Collaboration

5 Years Old

Collaboration

Collaboration means working together with others towards a common goal. Collaboration helps children to build social-emotional skills such as self-confidence, social awareness and the ability to take risks. Collaboration is a lifelong skill which has an impact on how successful a person is when they are placed in group situations, e.g.. working in a school project, working in a team, working with others in a community, etc.

In the process of collaboration, children learn about respect for others and how to be in control of their own emotions. The development of this skill can start as early as possible in life. It is important to help children to understand the value of working well with others by encouraging them into collaboration activities.

We all want our children to be happy and to be able to make friends especially to be included during playtime………

Encourage the child to play with more than one friend as it’s very different from playing just with one friend. The more the child interacts with multiple friends, the more the child is able to work in groups. Create an environment where the child can learn gradually by providing the child the space and time necessary for him or her to learn how to navigate through these types of interactions at his or her own pace. Be patient and supportive to help the child to gain important problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills. This gives them the opportunity to evaluate and hone their social abilities.

Encourage good sportsmanship when playing games and when engaging in sports. It is during these times that the concept of competition emerges. Remind them that winning or losing does not define success, and always remind them to focus on being caring and kind in all interactions in life including competitions. Remain a gracious winner and loser no matter what the outcome is. Teach them to shake hands after a game or playing a sport together.

Children learn best through play….the following are some ideas:-

Making a story book as a team - teach them about the benefit of collaboration as a team and finding the common ground for them. For example, discuss the purpose, theme or topic of the book.

Puzzle. This is one of the great games for children to learn collaboration. The common ground in this case is to put the puzzle together to see the whole picture when they complete the puzzle. This is when they learn how to solve problems together and to learn to take turns in the process.

Art & Crafts project. Discuss with the group the craft that all of you are going to make. Each child will be assigned with a task and when each child completes their assigned tasks, all the parts of the crafts are to be put together to complete the whole project.

Parachute. Use a big piece of light blanket where each child will hold the edge of the blanket. The common goal is to toss the balloon as high as possible using the blanket and to catch the balloon using the blanket. This simple activity actually requires a lot of coordination, and children will learn a lot from it.