicein controlling the movements of his body throughspace.

More strenuous activities on a balanceboard, wheeled toys, 'r 4nything suitable forclimbing allows a r.hi:d to sense the relationshipof his body to height, and other charac-teristic:, of space. Child care centers with ampleoutdoor space can offer all kinds of opportunitiesfor children to use their muscles. While expensivegym equipment is nice, what could be more funthan climbing a tree? Or clambering over a biglog or a pile of old tires? An adult should alwaysbe close at hand to supervise the playground ac-tivities and protect the children from accidents. Afall from the branch of a tree is a painful way tolearn about heights.

Familiar Objects"Mommy, please buy me a furapple," pleads Janie to her bewildered mother.After many questions and a lot of common sense,Mother finally figures out that Janie is asking fora peach. Janie didn't know the word "peach," butshe did know that the fruit was fuzzy and red, so

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she used the knowledge she had to make herselfunderstood.

Janie and all other young children needmany different experiences to make them familiarwith objects around them. They need to know thata big block makes a better foundation for a build-ing than a small one. That they cannot dig tunnelsin dry sand. That a quart of water will a. Jrflow acup but will fit with room left over in a bucket.That sugar is sweet and vinegar is sour.

Such odd bits of knowledge are the stuffthinking is made of. The human brain is capable ofstoring miscellaneous facts picked up in everydayexperiences and using them when they apply tothe problem at hand. These are the bits and piecesthat make up the child's map of his environmentthat tells nim how to operate in his world. Thelarger his stock of information, the more detailedis his map, and the clearer his thinking.

PeopleA wide knowledge of objects is useless ifa child does not understand his own relationshipto people around him. He needs to file away allsorts of information about what to call certainpeople, how they are related to him, what they dofor him, and what he is expected to do for them.He needs such facts as: his mother is not histeacher; his grandmother is not his aunt; he callshis father Daddy, but he calls the man who giveshim shots, Dr. Smith; the milkman helps by bring-ing milk every day; men like Daddy are carpenters,or bricklayers, or policemen, while ladies likeMommy are teachers, nurses, or sales clerks.

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With household containers and a pile of sand, children learn about sizes, shapes,, and what fits into what whilethey also develop muscle control by pouring.

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The child care center can help straightenout some of these complex relationships whichconfuse many a youngster. The teacher can invitevisitors who work in different occupations to comeand talk with the children. In normal conversationthe teacher can use words like uncle, nephew,fireman, minister. Playing house or acting out life-like situations with puppets are all ways to help achild discover where he fits in with the peoplearound him.

Time"We wash our hands before we eat ourlunch. We take a rest after lunch." The child careteacher emphasizes the words "before" and"after" for she knows that young children are justbeginning to understand time. They may know"today," but are still confused that "tomorrow,"when it comes, is also "today." Such words as"later" or "after awhile" may mean very little tothem. While taking every opportunity to introducethe words and ideas of time, the teacher must alsokeep in mind that "in a little while" may seem likean eternity to a frightened child waiting for hismother to return.

Realistic Fear "Fools rush in where angels fear totread" is a poetic way of saying that realistic fearis part of the makeup of every intelligent person.Fear is born in us to alert us to danger. Sensiblefear is nothing to be ashamed of.

Fears in children are just as natural,though often are directed toward objects that dono harm. The child who is afraid of the darkusually will outgrow this fear, but hopefullyexchange it for a real fear of speeding cars, orloaded guns, or unknown drugs.

Children's fears often grow out of theirlimited experience. A young child may be afraidto use the toilet because he might be flusheddown. Strange places and people frighten manychildren. The teacher can help a child handle hisfears by encouraging him to talk about them. Thewise teacher knows that fear, itself, is healthy.Rather than make fun of a child for 'Iis fears, shehelps him to examine them and direct themagainst real dangers.

Handle AngerAnger, like fear, is a natural emo-tion. And like fear, needs to be controlled anddirected. When a young child flies into a fury be-cause someone else is playing with his favoritetoy, it takes a major effort on the part of the

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teacher to calm him. An angry response from anadult only increases his anger,

"1 know you are angry, Tom," teacherassures the crying youngster. ''Let's talk about itafter you stop crying." Or she may simply put herarms around Tom to show him that she still caresfor him even if he did lose his temper. When hehas become quieter, teacher may offer Tom a sub-stitute toy to play with until his favorite one isavailable,

Anger, directed and controlled, can be thepush behind many worthwhile accomplishments.Great leaders like Martin Luther King were drivenby anger at the injustices they saw, but they wereable to channel their anger to bring about positiveresults. Banging your head on the floor in anger,in the long run, only gives you a headache.

Cope with FrustrationAmericans are an impa-tient people. We want what we want when wewant it. We don't like to wait. Some young people,too impatient to work and save for the things theywant, turn to crime as a way to get rich fast. OurAmerican society today is paying a terrible pricefor our past failure in helping our children learnto cope with frustration.

Every child faces numerous frustrations inthe course of a day at the child care center. Some-one may be riding the tricycle when he wants toride it. The bathroom may be occupied when hewants to use it. He may be at the end of the lunchline and feels too hungry to wait.

In each instant the frustration is easier toaccept if the teacher is alert. She can remind himthat children in the center take turns. She canpoint out that the wagon is free for him to playwith while he is waiting for the tricycle. She mustremember, however, to see that he gets a turnon the trike without too long a wait. She also mustrealize that there are times when waiting may notbe desirable, as when children are waking fromtheir naps. The early risers should be allowed toget up and engage in some quiet activity while theothers are still sleeping. Lying on the bed for along time with nothing to do only leads childrento play with their own bodies.

The child who understands the need forwaiting, who willingly accepts substitutes, and whois able to do so many interesting things that heisn't dependent on just one activity to make himhappy is a child who has begun to cope with frus-tration.

Be Responsible "Michael stays after schoolevery day to clean the blackboards for his teacher,yet he won't do a thing at home," his mother la-ments. It is a common complaint of mothers allover that children do not accept their responsi-bilities at home. Probably Michael is more willingto help his teacher because she makes the doingof the tasks more pleasant than his mother does.She may show her approval in the quality of hiswork and make him feel that his efforts are con-tributing to the well-being of the entire class.

Work that is appreciated becomes fun.Even the routine chores of life are bearable if theperson has learned to approach his responsibili-ties in a positive manner. The time to develop thisattitude toward work is when the child is youngand naturally wants to do grown-up jobs. It isgood for his s-3If-image to feel needed. And be-sides, every mother and teacher can use someextra help.

A four-year-old is much more capable thanmost people give him credit for. In many child carecenters such young children wipe up spilled milk,hang up their coats, plant and weed the garden,mix paint and scrub off the tables after painting,set the tablethe list goes on and on. Mothersmight take a lesson from the teacher who realizesthat children can do and should be encouraged todo many routine tasks as part of their normal day.

Just be sure the job is not too difficult forthe child's abilities, or he will become frustratedand refuse to do the things he can do. Also re-member his efficiency may not be up to an adult's,so don't expect too much.

how can theteacher help?

Even though it is true that children areborn with all the equipment they need to learn bythemselves, an understanding teacher is still es-sential to create an atmosphere for learning. If you

Setting the table is fun for a capable child and a helpfor teacher.

want to plant flower seeds, you know you cannotsimply scatter them on top of herd-packed clayand expect them to grow. You have to break upthe soil, add fertilizer of some kind, plant theseeds the correct depth, and see that they arewatered regularly. You also know that you mustwait until the weather is warm so that the babyplants will not freeze. You, yourself, have nothingto do with cracking the :lard seed cover and mak-ing the green shoot: push through the ground.That is the work of nature. But you have preparedthe bed so the seeds will grow.

This is what a good teacher does for achild. She doesn't try to jam his head full of factsthat he will forget very soon, but she "preparesthe seed bed," so that when the child discoversfacts for himself, they will take root and be storedaway for future use. How can a teacher do this?

Gain Confidence of Child--First of all she musthave a warm relationship with the child. She mustdo everything she can to show the child that hecan trust her. A good teacher knows a friendlysmile, or reassuring hug, or just five minutes' timeto listen helps develop this close bond betweenteacher and child that pays off in a happy, recep-tive, eager-to-learn child.

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Teacher leads the way and shows that learning can befun.

Provide an Atmosphere for LearningOnce theteacher-child relationship has been built, theteacher can then show a c! ild that learning is fun.She allows him freedom to explore with all hissenses. She provides him with toys and materialshe needs to find out about all sorts of things. Sheencourages the child by appreciating his effortswith such comments as "That was a good job,Cheryl." "You made a fine car, David."

Many children in child care centers havenever had toys of their own and actually do notknow how to play. The teacher can help by doingthings with the child. Looking at a picture bookcan become a delightful experience when teachersits down and shows a bewildered child how toenjoy it. Providing whatever help a child needsto learn is the teacher's challenge.

Be a Good ExampleChildren learn so manythings by imitating the grown-ups they love that ateacher can help just by being the kind of personshe would like the children to be. If she wantsthem to speak softly, she must speak softly. If she

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wants them to be honest, she must be honest withthem. If she displays a real love of learning, thechildren will sense it and try to copy it.

Talk and ListenA good teacher is aware of theimportance of language and turns every child caresituation into an opportunity to talk withnot tothe children. And just as important, to listen tothem! Storytime can lead to conversations aboutany number of subjects from how hungry Goldi-locks must have been to eat the little bear's por-ridge to how wise the third little pig was to knowthat a strong house offers needed protection. Awalk in the park leads to talk about trees, flowers,birds, insects, and rocks. Even buttoning up coatsand putting on boots can be the start of a conver-sation about the weather.

Help a Child Control Behaviorlf a child isangry or belligerent toward the world, his energiesare so occupied with his feelings that he cannotput his attention to the important job of learning.The teacher must show such a child that his be-havior is not making him or anyone else happy.She must let him know that she ,ontinues to lovehim despite the way he acts, but that she cannottolerate his behavior. Again, the warm bona be-tween teacher and child is what determineswhether a teacher will be successful in helping achild control his behavior.

Love the ChildMany books have been writtenabout how children learn and how a teacher shouldteach. But many of them overlook one basic truth.A child will not learn unless he wants to learn.The best educated teacher in the world with astring of university degrees behind her name can-not make a child learn.

The key to preparing a child to learn islove. Children who grow up in a loving family facethe world with an assurance that the world is goodand worth learning about. The love within the fam-ily, regardless of how many years the mother andfather went to school, has prepared the seed bedso that learning can grow. The unfortunate child,who has not experienced love, meets the worldwith a hard clay surface that will not receive theseeds of learning. A large helping of love from thechild care teacher may change this child's entirelife.

Photo Credits: Page 10, Page 16, Mike Sullivan;Page 12, inside back cover, OCD; other photographsby Dr. Lois Murphy

DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFAREWASHINGTON, D C 20201

OFFICIAL 131ISINESS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFAREOFFICE of CHILD DEVELOPMENTBUREAU of CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 1970

DHEVY Publication No. (OCD) 73-1026

POSTAGE AND FEES PAIDU.S. DEPART:AENT OF H.E.W.

HEW-391