Reviewed by Alexandra Großer, 31.07.2024
Lea Wedewardt, Kathrin Hohmann: Accompanying children mindfully and in a needs-oriented manner. 40 reflection cards for teamwork.
Herder Publishing House
(Freiburg, Basel, Vienna) 2024. 80 pages. ISBN 978-3-451-39930-5. D: 22.00 EUR, A: 22.00 EUR, CH: 22.55 sFr.
Series: Supplement to.
Theme
The card set takes up the themes of the book of the same name, “Supporting children mindfully and in a needs-oriented manner.” The reflection cards can be used to reflect on one’s own educational practice and attitude. On the front of the cards there are questions about needs-oriented pedagogy. On the back there are explanations of the questions as well as further reflection and action impulses for practice. The reflection cards are a further step towards implementing needs-oriented pedagogy in daycare centers and child day care.
Author or editor
Lea Wedewardt is a childhood educator (MA), author, trainer and editor of “The Kita Podcast”. Together with Kathrin Hohmann she founded the BoP Academy – Needs-Oriented Pedagogy.
Kathrin Hohmann is a childhood educator (MA), founder of kindheitleben.de, author, consultant and trainer for families and educational professionals. Together with Lea Wedewardt She founded the BoP Academy – Needs-Oriented Education. She is currently completing her doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Würzburg.
Structure and content
The card set consists of 40 reflection cards. Each card has a question on the front. On the back there is information about the question as well as exercises, reflection prompts or tips for educational work. The back always follows the same structure. First there is background information about the question on the front, then key statements on the topic in white font. This is followed by a curved arrow pointing upwards, which introduces the prompts. On some reflection cards the authors specifically refer to their book of the same name.
Deal with the first card Lea Wedewardt and Kathrin Hohmann Information on using the cards in practice and in teams as well as in training and further education.
On the first reflection card, the authors advise you to be kind to yourself and to practice every day to be “a little more in touch with” yourself and your colleagues, children and parents. Because the needs-oriented attitude of “integration does not happen overnight”.
The cards and their questions first introduce the basics of needs-oriented education (BoP). In their structure, they follow the basic pillars of needs-oriented education: feelings, needs, limits. The reflection cards and their questions first invite self-reflection. For example, when asked “what do we understand by needs”, “which needs […] are sufficiently fulfilled for me at the moment”, “where feelings arise”, “which sentences deny feelings”, or when it comes to dealing with one’s own boundaries.
Other cards deal with the topic of punishment and the difference between punishments and consequences as well as the effects of rewards on children’s self-esteem.
Some of the questions deal with thoughts on needs-based education that participants, educators or parents express when it comes to implementing needs-based education. For example, whether needs-based education allows “everything to go”, whether “children develop more egoism and self-centeredness through the BoP”, or whether the BoP prevents children from “becoming ready for school and finding their way in life”. In addition to answering these and other questions with professionally sound information, they encourage the team to think about what “exactly school readiness” means, for example. Because school readiness is more than “just being able to hold a pencil correctly or cut with scissors”.
discussion
When I first looked through the cards, I expected reflection questions on each card and was initially a little confused by some of the types of questions. Some questions reminded me of questions from a flashcard on needs-based pedagogy (“What are the three pillars of BoP?”; “What is the difference between a need and a strategy?”). Other questions reminded me of questions from participants in continuing education courses (“Do children have to have all their needs met?”, “Does BoP prevent children from becoming “school-ready” and finding their way in life?”). While other question cards immediately prompted reflection (“What feelings do I allow myself to have and which ones not so much?”, “Every child stands up for themselves and their needs and does not fight against us! – What do you think about this statement?”).
On closer inspection, it is about intensive engagement with needs-oriented pedagogy and consolidating knowledge of BoP.
On the back of each question you will find basic information on needs-based education as well as ideas for reflection and practice. The questions discuss the basic pillars of needs-based education: feelings, needs, boundaries, with the topics of consequences versus punishment and reward. They address the chapters of the corresponding book in a short, concise manner.
The reflection prompts on the back of the cards challenge educational professionals and teams to engage intensively with needs-oriented pedagogy and thus to question and reflect on their own attitudes and to “internalize” a needs-oriented attitude and to align their “thinking and actions accordingly.”
The authors’ intention with their questions is to actively engage with the scientifically based theory of needs-oriented pedagogy in order to put it into practice and to engage in intensive self-reflection. Lea Wedewardt compared learning non-violent language with learning a foreign language. If we stick with this image, learning a foreign language means first of all learning vocabulary, dealing with the structure and grammar of the language and practicing it practically, i.e. speaking, speaking, speaking. With their questions, which initially seemed like exam questions to me, Kathrin Hohmann and Lea Wedewardt This is exactly what it means to deal with the grammar of the BoP. When the team asks what the difference is between a punishment and a consequence, or what the three pillars of the BoP are, it is less about testing knowledge and more about actively dealing with the content of needs-oriented pedagogy, acting according to the three pillars: feelings, needs, limits. The understanding that children express their needs with their behavior, even if we do not understand it at first, that they are overwhelmed by their feelings and thus reach their limits, allows us to pause when considering the basis and ask the questions that the authors also ask: What do you feel, what do I feel? What do you need, what do I need? What do you (don’t) want, what do I (don’t) want? A child who bites another is expressing a need. With the triad of feelings, needs, limits, we can perceive the need, name the child’s feelings, and see the limits. It is about “the description of being in the now”.
The authors encourage people to set out on their journey, to do “a little bit more” every day, as part of a team, with parents, with children, in training and further education. The card set offers many opportunities to discuss and implement needs-oriented pedagogy in everyday life. They are a good complement to the authors’ book of the same name.
Conclusion
The card set poses questions for active discussion, conveys scientifically based knowledge, and provides impulses for reflection and integration of the needs-oriented attitude. It also provides answers to skeptical questions. The needs-oriented attitude that the team of authors lives by is conveyed and brought to life through this card set.
Review by
Alexandra Grosser
Trainer, pedagogical process facilitator, systemic consultant
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There are 39 reviews by Alexandra Großer.
Citation suggestion
Alexandra Großer. Review from July 31, 2024 of: Lea Wedewardt, Kathrin Hohmann: Accompanying children mindfully and in a needs-oriented manner. 40 reflection cards for teamwork. Verlag Herder GmbH (Freiburg, Basel, Vienna) 2024. ISBN 978-3-451-39930-5. Series: Supplement to. In: socialnet reviews, ISSN 2190-9245, date of access August 1, 2024.
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