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Unread 04-02-2013, 12:19 AM
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Ruthierhyme Ruthierhyme is offline
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Hi, a warm welcome to silkysteps, actual activities are very many, they are what you do as a practitioner when you're with the children, what you say to children in reply to their questions and the way you say it. What the setting itself offers in its rooms, furniture, resources and how you know your individual children.

Things that empower ..
  • choice
  • making decisions about what to do and also knowing the reasons why a decision is made eg. child likes a colour its the same as a favourite teddy bear, a smell, a taste, a texture, a sound, wants to experiment - which could be wanting to build or to take apart to see what happens or to confirm a past experience, commits to supporting a cause that an individual associates with or that they believe in so strongly that they want to be part of it - campaingning for young people, cars and garages, dolls and houses .
  • having the freedom to move as wanted, act and communicate
  • be provided with information about life and expectations
  • possess knowledge and understanding about themselves, the world, law and how children's rights exist
  • have the ability to ask
  • have people around that are avaliable to ask
  • attitudes
Based on page 186 of the Collins handbook:
Activities to empower and educate children and young people are about confidence, own bodies, or being assertive in making decisions. The importance of empowering is in observeration and listening to children and young people, building their self-confidence and self-esteem.

A jigsaw puzzle is empowering if you plan to support the child rather than than have the child help/support you or if a hild's left to figure it out alone - a table of unfinished jigsaws may indicate that help is needed. Knowledge/knowing that a puzzle is too diffiult to complete and that guidance/assistance is/was unavailable isn't empowering as it teaches 'I can't do' rather than I can. The image on the puzzle can add or take away from a child's empowerment depending how positive those images are - naming fruits and vegetables, breads, cerals, rice. Growing seeds & plants empowers by showing how it's possible to provide food for self and others. Books that explore diversity empowers readers by providing information about how people's lives differ yet might well want the same outcomes - be healthy, safe, prosperous

Children are empowered by knowledge of their world and the way it works :) Understanding risk and balancing risk - slides, swings, ladders, bridges, stepping stones. Knowing own physical and emotional limits helps to protect self and ensure well-being, which makes these type of activities profoundly empowering - woodworking and cutting tools eg. hand drills, whisks, scissors. Activities to encourage bodies to physically stop, start, dodge, dip, run, walk, crawl, jump, climb all enable individuals to know personal capabilities which enable decisions to be made based on that information.


These are some ideas using UN children's rights

The right to play - indoor and outdoor adventuring, props, loose media to build, gather and connect with - bricks, pipes, train track, story telling, dress up, scenarios
The right to be safe - joint rule setting so everyone agrees boundaries and are able to understand the expected levels of conduct/behaviour. 'Stop' activities where children know they can use this word to protect themselves & halt actions - musical statues with music or a caller!
The right to freedom of expression - singing, speaking, creative art projects where children lead in their own resource selection, using and positioning those choices as they wish. Saying yes and no as prefered and being empowered by others by them agreeing with a yes or no, being praised for their confidene in saying yes and no or have their reasoning explored to.
The right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly - times to come together - group activities, games, and to choose the friends/adults children they personally want to be with.
Article 13 and the right to ask & receive information - eg. foods, which are the healthier choices and why. Why brush teeth, why wash hands, why do we need to sleep regularly. How families differ - single parents, married parents, same sex parents, being raised by foster parents, grandparents. How both men/boys and women/girls can do the same and different jobs. How lifestyles and cultural bakgrounds differ - religion, diets, country of origin or ancestry.
Article 6 - right to life - ativities that look at the emergency services and how they save people, what the coast guard does, police, fire brigade, hospitals, international charities. why wear seatbelts and safety helmets.

http://www.silkysteps.com/UNCRC-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child.html

Following children's interests without reprimand empowers them. Denying interests still empower where valid and agreed reasons are disussed as to why the child isn't able to do what they want, when they want.

Challenging discrimination empowers everyone.

I hope this helps a little, enjoy the site xx
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