The concept of trust may be difficult for children to explain with words, but we hope they are experiencing trust in the context of their relationships every day. Building trust is the very first developmental challenge, according to Erik Erikson. I don't know much about the Character Counts curriculum but I believe it is the responsibility of the adults to build trusting relationships with children by providing consistent and caring routines and interactions. If you are required to create activities with children that are related to the concept of trust, I suggest reading and discussing picture book stories that demonstrate trust, such as Owl Babies by Martin Wadell, in which the mother owl returns to the nest and says, "What's all the fuss? You knew I'd come back."
Ann Gadzikowski
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Ann Gadzikowski
Director of Early Learning
Encyclopedia Britannica
Evanston IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-16-2020 11:30 AM
From: Donna Kennebeck
Subject: Character Counts in Early Childhood
My three and four year old classrooms are introducing Character Counts to the children. They are looking for some ideas/activities to help the children begin to understand "trust". I know it is a difficult concept for them. We would welcome any ideas.
Thank you!
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Donna Kennebeck
Supervisor
UnityPoint Health
Des Moines IA
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