Showing posts with label Beliefs about teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beliefs about teaching. Show all posts

Thursday 2 April 2015

RIE Foundations Course - My reflection

I can’t help but marvel at the splendid miracle that is the child, to observe in awe children's development unfolding. Through out the RIE foundations course, my mind kept going back to Psalm 139:13-141 which says;

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

I don’t know why we ever thought we knew better, that babies needed to be taught how to work their own bodies. As I watched the footage from “see how they move”, I was amazed at how the children moved fluidly and with so much grace. It clicked for me that this is how humans are supposed to move, it was planned all along, programmed into the brains of infants. I have been so amazed at each individual child that I care for and keep finding myself constantly pointing out what children are doing to the other teachers so they don’t miss out on the incredible things that are being accomplished. I want to share with you what I observed on my first day back at work after the course concluded: I watched in anticipation as Rehua (11 months) practiced climbing up the slide, placing a hand on each side of the slide and carefully creeping up the slope. He stood on the front part of each foot with his toes stretched out, concentrating hard as he moved his feet one by one with his arms stretched out and his hands firmly gripping the sides to keep him balanced. Each attempt he made at climbing to the top he would find himself losing his balance at a certain point and sliding back down. Each time this point seemed to become ever so slightly higher on the slide. I could see his goal was to reach the top, his eyes were focused on the top of the slide and there was a determination in the way he moved his body so intentionally. Disruption was not an option as Rehua’s work was very important and the routines needed to be arranged around his work for the day. Eventually after going back to the slide constantly over the course of a day he mastered the climb to the top. He stood tall on the top of the box and looked over to me to see if I saw and we shared a smile. In that moment I felt privileged to have observed his achievement. I can’t help but wonder how many moments I have missed like this because I was so wrapped up in tasks that I didn’t take the time to observe. Amazing things are always happening around me all the time and I really need to take more time to appreciate them. This is a big thing I took from the course, learning to enjoy the moments.

I always felt I was respectful as a teacher but I truly saw what respectful practice looks like through the footage of baby Victor and his nurse at the Pikler institute. Watching their interactions really touched me and made me think of my own work with children and how I can show them this level of love and respect. The biggest thing for me is not the physical learning environment, or changes to the running of the day (although there are changes to be made) but my relationship with each child. Through this course I have developed an acute awareness of myself and how I interact with children, I am aware of my hands when I am caring for children, aware that touch is a way of speaking. I am aware of my voice, my language has changed slightly and I put thought into the words I choose. I am aware of my pace; trying to be in tune with the individual child and less concerned with the tasks, the relationship is the priority. As I reflect on my first week back at work, the word I would use to describe each day is ‘seamless’, time seemed so irrelevant when I was engrossed in care moments with the children.

Authenticity was a key word through out the course, we talked about the authentic child and how we as teachers can support children in becoming their authentic selves. Polly challenged us to search for our own authentic selves and explained how the ‘authentic teacher’ is paramount in supporting the authenticity of the children. The course left me feeling so philosophical and I have been pondering a lot about who I am and who the children see. I am inspired by so many different things in my life and more specifically as a teacher, many philosophies and approaches inform my work with children. I realised that I will always be reflecting on and adjusting my personal philosophy, we learned through the course that even Magda Gerber did this! I am challenged to look at how the course of my life has shaped me as a person and who it is that I bring to the children. This is an ongoing reflection for me.


In reflecting on the course, I could have written pages about all the things I want to do to improve my program such as implementing primary caregiving, providing children with more equipment to develop their gross motor skills or my plan to rethink the design of our change room; all of which I plan to do and all of which are important. But what I gained from this course runs so much deeper and has me reflecting on who I am as a teacher. it is hard to put it all in to words but I hope this reflection has left you with the essence of what I gained through my time on the RIE foundations course which is an appreciation and respect of children which has me truly wanting to be the best I can be for them. I will always strive for this.

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Paving the way for purposeful play!

 Reggio Emilia inspired school in Hong Kong
EtonHouse International School - A Reggio Emilia inspired space for infants and toddlers
A while ago a group of teachers from outside my centre came through our classrooms for a tour. We had some amazing comments from each individual and everyone walked away really inspired. I ended up having a big conversation with a teacher who is montessori trained and she was explaining that the Pipi environment felt slightly montessori inspired to her, in that all the materials were in the child's reach and that the environment strongly promoted independence. I had never thought of our environment as Montessori inspired before but I guess a lot of our aspirations for children align with that of Montessori especially our desire to create opportunities for children to practice and gain independence. One thing this teacher did explain to me was that Montessori environments offer a lot less of a material (for example a small basket of duplo instead of a big plastic tub) to the child and that everything is visible to the child and not hidden inside baskets. This really got me thinking and I observed our children at play in the months following. They did not seem to play with the things in the baskets unless the basket was placed on the floor so that they could see the contents. We noticed that the toddlers play with the most familiar materials (blocks and duplo) had become rather destructive and that the children were moving materials around the room and throwing them. They were not as purposeful in their play as they had been when the resources were new. My team and I wondered whether there was too much available and decided to put some toys away and rotate the options so that they may become more special. This seemed to help with some resources and children's play was certainly more purposeful! One day I decided to put out only a small basket of duplo and I was amazed that the children were engaged for a lot longer in their play with this material. My goal now is to de-clutter our classroom! 

The clean, uncluttered nature of Montessori environments invite children to reminds adults that it is not the quantity of works to be offered, but the quality. An orderly environment helps children to play productively and with purpose. RIE environments also promote this idea of organisation and predictably for infants and toddlers. They put only a few play objects in each shelf so the infant or toddler can see exactly what they need.

I feel a cluttered environment with too many resources is overwhelming for a child. I feel it promotes more destructive behavior in toddlers. I want to provide a calm environment that promotes productive and purposeful exploration!


Here is some inspiration I have had for this goal...



A very beautiful interpretation of RIE - What an empowering space for an infant to work!

Asilo Nido "Katia Franci" - A montessori environment for infants


The amazing Kate from an every day story has created the most beautiful (and organised) environment for her two children! This space is both inspired by Reggio Emilia and Montessori.


I'll keep you posted on our mission to pave the way for purposeful play!



Saturday 13 September 2014

Its spring, get outside!

It's finally spring! I have been so excited to finally have a few sunny days where I can get outside with the children and do a bit of work on our outdoor environment. For months and months we have been staring out a window at a patch of dirt which once was a lovely patch of green grass. It was driving me mad! We have a bad drainage issue and every time we try and grow grass it quickly turns into a mud patch which of course has its benefits when your a toddler! But as much as we love our puddles we finally decided to try create a sensory garden for our children so naturally the second we made this decision plants were brought and I was excitedly mapping out the garden while toddlers sneakily moved each plant when my back was turned. Honestly, I am not a gardener, I have no idea what i'm doing so i'm really hoping all these plants don't die.

I really believe that if children are invited to take part and have a little ownership over their environment that they are far more likely to respect and care for it. With this thinking in mind, we created this garden alongside the children and took the time to talk about the process and the living things we were working with such as worms and plants...





We have found so many worms! Its been really awesome to see the children becoming aware that there is life underneath the ground. They have been so respectful and caring towards every living creature we have found on our little journey. They know that they need to live in the mud with all our new plants.


It was really important for me that all the children had an opportunity to be involved in the garden. Even our youngest baby, R (6 months) was able to be involved, sitting amongst it all, kicking and feeling the new plants. I can't wait to see him crawling through the garden this summer!





So here it is, the very nearly, mostly finished garden...

It was really important to me to create a garden that challenged all the children in my classroom including 'crawlers', the 'just walkers' and the 'runners'. The mound in the middle and the stepping stones have created that challenge! Now our children can experience different terrain and slope while engrossed in nature!



As you can see, the drainage issue hasn't been completely resolved but the puddles provide nice little habitats for our dinosaurs!


This space used to be completely unutilized, it was just a retaining wall. Jess who has recently started a new adventure came up with the idea to allow the children to access this area by putting a ladder up to it and installing a fence. The children now have a space where they can feel they are away from teachers which is so important. It has been amazing!


I am proud that we have utilized our small outdoor space in way that immerses children in nature, providing them with opportunities to connect with and experience the natural world.

"We need to allow children to develop their biophilia, 
their love for the Earth, before we ask them to 
academically learn about nature and become guardians 
of it" - Department of Conservation (2011)


Friday 11 July 2014

Pipi Whanau (Infant and Toddler classroom)


The Pipi Whanau is the infant and toddler classroom at 4 Kids . We are both inspired by Reggio Emilia and RIE in this room which I hope you will see through the photographs. I have only recently moved in to this room and alongside my team we have spent the last few months organising and rearranging our classroom. In a few weeks it seemed our class had evolved from being dominantly a toddler room to an infant and toddler room as a few of the older children moved through to the preschool room and two very young infants started. We really needed to rethink the space to accommodate pretty much all ages and stages from 3 months - 2.5 years. At the moment we have very young infants, crawlers and toddlers. It can be a challenge to create an environment that can provoke and inspire all these different children but we have given it a good go and it will continue to evolve!



We developed this area for our infants, the aim was to create a sensory space. The hanging materials are low enough that the infants can reach and grasp them. They all make different sounds and reflect the light in various ways. The tactile canvases are interesting for children as they learn to crawl and sit. The mirrors are low so infants can see themselves play during tummy time. Our toddlers have been just as interested in this area and use it in very different ways to the infants. They love to walk through the hanging materials and touch the canvases. 


Being RIE inspired, we believe children should have freedom to move so we avoid placing children into things they are unable to get out of themselves. The Pipi Whanau does not have any cots, highchairs or swings. We use these baskets as an alternative to cots. Each child has a frame above their basket with a photo of them and their name. Our children have ownership over their space which we believe creates a sense of security and familiarity for the children during rest and sleep times.




We believe it is important to provide children with places to retreat from the hustle and bustle of the centre especially since some children are with us for very long hours. The teepee has become a bit of a retreat for the toddlers and often we will find them in here just pondering quietly to themselves. We change it around but at the moment we have ribbons hanging and loosely placed on the floor and fairy lights pinned to the roof. 


Noah's Ark provocation. This is a familiar story for our children and perhaps one that may inspire their play in the construction area...



Tinfoil is a great medium to use with infants and toddlers. It is easy to manipulate and tear and it has some qualities that are very interesting to children such as the way it reflects and captures light. Our infants have been fascinated by the sound this material makes when they scrunch it, pat it and kick it with their feet.



This provocation is very open ended. The children enjoyed sorting the objects in to different containers and investigating the tactile nature of the materials. One of the older toddlers used these materials to make his own ephemeral art. 



As we all know, young children are very sensory learners. We want our classroom to reflect the sensory nature of children. These are sensory bags. We refresh them every so often with new and different natural materials. A variety of herbs, lemon, garlic and cinnamon are in these ones. The children are able to engage their senses especially their sense of smell. 


A play dough provocation with lemon and orange rind as well as a variety of asian herbs. 



The toddlers have been very interested in the dolls since two infants started in our room. They have been closely observing the teachers caring for the infants and we have noticed them mirroring what they have seen. One toddler was patting the dolls back and I realised she was trying to burp her doll. This provocation was set up in response to this interest with photos of infants being cared for in different ways such as sleeping, being fed a bottle, being winded, played with and cuddled. 

Thanks for reading :)


Wednesday 17 April 2013

Why I love collaborative art...


Why I love callaborative art...

I like the idea of creating something over time, of seeing an idea evolve into something different, something better. The fact that lots of children have been a part of it, it tells a story. The children can see their contribution and celebrate that they have made something special for the classroom with their peers. 

I think its a good lesson for children to learn that art can take time, it can have many layers and new ideas can come along the way. I guess its that whole ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ thing. I want to clarify that i’m not saying quick art isn’t meaningful and that children should make all art together! I definitely don’t believe this. Art should be done in many different ways, this is one way!

I want to share about some of the callaborative pieces in my classroom and the significance they have. They all tell a story about the children who were a part of it.




Canterbury Earthquake Anniversary

"This is my commandment, that you will love one another as I have loved you" John 15:12

One year after the earthquake in Christchurch a project begun at the centre. The children had seen images of the earthquake on the news and were trying to make sense of it through their play. We began to discuss with the children what had happened and invited them to think of how the people felt. It quickly turned in to a project. This piece of art was made as a fundraiser for another centre in Christchurch who had lost their building. Families and children were invited to donate a coin in order to tie a ribbon onto the rope. The response was amazing with young children even using their pocket money to tie a ribbon on. We were blown away with the empathy our children showed! Now we can always remember the project and the children involved.


Chandelier of clay and bead work...

I have slowly been adding children's work to this lovely chandelier over the past two years and counting. Children will often make things especially to hang on the chandelier. I guess theres something special about being part of a collective piece of art. I love this piece of art because it tells stories about the many different children who have passed through the centre, some of which have moved away or gone off to school. 


Pirate Flag

 "We need a flag for our pirate ship!" Lucy proclaimed. The 'pirate flag' took over two weeks to complete and there are many layers to it. Each of the pirates painted some sort of representation of themselves on here. You can see a face, butterflies and many love hearts...it was a group of girl pirates you see.


The garden...

This big piece of plastic (I don't really know what it's called) was presented to a group of five 4 year olds who had been particularly interested in painting. "I have a very special job for you all" I had told them and showed them the plastic, "This is to make a big piece of art to make our room look beautiful". They took their job very seriously and discussed what they would do. They decided in the end that they would paint a garden and talked about all the things that were in their gardens at home. There were suns, flowers, bees, butterflies, trees and clouds. They set to work over a couple of days and completed this lovely painting which divides our room quite nicely.



For arts sake...

These two pieces both went for about a week each and had no objective in mind. Everyone was invited to be involved if they wished! 

The first piece is a collage and its about 1x0.8 Metres.

The second piece is our most recent addition. We used crayons on the first day and the second day we added different dyes. The third day it was black paint and the last day silver paint and more dye! I only put out small brushes the entire time so it turned out really detailed. I think its about 1x0.5 Metres.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour!


Tuesday 9 April 2013

Lets talk about provocations...


Lets talk about provocations... What is a provocation? The options really are endless! Provocations are happening wether you come from a Reggio Emilia inspired centre or not. They are the questions we ask, the materials we put out, the music we put on...even we as teachers act as a provocation sometimes...

Heres how Journey in Early Childhood defines it...

Deliberate and thoughtful decisions made by the teacher to extend the ideas of children. Teachers provide materials, media and general direction as needed but the children take the ideas where they want. 
Journey into Early Childhood 

I want to emphasise something here... 

The children take the ideas where they want...

See, I was asked recently by a volunteer..."Do your provocations always work?". I was taken back by this...what did she mean by 'work'? Then she said, "I haven’t seen the children drawing crosses here"...



What she didn’t hear was the conversation happening at the drawing table...

Jayden: Hey Kalen, thats an X aye
Kalen: Yeah, I don’t have an X, I have a K
Jayden: Oh I have a J and an A and a Y and a D and a E and a N

The two boys then began searching for letters around the room, trying to find them on the walls, in the artwork and documentation.

The boys did not see a cross...they saw an X. They did not feel compelled to draw the cross...instead it became a point of discussion. 

I’ve talked about the childs agenda before but I think it is important to mention it in this case as well. We need to consider this when setting up our environment or when we ask a question to children. Do not pre-empty an experience and decide what will happen. If you come with an agenda you may tend to restrict children. Remember children express themselves through a hundred languages...take a minute to observe how they speak. 

Check out a few of our provocations...





The children take the ideas where they want...



Monday 25 March 2013

Learning from Children

I noticed Maria (3.5 years old) sitting on the edge of the sandpit crying. I went to investigate and asked Maria “Why are you crying?”. Maria was rather caught up in her emotion and struggled to tell me what had happened. Instead she pointed to Emily (5 years old) and Amy (4 years old) who were watching, cautiously from a distance. I asked Emily, “Do you know why Maria is crying?” and with slight guilt in her eyes, she claimed she did not know. Amy then told me “Maria is crying because Emily wants to play with me”. Maria confirmed this was the case by nodding her head when I looked over at her. I suggested to Maria that she could talk to Emily and Amy about this and tell them how she feels. Maria was reluctant to do this but I decided to step back and allow her to come to her own solution. Meanwhile, Peyton (3.5 years old) who had been listening on, became concerned for Maria who was still crying. She approached Maria, gave her a little cuddle and took her by the hand. “Come on Maria, lets go talk to Emily and Amy” Peyton suggested and Maria followed on. I watched for a while as Peyton facilitated a conversation amongst the children, encouraging them all to listen to one another and come to a solution. I heard her point out the tears in Maria's eyes to the other two girls and she asked them "How do you think Maria feels?". Peyton and Emily then invited Maria back in to their play. Peyton, Maria, Emily and Amy then played happily together in the sandpit for the afternoon. 

Looking at life, it is pretty clear that as humans we have to work together and whilst we don't always agree on things, none of us are good at everything and we do need each other! So when conflict arises amongst children, as hard as it is sometimes, I try to bite my tongue and encourage them to sort it out amongst themselves (obviously within reason!). After all they are definitely going to require these social skills in life! Janet Lansbury points out that our interruptions ‘put the brakes on valuable social exchanges’ and leave children with the message that they are incapable of interacting with their peers. I try to see conflict as an opportunity for children to learn much needed skills, after all society could do with more citizens who can effectively work together!

I have been challenged lately about the purpose of Early Childhood Education. Is our job solely to prepare these young children for academic learning? I like to think its so much more. Its so inspiring to think that Reggio Emilia's approach was born out of the belief that childhood (particularly the early years) is a time where children's' identity is developed and that this was the time where they could support children in becoming good, valuable citizens of the world.The children we teach are citizens and I believe the purpose of early childhood education is not merely to ready children for school and academic learning but to instill in them morals and skills that will enable and empower them to be valuable contributors in to the world both in the present and into their future. 

The idea that children are contributors to their world is powerful, that they too have something to bring and to teach. If children are given the opportunity to have a voice, they really do have a lot to bring, like Peyton who was able to facilitate a meeting with three other children where views were shared, voices heard and problems solved. I think we can all learn a lot from Peyton who is clearly capable of making a valuable contribution to our world. 



Saturday 23 March 2013

The child's agenda

The children have been exploring the concept of sinking and floating lately using the water trough. K came up with the theory that all wooden objects floated which inspired my set up the next day. I set up the trough with as many wooden materials I could find and added plastic animals as a provocation.

J was the first to discover the provocation in the water trough and I observed him as he began to engage in dramatic play. This was exactly what I expected would happen! J was expressive as he chased the animals around the trough with the plastic alligator, snapping at them and yelling "I'm coming to eat you!". J's older sister T noticed my interest in what he was doing and went to investigate. After observing him for a little while she asked him "can I play with you J?". J was not phased by this and invited her into his play by handing her a dinosaur. T began to chase all the farm animals around the trough with her dinosaur, just like J was doing with the alligator, but it wasn't long before she began to take control. "We need to take everything out of the water now J..." she said and I gulped. I had spent quite a while setting up this provocation which only J and T had explored. However, I stood back and observed. What is T's agenda? I wondered. 


T began to splash around with her hands and then picked up an animal. "Its a swimming pool!" she proclaimed as she threw a dinosaur in to the water. J was unsure about this and stood frozen as if he wasn't sure what T wanted him to do. T sensed this and decided to bring the sticks back in to the trough. J went back to balancing the animals on the sticks and chasing them with his alligator but T now had a different agenda and I observed her closely as she began to balance the sticks on top of each other... "How can I make a bridge?" she asked J. J did not say anything, preferring to continue his play with the animals and T began to build her bridge. T struggled to make the bridge connect from one side of the trough to the other but quickly came up with ideas solutions which can be seen in the photographs...

T must have been working on her bridge for a good half hour before she excitedly told me "It has worked!". I was amazed at her perseverance and the fact that not once did she get frustrated even though the bridge repeatedly came crashing down. Instead she sought solutions and made repairs. 


As teachers, sometimes we need to throw our agenda out the window, because more often than not, the child's agenda is so much better! The environment really has acted as the third teacher here and my role was simply to observe and document this awesome learning experience for J and T.