Independence

In my observations in my classroom, I have noticed that one of the things that the children in this age group (2-3) need work on is with self-regulation and their individual responsibilities. Even at this young of an age I have realized how important it is for them to learn to do things on their own because they are at the age where they have the desire to do things by themselves so that they can feel some form of accomplishment. For example, after naps, we encourage the children to go and find their picture in their cubby, and then to grab their nap bags and put their own blanket and pillow in their own bag, and then hang it back up on their hook. Often, the children grab the wrong bag, or hang it on the wrong hook, but we do not even say anything about this and just congratulate them for accomplishing the task on their own. We also encourage them to communicate and say full sentences about it such as "I did it." Through my observations, I have found that this independence and self-regulation can be so rewarding, even when you are two years old! I have to keep reminding myself daily to let them do things on their own even if they may be slower, they can do it and feel a sort of accomplishment after they have done something on their own.