The Kids' Place teaching children the skills of friendship, of connecting with others in a positive fashion is a step toward making a more peaceful world. Children do not necessarily learn consideration for others, fair play and empathy either on their own or simply by observing others. Therefore we structure our programs to provide opportunities to teach these skills. For the younger children we reflect their feelings and mediate solutions for them. We encourage older children to resolve problems on their own when we feel they have the skills, modeling phrases for those who need it. We always emphasize how each child feels in a conflict, a technique to help develop empathy for others. Our classroom groupings are planned with varying ages and levels of social skills. A shy child can be paired with one with stronger social skills to carry out a task or play in a learning center. This can help the child with more limited social skills learn to negotiate, particularly when an observant teacher is nearby to facilitate problem solving. We look to find "win/win" resolutions, and to teach children to find them independently. Our goal is to teach children how to be friends and how to resolve conflict peacefully in the hope that this skill will equip them to function successfully as they grow.
