Working with Children? Consider Nonverbal Communication

STAPLES, Minn. (23 October 2017) — Working with children is one of the most rewarding and important jobs. It is also one of the most challenging as evidenced by a shortage of daycare providers and a staff turnover rate of 30% among early childhood staff, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

What if someone told you there was a way to reduce some stressors of the job without putting forth a lot of extra energy? Enter ENVoY -- Educational Nonverbal Yardsticks, a series of nonverbal techniques that improve educator/provider-to-child relationships, enhance influence and time-on-task, and decrease the level of staff burnout.

Early Childhood educators and daycare providers are invited to attend an ENVoY course from 6:30-8:30 p.m., on Wednesday, November 15 at National Joint Powers Alliance® (NJPA) in Staples. Attendees can expect to learn a system of simple techniques to guide children and communicate expectations.

Pillager School Readiness Teacher Kayla Wenker has two classes of 16 children ages 4-5 years old. She says some of the most challenging parts of her job are balancing the needs of all 32 children and their families and making sure all the children in her classes have everything they need throughout the day.

Wenker attended an August session of ENVoY Early Childhood and has already seen the benefits of using a few of the techniques with her young students.

“Looking where I want the kids to look when I'm teaching,” she said. “I know I did that to a certain degree, but I am now more aware of it and doing it with everything. We also do a lot of deep breathing as a class. We slow it down while walking in the hallway. I think this has helped many kids and myself to stay at an equilibrium when things can start to feel rushed or time-crunched.”

Kassidy Rice, NJPA Leader of Education Solutions says the course is intended to provide support for those who work with young children in Region 5.

“ENVoY nonverbal techniques are simple and are designed to help teachers and providers influence positive behavior,” Rice said. “We use a lot of time and energy to correct disruptive behaviors. ENVoY sets you up to reinforce consistent and fair parameters which will ultimately strengthen the relationships with your children.”

The course is led by Jacki Brickman, an associate of Michael Grinder, the founder of ENVoY, an author and world-renowned expert in the science of nonverbal communication.

Register online by November 13 at njpa.co/ENVoY-Nov.