Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify how the after school care worker try to form relationship among children. The narratives of 15 after school care workers were obtained through interviews, and those were analyzed with modified grounded theory approach. As a result, those care workers tried to connect children through their play or activities in the daily processes of care. Also, they used their approval or recognition of children's behaviors, sup- port for mutual understandings of children, and connection among parents/guardians as their means of building relationship among children. It was found that care workers utilized such actions repetitively and simultaneously so that children can relate to each other well. As effective, concrete suggestions for building relationships among children, the following 4 points were indicated: 1) to have intentions to approve and recognize achievements of children according to their capacity, 2) to lead children's play and activities where children can gradually connect to, and 3) to give information to parents/guardians about children's relationships in the after school care, and 4) to design changes of how much children interact in order to promote better relationships among children.
