Daily routine for Daksh

On Tuesday the 21st of December, one of my children was absent from nursery. I phoned his mother as she had asked me to do to talk to her about the trouble they were having at home regarding his sleeping patterns (or lack there of). His sleeping late and waking up late was causing Mum to have to take unnecessary time off work. I thought the best way to deal with this issue was together as a team. I offered to write up the updated routine of what Daksh does during the day at nursery, and suggested that they stick to the routine at home as well. I've asked for feed back so we can assess if it works, or if it doesn't what we need to change.
Fingers crossed...

Amusing songs outside

I don't see any reason why there needs to be a formal 'mat time'. I'm more of the opinion that 'gathering times' can happen informally any time or anywhere. This was a perfect example of that. What had started as a time to explore outside ended up being a small group singing session. By showing respect and creating a welcoming environment, the children choose to come and participate and the programme just grows from there.

This is an example of dimension 14 - engages students in learning; and dimension 23 - demonstrates flexibility and adaptability.

Personality types

Nakita came in to Natural Steps for a professional development workshop (22nd November). In a group of three I went in to see her, not sure what it was going to be about. After being handed a sheet of paper, we were asked to circle what words we felt described ourselves the best. I went through and circled my words, and then after gridding and counting, discovered that I was predominately a 'peaceful personality' type of person. When handed the chapter printout from the book 'Pressing the Right Buttons' by Allison Mooney , I read through and it made me literally laugh out loud. A lot of the statements were describing me directly, and I had done a few of the examples during the previous weekend - such as writing a list and doing what I thought were the stink or hard jobs first. One description in the chapter was that peaceful personalities will complete all tasks. "You will be amazed sometimes how much they can get done in an hour". This brought back memories of school homework and my Mother 'nagging' me about not having finished homework. I know this has always been and will always be an issue in some households, but I always completed every job. At least now I feel validated in that it is just my personality - but with that in mind, it is something I want to work on as I know it can be frustrating for others. At least now I have a better understanding of my capabilities and strengths (and weaknesses), but also the opportunity to know the other staffs personality types. Hopefully I can use this knowledge to better communicate with them and work together as a team (and not leave to the last minute???) I'm also going to use this new way of looking at others to plan appropriately for the children's personality types. Although I am in Nursery one and the children are young, they are beginning to show individual personalities. After discussing this with Sharron, we were able to pick out a couple of children's personality types - and thankfully we both thought the same types for the same children. This workshop helps me to meet dimension 2o -contributes to the life of the learning centre Pressing the Right Buttons Allison Mooney Publisher: Random House September 2007

Reggio Study Tour presentation

During our November staff meeting, two staff members gave a presentation regarding a Reggio Aotearoa New Zealand study tour to Melbourne that they had recently returned from. I found the photos they showed and centres we were told about to be not only interesting, but also thought provoking. It got me thinking about not only my own practise, but also how my style of practise came to be - why I do what I do. I loved how the centres were based on exploration - children learning through exploring, doing, discovering, building relationships with others and things. This is an aspect I have always felt was important. I believe that children learn best when they are doing, and doing things that are meaningful to them. I went to an early years science course while in London, and something I remember from there was the analogy of a lemon. We could give children a real lemon to explore, or a plastic container that looked like a lemon, or else a photo of a lemon. But the only way they could truly understand was to be provided with a real lemon. The same applies to every aspect of early years learning. The best way to provide a quality learning environment is for the children and the adults to learn how to listen with all the senses. As a team in the nursery, the presentation has impacted on our planning. Not just what we will do, but also how we will display this. I have realised that during the past six months or so, most of my displays have been typed up on a computer. I do know that this makes for a tidy presentation, but I noticed one of the kindergartens shown used only hand written words. I won't go that far, but I was reminded of how it is important for a balance of text to be displayed, and for children to see writing happening. The headings for our planning wall are now hand written, and as they were being written the children showed a lot of interest. Ava sat and really focused on the letters and words being formed. I will try and ensure a lot more of this happens

Foot gloop

One thing I have noticed recently is that a lot of 'activities' provided have been paint based- one or two children seated at the table, paint provided, and told what they need to do with the resources provided. I would like to introduce more child interest based activities, which allows for more freedom to explore and enjoy different textures, feelings, being with others, sharing, cooperation, etc.

One activity I had provided recently was gloop, but instead of having it at a table, I provided it in bowls for the children to explore with their feet.

I felt that this activity really fitted in with the Exploration strand of Te Whariki -gaining confidence and control of their bodies, and learning strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning.

I would like to continue providing these sorts of activities, open-ended exploration with different parts of their bodies - good messy fun.

Use of Te Reo

During our staff meeting (Septemeber 7th 2010), all staff were asked if they could bring in a bicultural resource to share. I brought in a book I had aquired a few years ago titled 'Tangaroa's gift', a New Zealand story of how the paua got it's colours. This book was written in both Maori and English, showing Maori as a text and reinforcing it's value. Having our discussions about the use of Maori in everyday situations made me think though. I do use simple words and phrases, but it is has always been a part of me and where I am from. I do need to keep in mind that not everyone has the same advantage of being exposed to the culture and language in the same way that I was, and I need to be more overt with the knowledge I have. One goal I have set myself is to write up some simple words and phrases in both English and Maori to share with staff in my room, and begin to make some displays for the room and changing room to encourage more natural use of Te Reo.

Isla is about to transition to nursery 2, and her Mum and Dad brought in a thank-you card and gift for Sharron and myself. When I joined the nursery one team, I became Isla's primary career, taking over from Sharron. During the last few months I built a relationship with not just Isla but with her parents as well. It is a lovely feeling knowing that we are appreciated.

Planning a sand activity

After observing Jack exploring in the sandpit, sand was provided inside on the table for him to explore in another context with his peers. The photo story of the sand session was then posted on the Natural Steps blog to share with others.

I believe, based on Jack's abilities and interests that I have seen, that this was an appropriate learning activity for him. It enabled him to continue exploring the control his body had over the sand, but in another context, and allowed him to experience this alongside his peers. This links to the teacher dimension Professional Knowledge 6: appropriate learning activities, programmes and assessment. It also links to the teacher dimension Teaching 13: uses a range of teaching approaches. I provided an outdoor activity indoors set on the table rather than in any containers. It was really enjoyed by all involved.

Aug Teacher Registration Meeting

The Learning Environment part two

I spoke with Wendy about rearranging the room and we both discussed our ideas and needs. The furniture has been rearrange, and I placed shelving at a right-angle to the wall, and placed the sofa as a third wall to create another area. This has already proved itself to be popular with the children. We've used it for animal play, story-time with velcro characters on the wall, etc. The rocking chair swapped places with the armchair, creating a softer corner which will be a suitable area for the younger children. A lot of the toys that were in the room have been sorted and put away. We had found that there were so many toys out at one time that they would end up everywhere. I am of the opinion that if children have too much choice then they can become over stimulated and not focus on anything. This way, we have toys displayed on the shelves which children can choose from, and also provide more 'focus' pieces of equipment. For example, yesterday and today we brought out metal bowls, plates, ladels and spoons - items that made amazing sounds when banged together. It was brought to my attention that by placing the sofa where it was, this was creating a blind-spot in the room. I replaced the sofa with two low carpeted room dividers, but after trialing these, decided against them. I noticed that as children leaned against them for support, they were prone to sliding forwards, and they didn't seem as asthetically pleasing as the sofa. So the sofa returned and the staff will need to position themselves appropriately. I will continue to monitor and check in with Wendy (and Sharron next week when she returns).

The Learning Environment

This week a new child started in Nursery one. He is five months and is immobile. At the same time, there are two boys who are currently real explorers. If there is an open door, they are there. If there is a toy they want, they will make their way to it - regardless of whether something or someone is in their way or not. Pippa and I have decided to take another look at the set up of the room, and possibly rearrange the furniture/equipment in order to create a safe, calm area for young Charlie, whilst still providing exploration opportunities for Jack and Dylan. Through looking at this situation pro-actively, I believe I will be creating an environment of respect and understanding, I will manage the behaviour positively, and I will establish a safe physical and emotional environment.

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

After watching this clip and listening to Ken Robinson, two quotes stood out for me 1- "Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they're not, because the thing they were good at at school wasn't valued" 2- "Our task is to educate their whole being." These reinforce the importance of early childhood education, knowing that we do approach education from a holistic point of view - teaching the 'whole being' rather than separating out the different learning areas. It also reminds me to value the children's different strengths and interests. His example of the choreographer shows how easily a gift can be misinterpreted.

Recipes for play

I posted this item on the Natural Steps blog as examples of what parents could create at home for their children. This is evidence of dimention 19: communicates with families, whanau and caregivers

practice video in nursery one

I went for a quick visit to nursery one to get a sample video to practice with.

My new blog

Hi everyone. I have now got my blog up and running.

Beck Goh.

Informal meeting