Interested in this video?

Join the Childhood Potential Club
to watch our exclusive videos

The prepared adult: A different kind of observation

Paula Zhou

Description

We all know the importance of observation in our classrooms. Observation helps us better understand the needs of our children, as well as areas that may need additional care and support. We find out what’s working well and what changes may be needed. But how often do we spend time observing ourselves? Like the observation of the children and our classrooms, self-observation is essential for better understanding how *we* are doing. What needs do we have? What’s working well and what changes may be needed to better support our own well-being? (And indirectly, the well-being of every child in our care.) Join this talk to understand the importance of self-observation as well as find out how we can practice this essential skill every day.

In this video

If you notice yourself reacting on autopilot in the tough moments with children, Paula Zhou turns observation inward. The skills parents and teachers use to watch children are pointed at yourself, with an exercise on your own reactions to three tough moments. The talk also looks at what happens when autopilot still wins. It closes with a short guided breathing practice, the Three Step Breathing Space, to follow along with.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Why we observe children: the whole class and each child
  2. 6:34 Turning observation inward and catching your autopilot
  3. 11:30 Exercise: noticing your reactions to three tough moments
  4. 18:34 When autopilot wins, and why self-observation takes practice
  5. 21:45 A guided Three Step Breathing Space practice

See all 5 videos with Paula Zhou

Watch the full video in Childhood Potential Club

Featuring

Paula Zhou

An advocate for respectful and effective communication, Paula has worked in Early Childhood education in China for more than 20 years. An experienced Montessorian and teacher trainer for the 0-6 age group, Paula is also a parenting specialist/family consultant and a licensed Gordon Training International Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) Instructor. A sought after speaker at international conferences, Paula connects with her audiences through humour and anecdotal experience, drawn from both her years of working with children and their families as well as from co-parenting her own, cross-cultural family. Paula is intensely fascinated by the mind and the study of human behaviour and is an ongoing student of Interpersonal Neurobiology. She is also a children’s yoga and mindfulness guide and believes strongly in the importance of arming our children with the skills of mindfulness and emotional regulation.

A TEDx speaker, Paula’s recent passionate talk on the importance of listening to children has been shared extensively throughout the world. Paula is the co-founder of Insight Education, a consultancy practice with a mission to nurture the healthy growth of every child through supporting schools, families and communities world-wide and currently works as the Director of Programs for Higher Ground Education/Guidepost Montessori, China.

Related videos

NEW
Dr. Bernadette Phillips

How the Montessori Approach can help children who have been affected by trauma

NEW
Dr. Corey Borgman

Montessori and Current Science: Helping Montessorian’s Understand and Apply Research

NEW
Jeanne-Marie Paynel

What Babies Actually Need: A Doula’s Guide to the First Year Through a Montessori Lens