James: the child who has conquered his fear of height

It’s awesome to witness James' first ever jump down from the big box...

 Early in the morning, James tried to stay focused by talking to himself, “bend my knees, bend my knees.” However, other children around started to lose patience and urged James to go. Overwhelmed by a group of children around him, James told me he was scared. James was  honest with his feelings and emotions. So, I suggested James to go down using the slide or hold my hands. James chose to hold my hands while wriggling down the edge of the box. I’m glad that James has learnt to trust me and understands that all the teachers are there to help. Later, I moved somewhere else and worked with other children. After a while, James called me in a loud and excited voice. When I walked closer, James made a leap off the box and landed confidently on the soft mat. James was so proud of himself that he kept doing it again for a few more times. James is a persistent learner!

Children all learn at their own pace. While jumping up and down is natural to some children, others may take a while to watch before actually doing it. Children need that time to prepare themselves for a challenge, in order to move forward to the next level of learning. Children are all intrinsically motivated to learn, like James. He just needed the space and time to figure out the mechanics of bending his knees, bouncing up and then off. To James, it was a bit scary to jump from a height. Emotionally, he needed to get ready for his first leap of faith, when no other children were around. 

Obviously, James has the learning strategy of guiding himself through language. He recalled the teacher's  suggestion to bend his knees before jumping, so he kept repeating it to himself. It's what Vygotsky called 'private speech'. It's important that adults use language to instruct children for a new task. Eventually, children will pick that up and guide themselves in a similar way. 

Like every child, James demonstrated a disposition of perseverance. He did not stop because the task was difficult. He kept trying until he succeeded. Moreover, he kept practicing his jump to master the skills, on his own initiative. He simply knew practice makes his move perfect!

I see children as competent learner. They deserve to be trusted!