Depending on the context, this question can elicit a variety of responses. My job at Gretchen’s House has a long list of responsibilities, but the list is longer for my job as mom. Which job is more important? It’s a rhetorical question, of course. All of us have jobs to do that wouldn’t make the cut on a resume, but we recognize their value nonetheless. But do we appreciate the value of a child’s job? What exactly is “a child’s job?”
In Child Care Information Exchange, March/April 2007, author-educator Jim Greenman presents “the child’s job” concept as a reminder for adults. “Their job is to live their lives, learn about the world, and develop into the very best people that they can be.”
How do we support our children with this important job? Greenman notes that early childhood programs are under scrutiny by “a growing national anxiety attack and obsession with school readiness… The irony is that many of these children may live to be 100 years old. Drawing from a popular expression, they will experience '40 as the new 30, 60 as the new 50.' So why does four have to be the new six? In reality the focus of good care is much broader and deeper because our programs provide the foundations for lives that extend far beyond the kindergarten year.”
The child’s job includes full development, including sensory development, communication, and discovering their bodily powers. Children have a natural desire to understand how everything works, and a need for deep connections with other people.
As adults, our job is to provide children with ample opportunities to explore the world, interact with other people, use their bodies in a variety of ways, and develop strong emotional bonds with others.
At Gretchen’s House, teachers work hard to intentionally provide an environment and activities that support children’s innate desire to make sense of the world. When a child writes on a pad of paper in the house area and tells her friend that it’s a grocery list, it doesn’t matter whether the words are distinguishable to an adult. That child is making literacy connections that lead to reading and writing later on. A boy in the block area who chooses just the right blocks to make each side of the building match is classifying and comparing attributes. Those explorations with size and shape are the foundation of math and science.
The adult-child interactions I see on the playground and in classrooms may be the most important ground work of all. Studies show that when children experience positive relationships with peers and adults in early childhood, they form positive expectations for school later on. Labeling feelings, exploring options for solving conflicts, and making connections between plans and actions are all necessary for healthy emotional development. Getting children ready for kindergarten? No, we’re not doing that. We’re getting them ready for life! And that means letting them do their jobs right now.
- H.M.
