Supporting my staff and children

Unfortunately, four weeks ago a co-worker in my room resigned and took a new position elsewhere. A casual unqualified teacher has come in to cover this position temporarily, but I am hoping she will become long term. She just seems to have a natural disposition to care and respect our young children, but after a couple of days with us I could sense her feeling stressed. It was a rough introduction for her as we have had four young children start nursery in a very short space of time. R. mentioned that she wanted to have a quick catch up, so we found a quiet space in the day when we could pop out of the room. She aired her concerns with me, and I must admit that I had also been feeling really stressed and that I couldn't give my children the quality time I know they all deserve. But it would be so easy for me to just give in and have a good ol' moan and whine about it ( I know I felt like it). Instead, I took the pro-active approach of 'this is the situation we are in, these are the children and they are here now. What can we as the adults do to control the situation a bit more'. I  acknowledged R's concerns, and valued that she could speak with me so openly. Together we talked through some strategies, which  included changing our planning. Our focus has been 'The impact I have on the world around me'. By acknowledging and responding to our new babies needs, we are showing them that they are valued and that they have an impact on us - while in nursery, we are their world. I also introduced R. to bubbles of care. Whilst she is in the middle of a care routine - feeding, nappies, settling, the other staff are available to interact with the other children. I suggested we try and reinforce a 'baby area', a section of the room where the younger babies can be with an adult, interacting with each other and appropriate equipment - a safe place.
After consultation with the centre manager, I also spoke to the head teacher of nursery two about releasing the 7th member of staff (float position), allowing her to come into nursery one during our busier moments and to help support during lunch time.
Hopefully by putting these techniques into action we are able to create a calmer, more relaxing environment for us all.
This is an example of dimension 23 - demonstrating flexibility and adaptability, and dimension 24 - focusing on teaching and learning. It is all about the children, and by responding to their needs they are learning that they will be heard and respected. It was also an opportunity for me to lead and support other teachers - dimension 25.

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.