One winter afternoon I arrived at my daughter Erica’s preschool to pick her up. The students in her class were in the hall putting on their snowpants and jackets getting ready to go out to play. My daughter was still looking in her locker, then stood up, arched her back, wriggled her arms and made a noise that sounded like a chortling dolphin. The 3 year old boy next to her, looked up at me watching her and said, “She’s O.K. That’s just her happy noise.”
This child did not know that I was Erica’s mother, so interpreted her behavior for me just as their wonderful teacher Shirley Lewis had interpreted her actions for her classmates.
Mary Barber, parent and teacher, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
As reflected in Erica’s vignette above, parents of children with and without disabilities value their child’s peer relationships and play an active role in setting the stage for friendships by:
- Choosing a neighborhood preschool, recreation event or child care program;
- Arranging and supervising informal and formal play experiences for their children;
- Talking about specific friends and their interests;
- Establishing expectations and play rules;
- Providing advice about making and keeping friends;
- Modeling social relationships through their own adult friendships and social networks
Guralnick, 1997; Ladd & Pettit, 2002; Parke et al, 2002; Rubin & Sloman, 1984
Creating opportunities for friendships in group settings
Early childhood implementation teams can promote peer interaction by providing opportunities for children to play together in home and group settings. Planned opportunities for promoting friendships in early childhood group settings are highlighted in these video clips:
From the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL):
- Friendship Art (shared painting activity)
- Friendship Book (story about how to be a good friend)
- Sharing Skills (two boys share materials in the block center)
From the Colorado Department of Health, Results Matter Video Library :
- Kyrill prepares a pretend meal in the kitchen center
- A four sided easel promotes socialization and communication
