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Feature Article:
What Makes for a Beautiful Day?
While cleaning up at the end of the day, an early learning professional shared the comment, "That was a beautiful day!" You could see on his face the expression of happiness. And considering that it was raining for the fifth day in a row, it wasn’t the weather he was talking about. In the professional field of early education, "beautiful day" can be a mysterious phrase. Even with well-researched curricula in place, fantastic environments, terrific materials, and really great co-workers, many early educators are still eagerly searching for the "beautiful day." What makes a beautiful day?
Early learning professionals have a lot to think about: Curriculum, child development, assessment, observation, documentation, standards, benchmarks, milestones, regulations, parents, licensing, professional development, lesson plans, and accreditation (and the list could go on!). They must also think about snack time, lunch time, materials, schedules, activities, supplies, visitors, diapers, hand washing, allergies, clean-up, story time, injuries, illness, substitutes, checklists, and tomorrow (and this list could go on, too!).
Stepping back from our many responsibilities for a moment invites us to remember what we enjoy about our work. Thinking about what makes for a beautiful day might seem impractical, but exploring the idea is worthwhile. It provides the opportunity to think simply, which can be a welcome direction with the often overwhelming tasks at hand. A positive feeling about our day and our work will carry over into all we do.
When asked what made a beautiful day, the teacher (quoted above) replied:
“Today was one of those days where we all seemed in sync and each of us really connected well with the children. We have grown to know the children’s needs and are able to instinctively respond. Today felt calm, no chaos. We made muffins, watched the rain, and read a lot of books. What was neat was that I had time to listen. Some days are so busy that we miss a lot of what the children say and do. I had time today to look around and see what was going on; and there was a lot going on! The children were engaged and were well cared for by very nurturing adults. It just felt like a great day. Before I filled out my daily documentation forms, checklists, and reports that needed done, I felt like I had time to be totally available to the children and totally available to the moment - that’s a beautiful day!"
| Think about it: What if you were asked to simply describe what makes a beautiful day? Think about what makes an enjoyable day for you. Without over-thinking, write down your thoughts. The National Institute of Child Health and Development states that “Positive caregiving is the strongest predictor of quality for young children in child care settings." Positive caregiving requires positive caregivers. Thinking about what makes a beautiful day can help us recognize what we find positive, how we are positive, and see how this affects our work. |
Each of us values individual aspects of our profession, but in stressful, busy times, these can be difficult to recognize. Feeling good about the work that we do is important. Reflecting on what makes for a beautiful day provides the opportunity to be grateful, recognize positive program elements, and bring attention to what we value and are proud of. This helps us recognize the events and occurrences that support joy and avoid stress. If we focus on the good parts of our day, we learn not only how to recognize and celebrate these, but how to continue and expand on them.
Learning the Joy of Others
Working as a team is important. Quality programs work hard to create well defined job descriptions so that everyone knows what is required of them and how they are expected to work together. But there is a lot more involved than a job description in beginning to understand one another. When programs and teams take time to share and communicate, they build understanding. We find that each of us has something unique and valuable to offer.
As a team or program of any kind, it’s important to share our joys. Be sure that your team makes time to share what they enjoyed about the day. What makes it a beautiful day for you? What makes it a beautiful day for your co-workers, director, bus driver, and others in your program?
Plan time to discuss not only the positive parts of your day but why they matter and how you were able to accomplish these. By discussing the day’s positive elements, we can review the plans that worked well and find out each other's unique ideas. This allows us to step outside of ourselves and begin to understand our co-workers' feelings, talents, knowledge, and opinions.
Joys of the Children, Joys of the Families
Early educators spend a lot of time getting to know children and their families. But do we really know what makes for a beautiful day for each of them? When we know children well, we can understand what is needed of us; we can connect our knowledge and expertise to plan for children's likes and joys. If we know what makes for a great day, we are able to offer these things and celebrate them.
We know that warm and nurturing interactions with adults are directly linked to children's positive growth and development. Embracing the role of understanding what makes a beautiful day for each child helps us understand their unique ideas, development, interests, and may even give insight into understanding their temperament. When we understand children, we can better respond in nurturing, supportive roles and celebrate children for who they are.
| Think about it: In small groups or individually, talk with children about what makes for a beautiful, great day. Be sure to document their ideas. Your questions will need to fit their age and need to be open-ended. Think of questions that can accompany “What makes for a beautiful, great day?” such as “What makes school a fun place to be? What are some things you really enjoy doing? Who do you enjoy playing with? How do you make it a great day at school?” It can be interesting to explore thinking about others’ ideas as well, such as, “What do you think your friends like about school? What do you think I like about my day or what do you think Mr. Mike likes about his day? What makes a great day for our whole class?” Explore the types of questions you would like to ask. Plan another time where the ideas can be shared with the group. Encourage the children to draw, paint, or write about the experiences they enjoy. You can look through your photos with children to spark ideas of what they were doing. |
By sharing what makes a beautiful day, children begin to see that the adults truly are interested in what they have to say and feel valued. In turn, the children begin to learn about self awareness; recognizing and reflecting on the competent, successful things they did and enjoyed. Also, when children are aware of joy it can make the more difficult times seem tolerable. They can begin to remember joy and its feelings, which can promote a sense of optimism. This can support confident and hopeful children.
When children know what they enjoy about their day, they can start recognizing and planning what they would like to do. Hearing the joys of their friends may help further social connections. If children enjoy what they are doing, they are more apt to feel safe and happy. Positive emotional and social experiences help build quality relationships. Quality relationships support quality learning experiences.
Research shows that families are the strongest influence on a child's development. When we can partner with families the support to the child is doubled. Finding out what makes a beautiful day for the children's families gives us glimpses into their needs, wants, and personal stories. We can become sensitive to their needs or even begin to see what they may appreciate about our work. We also can share what we have discovered about our own joys and those of the children and reinforce their importance with families.
Beautiful Moments to Fill Up on