Change can be scary and upsetting even to adults. To young children change can be hard.
Educators must be able to prepare children for changes in a supportive way.
It is a good idea to talk about how things are going to change BEFORE the change happens.
Being able to get used to change is called being able to ADAPT.
The Coronavirus Global Pandemic brought a lot of change to how we all lived our lives. Kate was very "adaptable" to the many changes that happened for her, especially not being able to volunteer at HEY anymore and having many changes to her learning plan.
To help Kate understand the concept of adapting to change, we did the following activities:
a Zoom whiteboard on how Kate has been able to adapt;
an "I used to think, Now I think" Thinking Routine.
These types of exercises can be "adapted" for children to explain change to them and help them to adapt. You could do a discussion with the children on a big, real life whiteboard or a big piece of paper. With kinder children, you could also do a Thinking Routine with them.
The best way of helping children to adapt to change is to share our own experiences.
These are some ideas Kate came up with to help children to adapt to change if they were new to the centre:
TASK: When we are able to adapt to change we are what is called "RESILIENT". A great song the children love is "TRY EVERYTHING" by Shakira from the Zootopia Soundtrack. Have a listen to the song and write out the lyrics. Can you find the lyrics that talk about "adapting". Discuss this with your coach or your mum.
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