Preschoolers: Why We Collaborate and Interact

Over the last few months, it has been incredibly rewarding to get to observe these preschoolers. Each and every one of them bring something new and exciting to teach me everyday. Between hearing about what they did over the weekend, and hearing about what they love about school, our conversations are never dull! I have tried to get to know all of my students, some of which I have created stronger bonds with than others, but I have gotten a chance to work with all of them! One of my favorite things to observe while in the classroom, is watching how all of the students work together.

This leading into my question that I have developed while in the field these last few weeks; what is the importance of collaboration and social interactions in a preschool classroom?

One thing that I found the be very prevalent in this classroom is the idea that the students are always working together. This could be in the form of helping one another recognize their name before morning meeting, reading books together during station rotation, or even boosting ones’ gross motor skills on the playground. As much as the students’ learn from their teacher during the day, they are also learning a great deal from one another.

In this article, they discuss the importance of the preschool age and how collaboration and understanding one another is a major component. It reads “due to the fact that preschoolers start distinguish between reality and appearance, they begin to understand that the way in which they express their emotions influence the dynamics of relations with the other person.” I have noticed this a great deal in my classroom, in terms of the students correcting themselves, along with the teacher. A prime example would be how I was in the classroom on Tuesday, and they had just introduced a new tool for the kids to work on their fine motor skills – hand hole punchers! As you can imagine, this is a very exciting thing for these young kiddos. There were two hole punchers, but 5 kids. I had a young boy want to use one, however, they were already being used by other students. This young boy started throwing a tantrum, however, about 10 seconds in, he stopped. He took a look around, and then looked at the little girl who was using the hole puncher. He then politely said “I am sorry for getting sad, could I use it after you?” He then proceeded to get the hole puncher, but could not figure out how to work it. The little girl then kindly explained and showed him how to use it. I think this is a great example of how students that are of preschool age, are slowly starting to think about one another while also supporting one another. This was a very wholesome and encouraging interaction to witness!

While also looking into this question, the idea of the child’s future came up as well. This article mentioned the idea of a students’ social development beginning in preschool and how it will progress while they grow. It states that “studies have shown that the development of strong social–emotional competence in pre- school is necessary for successful interactions with peers and adults, and such interactions may lead to better school adjustment and academic success.” I think this is extremely interesting, especially in regards to my classroom. I think, like any classroom, observing social interactions and development can be result in some very interesting findings. When creating a classroom, you are bringing students from all different backgrounds and home lives together. This can be a great tool for students to learn from other students that are their age, but from completely different cultures and backgrounds.

I think when looking back on this assignment, I have always been very interested in the social aspect of things. I am a firm believer in communication and collaboration, even in preschoolers. I think with all the learning that students get from their teacher, they learn almost, if not more, from their peers. Every student brings something new to the classroom. Between students working together to use new tools such as hole punchers, or taking the time to develop their social skills with one another, students are constantly learning from their peers.