Playing-2-gether is meant for the child to experience that whatever he/she undertakes or does is okay. Therefore, there are a number of DON’T skills you should try to avoid during Playing-2-gether. For example, try to avoid asking questions, because by asking questions you take charge of the play and thus steer the play
During Playing-2-gether
– Try to avoid asking the child questions because this might disturb the child’s play. You can ask questions, but preferable open-ended questions and try to ask as few questions as possible.
– Don’t give orders or commands
– Don’t criticize the child’s behavior
– Don’t teach the child a skill
– Don’t punish the child’s behavior
These DON’T skills are “steering”, while during Playing-2-gether the objective is to “follow the child’s lead”
These videos are financed by the EU Erasmus+ grant. Authors are responsible for the content.
Don’t ask questions all the time
Abdel (3;6) is playing with play dough. His mother tongue is Turkish, which is not the school language (Dutch). Soumia joins his play and connects non-verbally by playing with the same materials and mirroring. She doesn’t force Abdel to interrupt his play by asking questions.
By listening and observing, Soumia gives space to Abdel to play what he likes and to make contact with her when he is ready. Do you mainly talk or listen when you play with children? Why?
Drawing and spelling Oliver´s name
Teacher Dana gives order to Oliver (6 yrs. old). She wants him to write down his name and she starts to spell his name. Oliver stops her because he wants to do it by himself. This short moment shows that we shouldn´t force a child into action. This is quite natural for the most of teachers at the beginning of the programme and a teacher should learn to avoid reaction like that. Teacher recognized it is not OK and stopped to direct Oliver.
Could you see the response of Oliver? Is he comfortable with this command? What was the reaction of a teacher?