SecurityIf children feel secure and

Security
If children feel secure and if they have enough for themselves, they are better able to share with others. Thus, you need to establish a classroom atmosphere of security. Insecure children are not ready to accept the social techniques of sharing. With young children, small groups with high teacher or adult ratios seem to foster children’s ability to share. Small groups allow the following:
• More teacher-child interaction. Teachers who have too many children to interact with are frustrated and short tempered and do not have time to give children the personal attention that says, “You’re valued and respected” and “I care for you.”
• Increased recognition. Children can share their ideas and thoughts more readily; they have more opportunities to take lunch money to the cafeteria, carry the flag, have their story read, play the game the way they want to, or lead the entire group in a song.
• Feelings of social adequacy. Young children just learning to relate to others can find handing relationship with many other children a monumental task. But with only a few others, children feel more adequate and competent in their ability to relate.
• Consideration of the group context. A shy withdrawn child many feel more secure and able to reach out to others when in a quiet group of children rather than an assertive, aggressive group. Likewise, highly aggressive children may find more security and social acceptance when in a more boisterous group (Stormshak et al., 1999)
Models
Children who observe models sharing appear to be better able to share, and the teacher is the best model. When the teacher is noticeably spontaneous, warm, and responsive, the children show many more sympathetic than they do in a group in which the teacher tends to be hard-boiled and unsympathetic to children in distress. Teachers who deliberately try to develop warm friendship with children and who respond freely and openly to children’s needs have children who participate more freely in group activities. These children also have higher leadership scores and show more evidence of sharing than do children of teachers who make little or no effort to work closely with individuals or who participate as little as possible in the activities of the group. Conversely, when teachers react negatively to children’s antisocial behaviors or enter into conflict with them, children appear to be more aggressive as well as more withdrawn (Birch & Ladd, 1998).
Physical Environment
Children confined in small play spaces with limited equipment and toys are more frequently observed fighting than are those in larger play spaces with an adequate number of materials. With plenty of space and equipment, sharing becomes easier.