Developing Socially

Building Character

May 16, 2012
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This post is by regular contributor Cath Oehlman aka Squigglemum. Character is higher than intellect. Ralph Waldo Emerson It is of little traits that the greatest human character is composed. William Winter Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no [...]

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Are Boys and Girls Really So Different?

August 3, 2011

This post is by regular contributor Catherine Oehlman aka SquiggleMum. Good educators are always asking themselves questions about what makes kids’ minds tick.  Over the years I have asked myself many questions about the differences between girls and boys, and been intrigued by the nature vs nurture debate.  My opinion on the issue has changed [...]

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Play Date Preparation

June 16, 2011
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With the weather cold and rainy here, attention is turning indoors when it comes to playing with little friends. Instead of meeting at a park or the beach, play dates at home are a back on the agenda. Yesterday Immy had a friend over to play. Well really, I had a friend over for tea [...]

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Q & A: Developing Social Confidence

June 2, 2011
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The following question was recently received from a Childhood 101 reader and Mum of two: I was wondering how parents can encourage social and emotional independence in early childhood? I take both my boys to activities such as Music and Swimming and I have noticed that both do not like to get involved/participate. They are [...]

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No One Will Play With Me – Helping Your Child Make Friends

May 25, 2011
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This post is by regular contributor Kate Fairlie of Picklebums. My usually bright, feisty, full of life, three year old boy was sullen, withdrawn and sad and it took me the better part of a week to figure out why he suddenly didn’t want to go to preschool any more. “No one will play with [...]

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Friendship: Helping Children Learn to Be Inclusive

May 20, 2011
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At a very young age children begin to notice difference. I remember one time when Immy was about 18 months old and we were walking through a shopping centre and she stopped and stared as a very tall man of (I believe) African descent. I think she stopped as she had never before seen a [...]

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Friendship: Revisiting a Bully Free Zone

May 14, 2011
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I thought Friendship Month would be a good time to revisit the series of posts on bullying from early last year. Contributed by guest poster, Amanda Gray of Learn2 Be Buddies, the series focused on what we can do as parents and educators to stop bullying in its tracks before it even begins through strategies [...]

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Friendship: Developing Sharing Behaviour

May 12, 2011
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Consider the following two sharing scenarios; 1. A child is playing with a toy. Another child sees and wants the toy too. An adult intervenes, saying to the first child, “Billy, you can have a turn for two minutes and then we will let Abbie have a turn.” The adults waits with the children and [...]

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