Toddlers Learn In So Many Ways

My name is Kim Nobles and I am a graduate student at Walden University.  I will be obtaining a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education specializing in Leadership and Program Management.  I have worked in childcare for over 30 years in many capacities including teaching toddlers.  Currently, I am a director at an Early Childhood Facility that has been in operation for 44 years.  I lead 20 staff members, and we serve over 130 families with over 160 children in attendance.  I've worked with every age group, but toddlers are my favorite because they learn and do so much in such a short amount of time.  Within just a matter of months, they will go from crawling to running, and from no words to using complete sentences.  It is truly amazing what a toddler will do!
Many times it is hard for colleagues and/or parents to find the time to collaborate and communicate except for the "good morning" and "have a good day" due to work schedules and such (Jones, 2014).  This blog will enable all viewers to communicate and collaborate together to give reasons, give ways to deal with traits, and give examples of positive guidance to help each other provide developmentally appropriate and positive learning experiences for our children.  This is an informational blog for colleagues and parents to communicate concerns about worrisome traits that will help them to understand their toddlers are learning even while biting, hitting, and throwing temper tantrums.  This blog will help us all to remember we are not alone; everyone with a toddler is experiencing these things and there is no one set way to deal with the inappropriate behaviors.  

We want to talk about what our toddlers are learning and how they are learning.  Toddlers are not showing out without a reason.  They are not acting out to just to make us crazy.  A toddler’s actions are the catalyst to all their learning.  Our reactions are the vehicle to teach that learning.  If our reactions are negative, their learning will be plain, simple, and sometimes not at all.  If our reactions are positive, their learning will be complex, brain-building, and full of social/emotional skills and language development.  By communicating with each other, we are admitting we want success for all of our children and we want to ensure those successes in way we can. 

We will be discussing different ways that toddlers learn by doing the things they do, such as biting, screaming,  hitting, etc.  Please feel free to comment and ask questions so we can all communicate about why our toddlers choose the exact moment we sit down to screech at the top of his lungs like someone has taken his last Cheerio when there is no one else in the house.  If you agree or disagree with facts and opinions, that's great! we can talk, discuss, and maybe come up with more or better ways to help our toddlers learn how to explore, become independent, and use their words in appropriate ways instead of the old stand-by of screaming until we finally give in and give them what they want.
  Thanks for viewing and Toddler on!

Jones, L. (2014). The Power of Teacher Collaboration. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/07/18/power-of-teacher-collaboration-nea/