Play is Learning
I believe play IS the curriculum of early childhood education. The role of the educator is to facilitate the child’s play and take it to new learning levels as dictated by the child.
I have been privileged in my career to have worked with play enthusiasts in all my roles. Currently I have been editing just how much to intervene in a child’s activities and to determine exactly what that interruption might look like. It might be a quiet addition of another material. It could be just sitting near the play as a sign of quiet support, it might be adding language to the child’s activity. It is a difficult self-reflective task to find a balance between interrupting play and letting it carry out. I am looking to notice if play is ever NOT educational.
Families understand the importance of play if we assign it as important. Play is documented as learning and presented in many ways (daily sheets, anecdotal record, verbally, documentation boards) to the parents. At the infant/toddler level this is generally understood.
In the preschool classroom the struggle is more difficult as it appears that families want more documentation of “traditional” learning. Here I define “traditional” as teacher directed activity. This is where I see cultural expectation and perspective is important. Culturally, society lumps play into the category of recreational and not educational. The importance of play is seen as a release or outlet and not a learning mode. Play is important but not as a learning mode. Taking this thought into perspective defines for the educator a more difficult role of making the connection between play and education seamless. It can be done by making learning during play evident to the family.
Early Education Environment
Early Education and Care Environment. Beauty all around.
I have recently begun to think about the eventual end of my “sabbatical” and our return to the East coast. I see the beauty all around me and I look with an eye towards how I can create an early education environment that is beautiful for young children.
Back when I was in school (a long time ago) I remember being taught that a quality early education program could be run in a dismal space. This may be true as we have to work with limited space, even smaller budgets, a time crunch, and possibly push back from Administration but beautiful spaces can and should be created for children.
If your space seems impossible, can you ask for an outside opinion? Others can often see what we cannot!
If you think you have no time, can you ask for help? You might be surprised at how many people would be willing to lend a hand in creating a beautiful early education environment for their children. At the very least ask, don’t assume no one will participate.
If you have no budget, can you fundraise, or look at no cost/low cost improvements?
Have you tried to get Administration on board? If you are committed and enthusiastic, you can move mountains. Set a goal and work on a presentation and go for it with passion.
I have found many ideas on Pinterest. Follow us at Friendship Garden Nursery School. https://www.pinterest.com/funwithfgns/
Choice Words
I am taking a class this semester therefore some of my blogs will focus around being “back in school”.
For class I read, “Choice Words, How our Language Affects Children’s Learning”, by Peter Johnson. https://www.amazon.com/Choice-Words-Language-Childrens-Learning/dp/1571103899
My first reaction to the reading was that this would be an easy read, after beginning to read I then thought, “what did I get myself into?” as the reading had me reflecting and then re-reading!
I experienced a range of emotions from the reading that I will convey in this reflection.
I am stricken and angry thinking how many interactions I had with my teachers growing up that “stopped” my learning. I am evolved enough to let that go and today it deepens my resolve to learn the skills of being a teacher who not only creates a collaborative learning community but sustains it. I am very fortunate to work with management that supports this developmental model. I read the book wearing two hats. One as a teacher of young children and the second as a mentor to young adults.
I reflect that as a teacher of young children, I am quite capable of allowing and supporting mistakes and retries. Allowing children to take risks and try things out is a common occurrence in my classroom. I noticed that within the daily structure I have emphasized correction, “have to” and/or set up situations leading to an expected or anticipated result. I will be conscious of that going forward. Within the first chapter of the reading there was a reference to “telling mode” this irritates me in my personal life yet I see that at times I have behaved that way in the classroom. At this I feel frustrated. The author reminds us that “we don’t know what we don’t know” which relieves some of my frustration and encourages me to think and grow.
Working with young adults I see that I have followed many of the examples from the reading. Allowing each person accountability, responsibility and ownership for their thoughts and actions creates the productive learning community the author speaks of. I employ many examples of the prompting language he suggests. A few weeks ago I read an article about adult learners that helped to identify for me the assumption that all teachers should “know” a rule, policy or teaching strategy and how frustrating it is if they do not. http://www.childcareexchange.com/article/helping-adults-succeed/5021316 The author of Choice Words supported this as well, challenging us to know our audience and to identify them in terms you want them to be. I am in the habit of identifying the teachers as professionals when we talk, similarly to the way the writer identifies the children as readers and authors.
I am proud to think that I have evolved more to this model however I am interested to observe my own practice and the practice of those around me. Of particular interest is noting how many teachers are teaching from the IRE model (teacher Initiates, student Responds, teacher Evaluates). How often do we give infants/toddlers/children/other teachers the opportunity to explore, experiment, take risks, fail, and conclude for themselves? How often do we respect their opinion with an open mind? Are we using gender neutral questions/phrases?
I like open our weekly teacher meetings with asking for any follow up, concerns or comments. I am really happy to be able to shift to “any compliments?” I imagine it will set the tone for great conversation. I have had the conversation many times trying to figure out why it is natural to assume negative intent, yet now I see I have set that up in my opening statement every week. Time for a change! Have you ever received a phone call or had someone say to you, “Let’s meet in my office” and be given no more information and then assumed the worst or jumped to a negative conclusion. I have and I have witnessed others do the same. The line of open ended questions similar to “which part are you sure about and which part are you not sure about” will help to clarify in the future.
I am excited to practice. I am armed with an arsenal of references to powerful language!
Objective Observation
Objective observation.
When observing children it is important to write an objective observation. Why is objectivity important?
It is important for educators to be as objective as possible when recording their observations in order to avoid bias. A bias could be defined as a pre-determined way of perceiving, and can be positive or negative. Usually, bias arises out of past experiences. Pre-determined perceptions can influence how an educator records an observation as well as what an educator includes in an observation.
Objective observations are descriptions of what is observed stating the facts and details with as little interpretation as possible. The objective observer will seek to record simply what they see without offering any opinion. In this type of observation results should be the same among individuals.
Objective information is that which can be observed, seen, tasted, touched, smelled, counted, or heard.
Examples of objective observation. Bennett speaks into the phone, “hello, yes, please bring milk home.”
Objective observations are used for child assessment and injury reports.
Subjective observations are observations that are influenced by past events, opinions, background or personal experience often biased information.
Subjective information is opinion, judgement, rumor, assumption, belief, or suspicion based on thoughts, feelings, ideas or decisions. Results among individuals vary widely.
Examples of subjective observation.
Bennett talks on the phone, probably imitating how he sees his mother use the phone.
Slide show with objective or subjective questions to answer.
http://www.slideshare.net/janiceaughey/subjective-objective-exercise
Refective Practice
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE 
- Thinking about or reflecting upon what you do
- Requires a conscious effort to think about events
- Helps us explore theories and apply them to experience
- Encourages us to explore our own beliefs and assumptions to solve problems
- Can be a shared experience or alone
SIMPLE FRAMEWORK
What (….is the problem? ….is my role? ……..happened? ……. are the consequences? etc.)
So what (…….was I thinking? ……should I have done? ……….do I know? etc.)
Now what (….do I need to do? ………issues were raised? ………might happen? etc.)
Why should we reflect? I have found that taking a moment to reflect about an interaction with an adult or child, an activity or an idea, slows me down to think about what happened. The positive in this is the opportunity to note what is worth repeating and what need changing, redefining or revisiting with new perspective. It is a way to enrich your personal life and deepen your professional practice!
Documentation Board: For Families
This is a simple explanation of a documentation board for families in your program.
A Documentation Board is a visual communication tool. These boards are organized around a theme, with artwork, photographs, dictation, anecdotes, work samples, and educational information to communicate with you. They are also used by the teacher to deepen and extend the learning in a classroom and to inform future classroom learning goals.
A documentation board is created by observing, recording, interpreting and sharing the processes and products of learning.
A documentation board will enhance communication with you by:
- Allowing for a deeper understanding of how children learn
- Sharing a visible record of classroom learning
- Sharing your child’s learning
- Deepening our relationship with your children and yourselves
- Encouraging you to ask questions
Children can re-visit, reflect and respond to the visuals of a documentation board, enhancing their learning experiences.
Additionally, a documentation board allows your child’s teacher to reflect on her practice which completes the cycle to start over again.
Documentation Board: for Teachers
What is a Documentation Board? For teachers:
“By documentation board, we mean the practice of observing, recording, interpreting, and sharing the process and products of learning through a variety of media in order to deepen and extend learning.”
Process and Product = the how and what of learning
- Identify a theme for your board
- Learning environment, classroom routine
- Special event
- Specific curriculum
- Skill acquisition
- Child development, expected behaviors
- Projects
- Collect
- Photographs
- Artwork
- Child dictation
- Anecdotes
- Work samples
- Educational information
- Review your collection with your team and identify a learning moment
- Develop a teacher narration for the panel, a synthesis of what is happening, no more than 2 paragraphs including names of teachers, students, and the date or time period.
- Put the board together
- Title, large and prominent
- Strong focal point
- The viewer should be able to “read” the board from 2-3 feet away
- Balance of artwork, photos and text, matted for display
- Clean/uncluttered flow, left to right, top to bottom
- Typed, use Large Type
- Edit and have someone else edit
- Lastly, add parent comments
Benefits
- Communication with Parents
- Accountability
- Extending Learning
- Insight into curriculum that informs future curriculum
- Living document, change/add new info continually
My next post will be, Documentation Board: for families.
Toddlers Bite, Now What?
Toddlers bite. Right? Calm down, this too shall pass.
Most adults see biting as super aggressive and inappropriate, still toddlers bite. We often react in a way that is actually not helpful. We get as mad and as frustrated as a toddler. We place blame on the teacher(s), the biter, the parent(s).
YET toddlers are developing language skills and they are often frustrated by the inability to communicate their wants/needs. A toddler may also be teething. We are able to communicate to talk about our frustration, here is how to help. First, remain calm.
How to help a biter (for educators).
First, we must realize that it is developmentally appropriate for a toddler to bite. As educators we need parents to know this and communicate it often. Suspend judgement and blame of child and family. Build a great relationship with the family as this is paramount to a high quality early education program.
On the spot, try to identify the problem with the child’s help, then verbalize for the child, explaining and naming the emotions involved. Help the child communicate by modeling the words you would like him/ her to use. Make sure you are calmly communicating that biting hurts. Give the child something appropriate to bite on. Always follow up with an accident/incident report.
How to help the parent of the biter. First, toddlers bite. Normal. Communicate with your child’s teacher. Be at ease with the situation. Practice the same response as your child’s educator for consistency for the child. Be on the same page as your child’s educator.
How to help the bitten child. Console and comfort, perhaps give some ice if needed. If the skin breaks, follow your center’s protocol.
How to help parent of the child that got bit.
Suspend all judgement and blaming of the toddler, the toddler’s family and teacher(s), ask the family to do the same. Build a great relationship with the early educator(s). Communicate often. A solid parent/teacher relationship is key. Parents need to trust that you are a professional and you are caring for ALL the children in your classroom. Biting is developmentally appropriate. Toddlers bite.
How to help the parent of the biter. Communicate with your child’s teacher. Be at ease with the situation. Be on the same page as your child’s educator. Be consistent in your calm but firm reaction to biting. State that biting hurts.
It’s all about forging trusting relationships with the children in your care and their families.
Declutter
TLC Too is undergoing an extensive renovation of all the classrooms with new paint, new flooring, new cabinets and countertops. Teachers have been asked to declutter and intentionally reflect on what they will put back into their classrooms.
Decluttering seems a daunting process but what a wonderful opportunity to start fresh with a specific purpose in mind.
When setting up for the new school year ask yourself these questions.
- What do I want the children to learn in the space?
- How do I want them to use the materials you present?
- Are materials displayed to invite use?
- How does your classroom convey what you want children to feel while there?
- Is your environment inviting and beautiful?
This is the link to a great article to refer to creating a beautiful learning environment. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Or watch as a webinar. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Research has pointed to decluttering or the “bare walls” theory for increasing creativity and reducing distraction and anxiety in the classroom.
Read more here. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/decrease-classroom-clutter-increase-creativity-erin-klein
Overwhelmed, start with a few small changes. Let me know how it goes.
Happy planning for back to school!
Painting Ideas
I have been working on this list of painting ideas for the last half year. Here is my start.
Try painting:
WITH
Water color
Water color then cover with plastic wrap, let dry and remove plastic
Do a dot (bingo dabber)
Do a dot on dark paper
Frozen paint
Pudding
Kool aid
finger paint
tempra paint
Watercolor on ice block
How about painting on:
ON
Newspaper
Cardboard
Boxes
Laminating
Tubes
Crumpled paper
Ice
Tin foil
Wax paper
Paper towel
Felt
Big branch
Mirror
Rocks
Shells
You might try:
USING
Pine Cone
Pine needle
Flower
Weed
Yarn
Balloon
Ball
Bumpy ball
Cotton ball
Marble roll
Tea bag painting
Lego
Dinosaur
Animal
Brush
Foam brush
Roller
Sponge
Squeeze bottle
Eye dropper
Kitchen gadget
Fork
Scrub brush
Fly swatter
Spray bottle
Spaghetti
Rocks
Cups
Tubes
Bow
Comb
Bubble wrap
Car
Truck
Train
Cardboard scrapper
Teabag
Feather
Painty elastics around a tray, twang
ADD this:
Spice
Sand
Corn syrup
Baking soda ADD vinegar after for fizzy
ADD AFTER painting:
Salt
Can you add to this list?