1. All children are different.
This seems incredibly obvious, but after working in a school and nursery, it's amazing how much you can notice it. No children are the same, not at all. You'll get the quiet ones, the loud ones, the shy ones, the confident ones...The big differences are behaviour and ability. All children behave in different ways and have different abilities. For whatever reason, this is how they are. But there will always be a few who stand out. For example, a child who is very loud, clever but really underconfident. Another example, a child who is quiet, confident but is really badly behaved. All children have big personalities and it is so rewarding when you can bring them out of their shell and bring out their full potential. It makes you feel great and makes them feel amazing!
2. You must be a child to work with children.
For some people, childcare is an easy way out because they don't know what to do with their lives. If this is you, don't even bother. Seriously. If you don't have the passion to work with children, then you will fail at working with them. I've found from working with children that if you have a childish mentality, you can really connect with the children on a number of levels. From giving them examples to help them in their work to general discussions with them. When working in nursery last year, I found that I could really engage with the children during play as I actually enjoyed what they were playing with or when reading with them as I'd made an effort to do the research before my placement to see what kind of things were popular with children. Turns out the Gruffalo is a clear winner, along with Room on the Broom!
(source: www.google.com)
3. Be involved.
Children absolutely love it when you are involved with their learning and play, it makes them feel valued and involved which really helps their self-esteem. It also helps you feel like part of the class/group if you are actively involved within a lesson or play. Children feel more able to talk to you and you come across as a lot more approachable, compared to some childcare students who ignore the children and sit on their phones for an entire session. Besides, being involved can be so much fun! Especially when it's a fun activity, you can't sit out and be boring. Not exactly encouraging, is it...
(source: www.onekama.k12.mi.us)
4. Be a role model.
This goes without say. When you work with children, they will look up to you no matter what. You are there to be a role model for them to aspire to and look up to. You are there to encourage them and scaffold them as individuals. You want to encourage them to fulfil their full potential and achieve the best they can. If you show them that you are interested and motivated, they will respond to this and become more involved in what they're doing. If you show them a negative attitude, they will show it back. If you show them you're positive, they will show you a positive attitude. If you respect and value them, they will return the favour.
(source: www.pinterest.com)
5. Children's drawings are entertaining.
Now, if you've ever worked with children or have younger siblings/family members, you will know where I'm going with this. They way children draw is simply hilarious and somewhat adorable at the same time, and often very creative. I've noticed this a lot since being in a school setting and nursery. Admittedly, my Key Stage 1 groups were more entertaining because at least you had a vague idea what they were getting at compared to nursery children. For example, children seem to be fixated on triangular noses. So when they draw a person or a face, it must have a triangle for a nose. I found this so adorable and funny at the same time. But that's just children, they are amazing and entertaining for the rest of us to watch and see!
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