1. Using Nursery Rhymes to Cultivate Good Habits
In 2024, nursery rhymes cater to children’s emotional education, intellectual development, and language training needs. Given the age and cognitive characteristics of young children, using simple, bright, and easy-to-understand language with rhythmic nursery rhymes helps integrate education into their behavior naturally. This method is more effective than traditional teaching.
a. Practicing Basic Handwashing Techniques
Handwashing is a crucial part of a young child’s daily routine. Especially for younger children, the essentials of handwashing can be difficult to grasp. Incorporating nursery rhymes into the process has shown better results. For example, when teaching children to roll up their sleeves, you can combine it with the “Pulling Carrots” rhyme: “Pulling carrots, pulling carrots, pull, pull, pull; washing carrots, washing carrots, wash, wash, wash; oh so black, oh so black.” This reminds them to “pull up the carrots” (i.e., roll up their sleeves) before washing their hands. We also created rhymes like “Soap up, scrub-a-dub, rinse off, shake, shake, thank you, little faucet.” These rhymes make children happy to recite and eager to wash their hands, learning the essentials without even realizing it, which is far more effective than dry instruction from teachers.
b. Ensuring Adequate Water Intake
Some children particularly love drinks but dislike plain water. Often, they only sip water to appease their teachers, not ensuring adequate intake. We created a rhyme: “Little car, get ready, fill up the tank, most important, glug, glug, drink it all, and see who’s the strongest.” We even dressed up the water dispenser to look like a doll, reminding children with the rhyme: “Big belly, open wide, glug, glug, it’s our good friend, I’m going to drink water now.” Making the water-drinking routine fun ensures children drink enough water.
c. Promoting Good Mealtime Habits
During meals, nursery rhymes help children internalize good behavior, teaching them proper posture and dining habits. Rhymes like “When you eat, sit up straight, no spills, no mess, that’s how you grow tall” and “Little spoon, so handy, held in the right hand. One hand holds the spoon, the other holds the bowl, no spills, right to the mouth” guide children in maintaining good dining habits.
d. Reinforcing Nap Time Habits
Establishing regular routines from a young age helps create consistent habits. Consistently reinforcing these habits helps children form good sleeping patterns. Rhymes like “Close your eyes, cover up, let’s all sleep together, stay healthy, and grow tall, teachers praise good sleepers” help create a peaceful nap time routine.
2. Enhancing the Fun of Daily Activities Through Role-Playing Games
Knowledge is acquired in certain contexts, with the help of others, through meaningful construction. For preschoolers, thinking relies on actions. Thus, we use flexible, purposeful role-playing games to subtly guide and train children in various routines and behaviors, achieving excellent results.
a. Making Handwashing and Drinking Water Fun
To motivate children to wash their hands, you can play games like “Little Mouse Climbs the Lamp.” If the mouse gets dirty, it needs to wash before eating. Creating a “car refueling” scenario, the teacher and children pretend to be cars running out of fuel, needing to “refuel” (drink water) to keep going. Children act as “water dispensers,” and the teacher pretends to operate them, seeing who can hold the most water.
b. Integrating Daily Activities Organically
Combine bathroom breaks, handwashing, and drinking water through role-playing to make transitions smoother. For example, after outdoor activities, pretend the classroom door is a train tunnel, guiding children to their seats as passengers, drinking water as fueling the train, and washing hands as cleaning the train.
c. Stimulating Interest in Mealtime
During meals, if teachers keep reminding children to sit up straight and eat more, it can dampen their enthusiasm. Instead, use role-playing games to enhance interest. For example, guessing the food: “What do we have today?” Praising the food: “Do you know how nutritious these foods are?” Teachers can pretend to be enthusiastic about the food to inspire children.
d. Consistently Reinforcing Nap Time Habits
Good nap habits require consistent reinforcement. Using games can help children quickly settle down for naps. For example, tell them they are little phones that need to “shut down” (close their eyes) and “recharge” (sleep). For children who resist naps, remind them that without charging, they won’t have energy for afternoon play.
3. Using Stories to Help Children Form Good Habits
The famous Soviet educator, Sukhomlinsky, noted that fairy tales are as essential to childhood as games. Stories stabilize emotions, promote language and intellectual development, and are vital for moral education. Teachers’ rhythmic, engaging storytelling can immerse children in a joyful atmosphere, helping them naturally adopt good habits.
For example, to address picky eating, stories like “The Rooster and the Leaky Mouth,” “The Food Travelogue,” and “Where Does Grain Come From?” teach children to value food and respect labor.
For cleanliness and hygiene, stories about washing hands, trimming nails, using towels, drinking water, and mealtime can guide children to correct their bad habits and adopt good ones.
4. Principles to Follow When Cultivating Good Habits Through Games
Games are a unique form of practical activity. When teachers turn daily routines into games, it reduces fear, relaxes children, and makes learning fun. However, teachers must adhere to certain principles:
a. Timely Correction
Habits, once formed, are hard to change. Since children’s habits are still forming, early detection and correction are essential. When bad habits are noticed, use appropriate rhymes, scenarios, or stories to guide and correct them promptly.
b. Consistency
Forming good habits requires clear goals and persistent effort. Consistently reinforce daily goals to instill good habits in children.
c. Reinforcement
Good habits are not formed overnight; they require repeated practice. Using varied games to reinforce specific habits can maintain children’s interest and solidify these habits.
d. Collaboration Between Home and School
Good habits require the cooperation of both home and school. Parents’ habits significantly influence children, who learn through imitation. Consistent communication and education with parents ensure that the home environment supports what is taught at school.
Life is the first and most fundamental lesson. Cultivating good habits in 2024 is a crucial part of kindergarten work. As educators, using games to promote good habits not only meets children’s developmental needs but also ensures they learn essential life skills in a joyful environment. However, games are a primary but not the only educational tool. Teachers should combine games with other activities to maximize their educational impact, laying a strong foundation for children’s lifelong habits.
