Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/riding-the-waves-of-working-with-infants-and-toddlers/5016314/
My colleague Deb Curtis has returned to working with infants and toddlers, and it is with great joy and fascination that I periodically visit her room and see what is unfolding among the children and the infant and toddler staff. Deb has taught early childhood college classes for over 20 years, and she co-authors books with me, and travels widely to speak and conduct workshops. But all of that now pales in the face of her joy in working with the babies and what she is discovering each day with them.Most of the infant and toddler teachers I visit view their work quite differently than Deb. Typically they are focused on the chores and caregiving routines and appear fairly stressed about their work. Though they may be emotionally involved with the children, few find themselves intellectually engaged with what is unfolding in their daily activities. Deb and I regularly talk about how she can encourage her co-workers to be more focused on the joy of working with this age group, more observant and curious about what they are seeing.
Infant and toddler caregivers are involved with one of the most amazing and rapidly developing times of the human experience. It is ...