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Principles in Action
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Principle 2 Invest in quality time, when you are totally available to individual infants and toddlers. Don't settle for supervising groups without focusing (more than just briefly) on individual children.

Mike has been working as a caregiver in a small infant-toddler center for some time. Fiona is a new caregiver in the center. Today the two caregivers are working together with a group of six infants. Except for one baby who is asleep, the others are on a soft rug surrounded by toy shelves. One baby who is not yet crawling is snuggled close to Mike and has several toys in reach. The others are crawling around between the toy shelves; they touch base with Mike and Fiona. Fiona gets up and goes into the kitchen area and begins cleaning out a drawer. Then she goes into the laundry area and folds sheets. Mike in the meantime holds out his arms to a boy who has crawled over to him with a book. He takes the book and reads it to the boy and to a girl who has crawled over to him. The baby on the floor reaches for the book and Mike hands her a plastic one, which she puts in her mouth. Mike notices that Fiona is still in the laundry area. "What are you doing, Fiona?" "Well," she responds, "I see that you can handle the kids, so I thought I should look busy in case the director comes in. We don't want him to find both of us just sitting around playing with the children!" Mike sees that Fiona still has some things to learn about how this program operates and the value of wants-nothing quality time. The director knows that what Mike is doing is an important part of the curriculum of this center. He'll expect Fiona to be doing the same.

1
Do you agree with what Mike is doing and thinking?
2
Would all directors be like Mike and Fiona's?
3
What if Fiona is the kind of person who can't stand to just sit around responding to children but enjoys keeping busy all the time?
4
If a parent came in and complained that the children weren't learning anything, what would you say about what Mike is doing?







Infants, Toddlers & CaregiversOnline Learning Center

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