Sunday, 24 November 2013
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.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
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.
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.
Monday, 11 November 2013
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.
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.
Monday, 4 November 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, 2 November 2013
when you let the children play!
Play, it is most often thought of as a break, or reward for doing your work. But for young children it is the work. Play is the vehicle in which children learn. This was a huge topic covered in class and I believe one of the most important to myself. In the future when I have children, I plan to home school my children, and during the early years I'm sure play will be a large part of how my children will learn. In class we discussed how play does teach children and the value of both free unstructured play as well as intentional play, that is play experiences that come from well thought out meaningful classrooms and activity choices that educators make from careful observations. So, though play at times may seem as though it is just a fun activity, the children are learning, especially with intentional teaching.
Play is one of the main rights of the child, according to the United Nations rights of the child. Play is so important to the well being of each child, and I cannot think of a better way in which to teach our youngest people. It is hard sometimes to think of certain activities as play, when I've laid out an activity for the children to measure and prepare goop on their own, it is an intentionally planned activity, however to the child, it is still play, they are learning yes, but the children are exploring and playing on their own terms.
I myself get caught up in the misconceptions held by many about play. It is thought by many, I believe, that play is an unstructured activity where the children go free with their imaginations, and while there is always room for that, the activities that an educator finds or creates for her students based on their interests and needs is still play.
One of the books we've talked about in class that delves into this intentional play is "The Intentional Teacher" by Ann S Epstein. She talks in her book about the roles of adult guided interactions and child guided interactions. In both, the teacher must be intentional and focused on the child's learning, but in one, the teacher will proceed along her goals, and in the other, along the child's goals. On the fourth page of the book Ann defined just what it means to be an intentional teacher, and it really helps me to understand the difference between play that is meaningful, and play that is unstructured:
" To be “intentional” is to act purposefully, with a goal in mind and a plan for accomplishing it. Intentional acts originate from careful thought and are accompanied by consideration of their potential effects. Thus an “intentional” teacher aims at clearly defined learning objectives for children, employs instructional strategies likely to help children achieve the objectives, and continually assesses progress and adjusts the strategies based on that assessment."
I myself lean more towards child guided exercises, or at least teacher guided exercises that are planned through a child's interest ie. giving materials to make instruments when the children are interested in music, or giving fake snow when the children are sad the early snow has melted.
Another document that discusses the role of play is the ELECT document. A planned curriculum is one of the 6 principles of the elect. In the elect they state that "Play is a means to early learning that capitalizes on children’s natural curiosity and exuberance." They go on to discuss how in fact children are learning through their play "Play engages children’s attention when it offers a challenge that is within the child’s capacity to master. Early childhood settings that value children’s play create a ‘‘climate of delight” that honours childhood (ETFO, 1999). Effective settings take advantage of play and embed opportunities for learning in the physical environment and play activities."
Play could be the single most important thing we let children do. Play in the elect document goes hand in hand with planned curriculum, as you could not have meaningful engaging play, without planning some meaningful engaging activities. Children will of course find a way to learn no matter what as they are natural learners, but the job of the educator is to help them on that journey.
Play is one of the main rights of the child, according to the United Nations rights of the child. Play is so important to the well being of each child, and I cannot think of a better way in which to teach our youngest people. It is hard sometimes to think of certain activities as play, when I've laid out an activity for the children to measure and prepare goop on their own, it is an intentionally planned activity, however to the child, it is still play, they are learning yes, but the children are exploring and playing on their own terms.
I myself get caught up in the misconceptions held by many about play. It is thought by many, I believe, that play is an unstructured activity where the children go free with their imaginations, and while there is always room for that, the activities that an educator finds or creates for her students based on their interests and needs is still play.
One of the books we've talked about in class that delves into this intentional play is "The Intentional Teacher" by Ann S Epstein. She talks in her book about the roles of adult guided interactions and child guided interactions. In both, the teacher must be intentional and focused on the child's learning, but in one, the teacher will proceed along her goals, and in the other, along the child's goals. On the fourth page of the book Ann defined just what it means to be an intentional teacher, and it really helps me to understand the difference between play that is meaningful, and play that is unstructured:
" To be “intentional” is to act purposefully, with a goal in mind and a plan for accomplishing it. Intentional acts originate from careful thought and are accompanied by consideration of their potential effects. Thus an “intentional” teacher aims at clearly defined learning objectives for children, employs instructional strategies likely to help children achieve the objectives, and continually assesses progress and adjusts the strategies based on that assessment."
I myself lean more towards child guided exercises, or at least teacher guided exercises that are planned through a child's interest ie. giving materials to make instruments when the children are interested in music, or giving fake snow when the children are sad the early snow has melted.
Another document that discusses the role of play is the ELECT document. A planned curriculum is one of the 6 principles of the elect. In the elect they state that "Play is a means to early learning that capitalizes on children’s natural curiosity and exuberance." They go on to discuss how in fact children are learning through their play "Play engages children’s attention when it offers a challenge that is within the child’s capacity to master. Early childhood settings that value children’s play create a ‘‘climate of delight” that honours childhood (ETFO, 1999). Effective settings take advantage of play and embed opportunities for learning in the physical environment and play activities."
Play could be the single most important thing we let children do. Play in the elect document goes hand in hand with planned curriculum, as you could not have meaningful engaging play, without planning some meaningful engaging activities. Children will of course find a way to learn no matter what as they are natural learners, but the job of the educator is to help them on that journey.
when you focus on process versus product
These images were taken from a very interesting article that explores the process versus product topic a little more. Find the blog here.
when you're ladybugs are not the same.
A subject we touched on in class is process versus product. We all read an article called "identical ladybugs by Christine Mclean" and it delved into the nature of children's crafts, you know the ones with "the eyes go here, the tail goes here" and "oh no Sue you cannot paint that cow blue!!!".
This article really spoke to me, as I had just a mere week before switched the art shelf in my room over to a more open ended art shelf. let me paint a picture for you of how it used to look, a three layered shelf, with rows and rows of closed Tupperware containers each labelled according to what fun material was inside, and several little bins of crayons and some safety scissors. This shelf was not allowed to be touched by the children and the teacher would bring out one preplanned craft a day.
When my centre decided to make the switch to emergent curriculum, I knew that was the first thing that had to go! I put all of those Tupperware containers in our cot closet, and I filled containers and baskets with many of the materials as well as some new ones. I gave the children markers and crayons and glue all of which they could take off the shelf and use. at first there was a learning curve, and of course many of the children just delved right into this new found freedom of expression! layers of pom poms and stacks of foam stickers piled on top of each other, some of us were worried that the children were being "wasteful" and worried that they were not making anything. Then I reminded myself it is the process that counts, not what it looks like. and to remind myself to stop asking them, "oh what did you make?" because it doesn't have to *be* anything.
What really struck me was the reasoning in the article behind choosing process versus product. Christine was talking about how children who are forced into making all identical ladybugs, are not learning how to do art, or even about ladybugs, what they are learning is that its not OK to be different, its not OK to have your own unique ideas, and worst of all, many of them then think they are not good at art because their lady bug does not look the same as the teachers lady bug.
When you look at what they could learn through the process of art, the possibilities are endless. In the last week alone, I had children learn about colour mixing with the paints, some of my younger students learned how a sticker works, and my older students started a week long project with glue and other polymers! The children in my class this week also learned that its OK to explore and make mistakes, its OK to find new ideas and to problem solve how they will fix any thing that comes their way.
Now, people really need to think about what kind of children we want to be adults in the world in a few short years. The world is different then it was 20 years ago, in the past you finished school, you went to college, you got a job. There was no room for creativity, or self expression. Many of those jobs are gone now, for many different reasons, and the Jobs available today are increasingly looking for people who are free thinkers, creative and non-conformers. Many of the jobs today are computer and technology based, my fiancée is a programmer, and he tells me all of the time about the creativity and problem solving he needs to make these applications. Now if we create a generation of people who need to be told what to do, how to do it, and not to change anything, how will they find well paying meaningful jobs, in a world that relies on the creative. The last paragraph of the article really summed it up quite nicely "So, the next time you are confronted with a horde of identical ladybugs, ask yourself... what was gained by this activity....and what was lost"
This article really spoke to me, as I had just a mere week before switched the art shelf in my room over to a more open ended art shelf. let me paint a picture for you of how it used to look, a three layered shelf, with rows and rows of closed Tupperware containers each labelled according to what fun material was inside, and several little bins of crayons and some safety scissors. This shelf was not allowed to be touched by the children and the teacher would bring out one preplanned craft a day.
When my centre decided to make the switch to emergent curriculum, I knew that was the first thing that had to go! I put all of those Tupperware containers in our cot closet, and I filled containers and baskets with many of the materials as well as some new ones. I gave the children markers and crayons and glue all of which they could take off the shelf and use. at first there was a learning curve, and of course many of the children just delved right into this new found freedom of expression! layers of pom poms and stacks of foam stickers piled on top of each other, some of us were worried that the children were being "wasteful" and worried that they were not making anything. Then I reminded myself it is the process that counts, not what it looks like. and to remind myself to stop asking them, "oh what did you make?" because it doesn't have to *be* anything.
What really struck me was the reasoning in the article behind choosing process versus product. Christine was talking about how children who are forced into making all identical ladybugs, are not learning how to do art, or even about ladybugs, what they are learning is that its not OK to be different, its not OK to have your own unique ideas, and worst of all, many of them then think they are not good at art because their lady bug does not look the same as the teachers lady bug.
When you look at what they could learn through the process of art, the possibilities are endless. In the last week alone, I had children learn about colour mixing with the paints, some of my younger students learned how a sticker works, and my older students started a week long project with glue and other polymers! The children in my class this week also learned that its OK to explore and make mistakes, its OK to find new ideas and to problem solve how they will fix any thing that comes their way.
Now, people really need to think about what kind of children we want to be adults in the world in a few short years. The world is different then it was 20 years ago, in the past you finished school, you went to college, you got a job. There was no room for creativity, or self expression. Many of those jobs are gone now, for many different reasons, and the Jobs available today are increasingly looking for people who are free thinkers, creative and non-conformers. Many of the jobs today are computer and technology based, my fiancée is a programmer, and he tells me all of the time about the creativity and problem solving he needs to make these applications. Now if we create a generation of people who need to be told what to do, how to do it, and not to change anything, how will they find well paying meaningful jobs, in a world that relies on the creative. The last paragraph of the article really summed it up quite nicely "So, the next time you are confronted with a horde of identical ladybugs, ask yourself... what was gained by this activity....and what was lost"
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