When you do it yourself

This is a DIY post!

I had seen at other daycares and various school supply chains one of these marker holders:

The only problem was these marker holders sell for about 16.99 plus shipping in canada! That's a lot of money for a program with no extra money! 

So I decided to make one myself! I required some assistance from my father in law, and it turned out great! Here are some images and instructions:

First gather materials I used one long board and I cut it into three equal pieces.

The board was about 1 inch thick and about 3 feet long. It was about 4 inches across. I also needed a set of new markers, crayons and wood glue.

I traced around a marker and a crayon until I had ten circles for each. The next part was the tricky part.

My father in law helped here. We used drill bits that were about the size of the cap (as that's the part that sticks in) and one the size of a crayon. He drilled the holes into the top piece of wood so that they went all the way through. Making the crayon holes a little loose so that they can be pulled in and out by little hands.

The marker holes were made tighter. 

Here are the finished holes. 

Next you take the other two pieces of wood and you glue all three together, insuring the piece with the holes is on the top. Clamp with a C clamp and make sure to use something on either side to avoid the clamp leaving a mark. 

After it's dry, sand it down to get rid of any marks/ splinters, and carefully glue each marker cap inside the hole. This makes it easy for little hands to remove the cap and use the marker, it also means no more dried out markers!! Not to fear, when these markers run out crayola caps are universal and any crayola marker will fit!

Enjoy!!

when you follow a childs lead!

During this class I have been helping, along with my co-workers, to transform our centre, which has been theme-based since 1970, into an emergent curriculum approach. Now these two approaches are vastly different. I was trained in college with a mostly emergent approach to teaching. From the time I graduated college I was a nanny, and not really practising my skills, so when I was hired by a theme-based centre, I quickly forgot the ways in which I was trained to do things.With my own research I was able to find many articles talking about emergent approach but not to many comparing the two, this article really helped me to see the differences clearly. Taking a new course with my supervisor has definitely allowed me to remember the differences and I feel has brought back so many of my skills. It has been such a great experience, and I've enjoyed every moment.

when you discover your own values.

In our class one of the very first things we discussed was values and beliefs. How our beliefs factor into our everyday experiences and how we must look deeply at our values and reflect upon them, and upon those around us. In one of my portfolio options for class I described my values and image of the child as: ". My image of the child is as follows: Children are strong, confident learners, capable of immense understanding, learning and teaching. Children are capable, creative and full of life and imagination. My values and beliefs are that children should be free to explore and learn without boundaries and limits, and we as educators should be confident in their ability to learn and grow and even to make mistakes and have accidents." I believe most of that still holds true, however, I do feel that though children should be free to explore without limits, we as educators should be guiding them towards meaningful experiences, that will prepare them for a lifetime of learning. It can be very challenging to work with peers who do not hold the same values as you, and I often feel discouraged from the "rules" and regulations I must follow. However as an educator, when you take a job you must look at the values and beliefs of that centre and see if they match your own. If they do not, and you still take that job, you must work to the best of your abilities to meet that centres expectations. I myself have a hard time with this, and I find myself adjusting frequently, however taking this course has reaffirmed me in not forgetting my own values and beliefs but rather to adjust them when the situation calls for it.

 

when you let the room be a teacher

As an early educator, I take great pride in how my classroom looks. You may think that means how tidy and neat it is, but that is not always the most important thing! Designing a supportive environment means look at a lot more then just how neat your classroom is! The environment a child spends his time in is shaping him almost as much as the teacher her self, or even as much as the child's genes! In the document "Infant and toddler spaces: design for a quality classroom" they discuss eight considerations for quality infant and toddler classrooms. They are: safety,heath, comfort, convenience,child sized space, flexibility, movement and choice. When reading this article I thought about my own classroom, and if it met those needs. I believe my centre has met these considerations plus more. Our classroom is a constantly evolving room. My co-worker and I are eager to to keep our classroom fluid and changing, as the children do. Those eight considerations are not the only important things in a young child's learning environment though. I feel you must also create a space that's inspiring and engaging for the children to learn. There is a book we discussed in class that's called "inspiring spaces for young children" by Sandra Duncan et.all. This book has many great photos and ideas to get your wheels turning and help you to create a meaningful classroom. They have seven principle to guide people in creating inspiring spaces:

1. nature inspires beauty

2. colour generates interest

3. furnishings define space

4. texture adds depth

5.displays enhance environment

6. focal points attract attention 

Since taking this course I have made many changes in my classroom with the help of my peers. We have added more nature into our classroom, with pine cones, shells rocks and bark for children to touch and explore. we have added large branches hanging from the ceiling to bring the ceiling down to their level as well as more spaces to hang interesting things. We have reduced the amount of colour drastically simply by replacing a lot of our toys with wooden toys and furniture. The spaces in our classroom have been reorganised so to allow more spaces for children as well as better flow of the classroom. We have added texture through the use of more fine motor manipulatives, fabric and draperies and more sensory stations. Our displays before were mainly of the children's pre-cut shaped crafts, and now are of meaningful documentations of their learning. We have also created focal points in our classroom to direct the children's attention to activities they might be interested in. one of the focal points right now is a light table with gel shapes on it, a low hanging curtain invites the children into this quiet space. 

     Another aspect of a supportive environment is children who have extra needs. Teachers need to be mindful of all children in their care and insure every single child can participate in the whole program meaningfully and with intent, no matter the need of the child. In class we were told of a lab that is creating amazing things out of practically nothing, I mean cardboard and glue! that are changing the lives of the children they touch in profound ways. This lab engineers each piece of equipment for a specific child. its not one size fits all. The lab is called "adaptive design edge lab". I encourage you to check it out for yourself. I do not have any children in my classroom with profound needs, however I still could stand to change a few things.
      I am much more aware of the environment the children are spending their days in and I feel I am much better able to enjoy the time with the children in these spaces. There has been a large change in the children's behaviour since we have changed some of the space as well, and I'm hopeful with more change, the children will continue to react in a positive manner.  The classroom should be thought of after all as a living evolving thing, and no two classrooms should be alike. 

when you observe and document!

   One of the most important things about following a constructivist and emergent approach to early learning is documenting. you must document everything! documenting is such a large part of learning and really helps you to understand what the children are learning and how. ECE's must document all of the little activities children do, so that they can make a record of the child's learning, as well as see potential for a second project or goal within the first one.
         For example, my junior preschoolers were quite interested in glue recently, and so my supervisor gave them some coloured glue to "paint" with. As I was documenting this thoughtful art activity, I wondered, what is it about the glue that made the children so interested. I observed them with how they were playing/creating, and saw that they enjoyed stretching, and spreading the glue. they would carefully let the glue drip, and were watching closely to how it moved. I thought to myself, I wonder if they are interested in the glue because of the consistency of this polymer, and so I got busy making more with them! The children and I made goop with glue and borax, goop with glue and starch, and we played with the sticky gel shapes, as well as absorbing water beads!
        When I took the time to watch and observe a simple activity, it turned into a week long "project" on all types of polymers. The children learned so many things during this project, and if I had just turned away to focus on other planned activities it would not have happened! I of course then documented the entire project, and am making a large board up for the children to reflect on what they learned and did that week. This documenting has led to me observing that many of the children in my class are sensory seeking, and so, I am planning more activities with things that will provide them with those sensory opportunities!
        Observation of the children is key in making a responsive curriculum, it is the way in which we discover just what the children are interested in. When you observe the children closely for instance you may find that what you first thought the children were interested in (glue) may in fact be something different (sensory stimulation). During my journey of learning just how important documenting is, I found this video, that really sums it up quite nicely:

   

         It took me a little time, when my daycare decided to switch over to an emergent approach, to get used to observing and documenting once again. Its easy to get confused over what exactly the children are interested in. Some of our conversations in class really helped me to push myself further, and to really see the children's play for what it truly was, a request to learn. These children who are showing me what they are interested in are just asking to learn. Even with a child who is "misbehaving" I'm much more careful now to observe what he is actually doing, and redirect in a meaningful way, and take the behaviour and turn it into something positive! During my reading I came across another article, that really helped me to remember why I'm observing and documenting, and why its so important, find it here.
     My classroom has a much higher quality curriculum now that I can observe and document in a thoughtful and engaging way, to create meaningful activities that the children, are truly interested in.

when you learn with your students

                                                     from the "Early Childhood Educators rock" facebook page

When you're busy making lesson plans!

      This first post is one of the subjects touched in class, that really stuck out for myself. In class we discussed the nature of learning, and if in fact children are only learning when we have predefined and well thought out curriculum activities/ materials. And while those things are quite important in the teaching and care of our 0-3 year olds, what's not touched on often is the fact that children are learning throughout the whole day. For. The moment those young students walk into our classroom, they are learning, growing and absorbing information and knowledge.
       This fact was very freeing for myself, particularly in the schedules or my centre. I found myself getting flustered often and upset when the schedules were not on time, and I feared the children losing out on the more "valuable" curriculum time.
     One example of this was before and after outside time. In my centre the junior classroom must go down two sets of stairs to the cubby room, get dressed and then back up one set of stairs to our playground. As you can imagine this can take quite a bit of time, especially with 16 little snow pants, coats and 32 pairs of mittens and boots! When the class was talking about the fact that children are learning from all of these every day meaningful experiences, it really made me worry less. All of these young preschoolers are learning so many valuable things during our treks to the cubby room and back, for example: the very important skill of how to put on your outdoor clothes, or even how to walk down stairs with one foot on each step! Many of them them are learning left from right, and cooperation with their peers! Some are even learning the importance of helping others less able then you!
         The freedom of this has made me much less worried about how fast I must get the children outside, and instead I focus on how I can best teach the children during this time! It is not only the trek to the cubbies this has helped me with either, I'm much more aware now of how I act and I'm in less of a rush for those scheduled times I used to think more of things to check off a list. And so while it is important to make lesson plans, the unscheduled moments should have just as much thought and teaching happening, as learning truly is happening, even when you're making lesson plans.