Creating Connections - Positive Intent

Highlight: Front Ducklings (Infant/Toddler) - Davenport

There was a child who was climbing on the food tables.  A teacher walked over helped him down off the table by holding his hand and directed him to the climbing mats, she knelt down at eye level and said “I can see you want to use your feet to climb. The mats are where we use our feet to climb like this.” as she helped him down the mats holding his hand.  When he took his last step she said “You did it! You climbed down the mats.”

Connection: Positive Intent

The teacher used positive intent by reframing the intention of the child’s actions.  Rather than being upset about acting unsafe, the teacher went over and used the skills of connection to lead the child in a problem-solving exercise by helping him understand he really wanted to climb, and there is a safe way to climb in the classroom.  This teaches the skills of safety and problem-solving.