NAEYC: Powerful Interactions (Paperback)

In early childhood settings, children and teachers interact all day long. The benefits are enormous when even some of those “everyday” interactions become intentional, purposeful, and culturally responsive—in other words, Powerful Interactions®! With these three steps, you can embed Powerful Interactions in your daily work with children from birth through age 8:

• Step One: Be Present. Pause, tune in to yourself and the moment, and consider how you might need to adjust to create a “just-right” fit with a child.
• Step Two: Connect. To foster trust and confidence, let that child know that you see her; are interested in what she is doing, saying, and thinking; and want to spend time with her..
• Step Three: Extend Learning. Make use of your strong connection with the child to stretch her knowledge, skills, thinking, or language and vocabulary.