Placement - Creating Environments Part 1

Me again!

As you have already seen some of my planned experiences, I thought I would show you the environment changes. The requirements were to change or create a new environment during my second week, one indoors and one outdoors. This post focuses on my indoor environment.

The children in the room spend a lot of time playing in the home corner and I noticed that C was starting to engage in more and more imaginary play so I thought about replicating a familiar environment that the children would love. After some online idea searching, I laid eyes on this, featured on the Estefi Machado blog, and could not get it out of my head. After more looking, I decided that this idea was the one and started to work on building my own...

The hardest part was finding a box large enough. I have a good friend who works at the Good Guys who was kind enough to direct me to their packaging warehouse, where I got my  hands on an actual washoing machine box. The box is designed to just cover the washer so there was no bottom. I made the box shorter and used the left over cardboard to form a floor. I then taped everything up so it resembled a cube.

The next step was cutting out the hole, and  moving very slowly, I managed to use a Stanley knife to cut the round shape. Leaving one quarter of the circle uncut, I was able to create a fold, which means that the door can be open and shut and objects placed inside. Then a circle with a smaller circumference was cut to create the window. I recently bought some new bed sheets and used the plastic pouches they came in to create the glass of the window. You can use plastic sheeting or a clear table cloth to create the same effect.

The last step was adding the details and using the picture from Estefi Machado and a new Sharpie, I copied the marking onto the cardboard. I was so impressed with the final product and looked forward to adding it to the centre environment.

A cardboard box in the shape of a washing didn't seem enough for the children so I purchased some coloured dolly pegs from the $2 shop, found and recycled an iron board stand and borrowed some dolly clothes, a peg bucket and a small basket from the centre. And then I created a laundry room!

The children were so excited to play with the box, hiding in it, emptying the pegs and clothes and putting them back, opening and shutting the door; they could not get enough of it! The staff were also impressed with the change and were taken aback by the washing machine. As of when I left, the box was still intact but the staff had taken the top flaps off so they could see inside but other than that, the laundry room was in still in action.

If I was to replicate this, there are some changes to consider:

• creating a bigger door
• using a larger clothesline with better 'lines'
• adding scoops, wash powder boxes, Napisan cylinders etc.
• changing the style to a top loader to prevent crawling in

Overall, I am so happy with how everything turned out and cannot wait to create more environment which initiate and sustain play based learning!

Miss Tracy xx

Placement - Planned Experiences Part 1

Hello everyone!

As I am sure you all know by know, I have finished my first placement in the 0-2 setting at a local childcare centre. Part of my responsibilities during this included developing an introductory poster, keeping a reflective journal, dated entries on how I have meet the learning outcomes expected, observations on my focus child, planning experiences based in these observations, collecting resources and completing daily tasks.

For the first ten weeks I only came in on a Wednesday and my tasks were limited to observations, of staff and children, and making myself a presence in the centre. It wasn't until week eight that I had the opportunity to implement some planned experiences for C, my focus child.

Week Eight

This week, I collected natural items from my local park, such as pine cone buds and prickly things, and placed them in a large trough filled with dry sand. I placed some sifters in there and waited for C to show some interest. While the other children loved it, C didn't spend a lot of time at the experience. Unfortuntely, I did not capture a picture of this activity.

Week Nine

Using the same natural resources from the previous week, I designed an individual experience for C; a variation of marble painting. C could not get enough of it and spent almost half an hour rolling her tray around, asking for more and more paper. C also was excited about taking the buds out of the paint and plopping them in the paper, with her mouth making a little 'o' when the colours mixed and changed.

Week Ten 

This week, I moved away from the gross motor skill development and focused on the fine. I set up a threading activity for C, using wooden blocks from another activity. As there was no string attached to the activity, I had to use a wool. This ended up being a bad idea, since the wool began to fray, but C and I worked together to thread the beads on. Again, her and the other children enjoyed themselves and weren't to fazed by the little hiccough. During my time in the toddler room, I was able to locate another threading activity using cotton reels, so if i decide to replicate this one, I will definitely be using this set!

And at this time, I had a three week break until I began my block placement. Stay tuned for the experiences implemented during my block placement, to be featured later on LMST!

Miss Tracy xx

Semester 2 Grades

Hello readers,

It's that time again! My results have been emailed to me and here they are for semester 2...

I could not be happier; all my grades have improved since last semester, I passed my placement and my Grade Point Average (GPA) has moved up to a 6.25!

Seeing that this was my second semester, I had a better understanding of how assessment was undertaken and the tutor's expectations. This was also the semester with my first exam and I ended up getting a HD!

Keep your eyes peeled as I will be doing an additional unit this summer. More to come on that later...

Miss Tracy xx

In Review - PicStitch

Hello again,

As you may have already noticed, I like to use photo collages in my blog posts and they would not be possible without the wonderful app of PicStitch!

I'm a big user of Instagram, stalking and and posting alike, so when I saw a few posts with the hashtag #picstitch, I couldn't help but check it out. This led my down the rabbit hole.

My favourite feature of PicStitch is its simplicity. The interface is dark, with very little advertising space, and uses very little text. There are something like 280 collage templates to choose from but this wasn't enough and I ended up paying $0.99 to unlock all templates.  You can chose your photos from various sources, including your photo album, camera, Facebook, Dropbox and other social media sources.

When it comes to putting the collage together, even simpler! Just choose the the photos your using and then what edits you would like to make. There are various options for editing including enhance, effects, frames, stickers, focus, orientation, crop, sharpness, splash, draw, ext, red eye, whiten, blemish and meme.

When your done editing, you have the option to change your layout, the aspect ratio of the frame or to re-size your photos. Adjust the product in the frame and then move onto the next photo. Repeat then fiddle until you're happy!

The last step is to save your photo. Again, many options to choose from. I usually go for the option to save to my photo album but here is where you pay for the free app, usually you are exposed to 30 seconds of a movie trailer or an app advertisement. Not much to bear but enough for me to feel impatient!

PicStitch is available from the iTunes App Store, free to download but any add ons are paid. I highly recommend this app if you feel the need for a collage!

DOWNLOAD PICSTITCH FROM HERE!

Happy blogging, and let me know how PicStitch works for you!

Miss Tracy xx

Highschool Reunion!

Hey there!

So from what the movies have told me, when people hear 'high-school reunion', they usually scream and run for the hills! Being only a year out from the institution, I was looking forward to my first year reunion so when I received an invitation to help organise the event, I jumped at the opportunity.

While at school, I didn't have much contact with our Alumnae department; there never seems to be the perfect time to meet the people you won't see until after high-school! When I got the email from the wonderful S, a member of our Alumnae department, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into.

Plenty emails back and forth later, we had settled on a date and sent out a mass text message save the date to my year level. Educated in the age of technology, we used a Facebook poll to decide which date could have the most people attend and planned accordingly.

Next step was the invitation; to be simple, aesthetically pleasing and audience appropriate. I originally designed three proofs and had a personal favourite, featuring the official Pantone colours of my school's logo. This mock-up ended up being everyone's favourite and was the invitation sent out. I removed the details, but here's a good look at the final product...

Next was the decorations. With a budget of $50, I managed to score balloons, streamers, napkins, two table runners, balloon clips and pipes and hot glue sticks. The table runners were glued together and I fashioned hot balloon centre-pieces from various recyclable materials. The Alumnae department has a perpetual banner, featured below, and a banner is printed for the associated year level. The food was catered, from a nearby cafe and including hot food, sandwiches, fruit platter, dessert platters, drinks and a gluten free and vegetarian alternative, it came to around $10.50 a head. Have a look at the end result... 

The night went really well! Something around 35 people turned up, not including staff from the school. The girls all loved it and could not stop talking to each other. Some girls who left before year 12 were even in attendance. We all laughed over slideshows and photo videos and highly out of the ordinary for our year level...there was no drama!

This experience has been one in a million. It reminded me how much I enjoy event planning and budgeting and how much the little details matter.I even had a chance to let my creative juices flow. I managed to do all this during the peak of the semester so my time planning skills were out of this world!

Working collaboratively with S has been such a learning opportunity and I cannot thank here enough for allowing me this opportunity; I can't wait for the next big event I am part of. The following is a copy of the reunion report written (by me)  for the Class of 2012's first year reunion to be featured in the school newsletter and /or yearbook...

Looking ahead, I can't wait for the next reunion and hopefully, I will be able to assist again!

Have you helped organise an old school event? 

What's your experience with reunions?

What did you think of our handiwork?

Fill me in!

Miss Tracy xx

SNEAK PEEK: Planned Experiences and Creating Environments

Just a little taste of what's to come, prepare for some great ideas, recipes and tutorials!

                    

Miss Tracy xx

Resource Find - Free Education Books

Hi everyone,

Well recently I have really discovered how expensive uni books are. Each semester, I spend around $450 on textbooks alone, ones that are readily available at my library. BUT... they are on limited loans. Limited loans range from 2 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days and 7 days. For someone studying for the whole semester, I cannot make do with these loans if my assignments focus on the set texts.

So you can understand my surprise when I saw a sign saying free books near a trolley out the front of the library! The first few times there were some good books but for other faculty's. But I persisted and recently found the best education haul yet!

Teacher Education in the English Speaking World; Past, Present and Future

Edited by Tom O'Donoghue and Clive Whitehead

500 Tips for Open and Online Learning

Phil Race

Critical Readings in Teacher Education; Provoking Absences

Anne Phelan and Jennifer Sumsion

Becoming a Teacher; Knowledge, Skills and Issues

Colin Marsh

Advances in Web Based Education; Personalized Learning Environments

George D. Magoulas and Sherry Y. Chen

The toal values of the books is something around $400 and I managed to snag them for absolutely nothing! From a quick look through, the books look great and my hope is that I can use them for assignments, further resourcing and during my actual time in the classroom.

Most are the second latest edition, so my guess for their removal from the library is that they have bought the latest edition. My only complaint so far is that I had to lug all of them home in my handbag!

Stay tuned to see reviews when I get a chance to really scour them, perhaps I'll even use my new bookmarks from Knock Knock stationery!

Does your university give out free books?

What have you been lucky enough to find?

Wish your university gave out free books?

Send me a line at any of the LMST sites!

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Block Placement Series

Shirt ICE Clothing $ 10.00

Skirt Valleygirl $20.00

Shoes Novo $20.00

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Block Placement Series

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Dress Cotton On $10.00

Sandals Ghanda Australia $12.50

Miss Tracy xx

What's in the Box?

BBQ Chicken Drumsticks 

Original Corn Chips

Brown rice with broccolini, spinach, carrot, celery, Lebanese eggplant and zucchini. 

Miss Tracy xx

My Planner

Hello again,

So I'm sure everyone is part of a rewards club, maybe it's Flybuys, Myer One, Everyday Rewards, coffee shop or some company that I am not aware of, but most likely, everyone as a stack of cards in their wallet that entitles them to discounts or builds up their points. 

Well, I shop at Woolworths so I have an Everyday Rewards card which is linked to my Frequent Flyers Account. I realised if we are spending money every week, the points shouldn't go to waste.

Now a couple of weeks ago, I bought the hot roller set I was saving my points for (massive sale at Myer) so I shopped around for what I could spend them on instead.

And what do I see when I open the browser? A lovely spread of Kikki K stationery. Usually, I cannot afford their stationery; while it is so pretty, of excellent quality and extremely functional, I cannot afford their products. I cannot justify spending $80 on a planner.

But points are different story. So I splashed out 8,500 QANTAS Frequent Flyer points on the Leather Personal Planner in Fuchsia.

My favourite features include:

• 6 ring binder
• 18 month calendar, refills availble
• 7 customisable tabs
• 3 sheets of stickers
• elastic pen loop
• card slips
• 'today' note pad
• a5 notepad
• zipped compartment 
• button closure
• genuine leather  

And it looks super cute!

Since it arrived in the mail, I have written down EVERYTHING! And I have found it so much easier to stay on top of things. While I don't take the planner everywhere, I have it perpetually open in the same spot on my desk. This way I don't have to worry about opening and closing it it and it's always in the same place if I want to write something down.

The only thing missing was a hole punch but I managed to buy one online for a couple of bucks. I am now set to live an organised life!

Do you use a planner?

Why, why not?

Fill me in!

If you do want to buy the planner, you can from here!

Miss Tracy xx 

Style File - Block Placement Series

Cardigan Target Essentials $10

Shirt Valleygirl $10

Pants Target Essentials $10

Shoes Target Essentials $7

Watch Fossil Australia $Gift

Nail Polish Essence from Priceline $2.75

Miss Tracy xx

TeachMeet @ ACU Melbourne

Hello again,

Quite awhile ago I wrote about preparing to go to the TeachMeet PD being held at ACU. It was my first professional development and was the inspiration for my student business cards. I have finally got around to compiled around it!

Before the actual session, I was emailed by a lecturer about it being held and directed to a wiki page. This page had been especially set up for TeachMeets being held in Victoria, whether it be rural, regional or metropolitan. 

As you can see in the screen cap above, the page can be edited by any member. This allowed everyone, including myself, to sign their attendance and add information about their online profiles. It was also an opportunity for presenters to volunteer their time  to speak on a topic.

TeachMeet is unique in the way that it relies on teachers volunteering to speak in either 3 or 7 minute blocks on topics which cover a range of ways to approach education. Topics covered in this TeachMeet ranged from ways to use Google Chrome and how to use Doceri, to how to educate on and prevent suicide as well as promote well being and presentations on how to implement a genius hour program.

By having these presentations only go for such short periods of time, presenters could only involve the most critical details and those watching didn't have the chance to lose interest. During the intervals, those present are given a chance to talk to the people around them and network. The varied participants; students, teachers and past students who are now teachers, are so diverse that it wasn't hard to find something to discuss and chat about. The entire session went for roughly 2 hours with a short 20 min tea break.

One of the strangest things I noticed at this session was the opening line of the evening, 'Please feel free to connect to our wifi, we would like get #TMMelb to trend again!' 

WHAT!? These people are encouraging me to tweet during performances? Coming straight from school where if a mobile was visible, it was confiscated, this new found freedom to tweet was strange and almost uncomfortable for me. 

But I keep up. Watching the presentations was one experience but reading the tweets alongside amplified the effect. And after joining in myself the experience changed again! People were chatting about things they had done which were similiar, people asked questions about everything and those who replied offered advice and further questions. 

One thing I was concerned about the entire time was the size of the room. The session was held in a large room, in our new Daniel Mannix building, and while it was big, it wasn't big enough for everyone who attended. It was tight, the tables could have been set up differently and we definitely needed more chairs. But despite this, everyone managed to find some room and participate all the same.

Following the session, we were instructed to head to the same wiki page where we could see the slides from the session as well as additional information such as when the next one would be held and how to get involved.

All in all, my first TeachMeet was one to remember and I would definitely recommend it to both current and future teachers. The wiki page can be found HERE for those of you in Melbourne if you are interested in coming along to the next one!

Hope to see you there,

Miss Tracy xx

P.S. I apologise for the quality of the images in this post, my screen cap quality is not the best :( 

What's in the Box?

Nacho cheese corn chips

Polenta toast with cheese and Italian herbs

Roast Vegetables - capsicum, zucchini, potato, pumpkin, broccolini, mushroom and eggplant

Miss Tracy xx

SNEAK PEEK: My First Planned Experience!

Hi everyone!

More info to come but a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to implement my planned experience for my focus child!

Here's a snapshot, with more to come soon!

My associate teacher on placement was incredibly supportive and C (my focus child) absolutely loved the activity I set up for her.

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 10

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Shirt ICE Clothing $10.00

Scarf Cotton On $5.00

Leggings Cotton On Body Active $10.00

Bag Kate Hill Luggage $20.00

Nail Polish Savvy by Designer Brands $3.00

Miss Tracy xx

What's in the Box?

 

 

 

Turkey dumpling with garlic, ginger, leek and roasted peanuts

Corn chips 

Vermicelli salad with squash, capsicum, snow peas, carrot, bean shoots and mushroom

Miss Tracy xx 

In Review - Notability

Style File - Placement Day 9

Cardigan Target $10.00

Shirt ICE $10.00

Pants Target Essentials $10.00

Scarf Myer Miss Shop $20.00 for 2

Shoes Target Essentials $7.00

Earrings Lovisa $Unknown

Miss Tracy xx 

What's in the Box?

Pretzels

Fruit Salad - nectarine, red grapes and Corella pear

Pretzels

Chicken Waldorf salad and alfalfa on a pumpkin and sunflower seed roll 

Miss Tracy xx

Resource Find - 365 Activities

Hi everyone,

So you remember a while ago how I posted about 501 TV Free Activities for Kids by Diana Hodges?

While op-shopping a couple weeks ago, look what I found...

Only $5 for both! That's a total of 1,231 DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES (I checked). I could not believe my luck!

I am really excited, I have just started implementing planning for my focus child so these books will really come in handy and provide me with some inspiration.

Where do you find inspiration for planning experiences?
Any op-shop finds to share?

Comment, leave me a note, send me a PM!

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 8

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Top Dotti $19.95

Shorts Glassons $Hand Me Down

Shoes Target Essentials $7.00

Sunglasses Temt $10.00

What's in the Box?

Popcorn

Strawberries

Brown rice with tune, corn, leek, zucchini, spinach and mixed beans.

Miss Tracy xx

My Bento Box

Hi all!

So recently I looked at what I have been doing for lunch when I'm at uni and realised I was spending a lot of money on food. I bought lunch with my friends, we went out to Melbourne Central for lunch, if I felt like a coffee...I would buy one and so on.

There was also the issue of time. In the morning I'm struggling to get up , have a shower and get dressed and out the door without worrying if there's something for me to eat at lunch time. Plus I did my time, I ate sandwiches for my 13 years of schooling so if I end up with a sandwich in my handbag there is a 100% chance that I am not going to eat it.

So there's the problem, what's my solution? A Tumblr teacher blogger came to my rescue . While scrolling mindlessly, I saw a post about a bento box and how this teacher was using this. Consider my mind blown.

The physical box is a sectioned lunchbox that can be seen in many different shapes and sizes and in the end, I ended up buying the Bentgo.

The Bentgo Box

And it has changed my lunchtime for good.

I use the top sections  for my snack type foods like pretzels, popcorn, cut vegetables, fruit and crackers . The bottom usually holds my 'main meal', so maybe tuna and rice,  noodles ad stir fry or rice paper rolls. The colour of the box, a lovely purple, really stands out in my bag….plus it's pretty.

One of my favourite parts of this box is the built in cutlery. I will never leave my fork/knife/spoon at home again. The food areas are microwavable for up to three minutes and another plus is that the box is dishwasher safe. No more hand-washing!

I had to buy the box online, since the box has only been available since March this year and only available in the US. I bought mine from LunchBoxes.com since most other online stores were out of stock of the purple.

It did take awhile to come, close to 5 weeks, which has been the only problem I have had with my experience with the box so far.

If you are interested, here are some links for purchasing the box:

Bentgo

Amazon

LunchBoxes.com 

Bento&Co

Leave me a nice note!

Miss Tracy xx

My Colour Coding System

Guess who's back? Back again.

I was reading back over some of my posts regarding my notes and university and realised I haven't explained my colour coding system, which is basically the cornerstone of my sanity.

This system is the best. I would be completely lost without it. It makes study, filing and locating information and paperwork so much easier and faster.

So this is how it works.

I have four units a semester. Each has a unit code. For example, this semester I have:

1. EDFD 136

2. EDFD 227
3. EDAR 366
4. EDLA 167

My system assigns one of four colours (pink, yellow, green or blue) for each unit, so they would look like this:

1. EDFD 136
2. EDFD 227
3. EDAR 366

4. EDLA 167

So I have unit outlines, assignments, notes and handout from each unit, which all get filed under the relevant coloured tab in my semester folder. I take my lecture and tutorial notes on pastel coloured notebooks which are same colour as the unit. My assignment cover sheets have a corresponding coloured dot in the corner. I use only the unit colour when highlighting anything. Even my reminder sticky notes are in the unit's colour!

In short, one colour = one unit. The final colour coded product of a semester' work looks like...

I often find myself asking people, 'Do we have blue next?' when talking about our next tutorial/lecture!

I also managed to implement this system with my OneNote notebooks, which is the way to go with taking notes (I think so).

I swear by this. I started using a simplified system in high school but I have definitely kicked it up a notch since starting university. With a little time to set it up and get use it, it really helps to organise things and keep things moving smoothly.

In short, one colour = one unit. The final colour coded product of a semester' work looks like...

Semester Folder

Notepads

(available in assorted colours)

Binding

Assignment Coversheet

Highlighters

  

Do you have your own organisational system for notes, handouts etc.?

Drop a line via any of the LMST sites, I would love to hear from you all!

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 7

Coat Target $19.00

Top Target City Dressing $14.00

Skirt Cotton On $7.50

Shoes Target Essentials $7.00

Miss Tracy xx

My Semester Planner

So I have unit outlines, I have colour coded notes, I have reflective journals. I have a part time job that  I love, a casual job which pays well, I study full time, I have weekly placement plus my time with my family. But with all this and university, there are a lot of tasks, assignments and deadlines to keep track of.

But I have some help to take care of the university side of things.

THE SEMESTER PLANNER 

I am very lucky to go to a university where there is a special department for helping students perform academically. At ACU, the Office of Student Success (OSS) is committed to providing students with services to help them adjust to university work and provide a number of services which help alleviate some of the stress and pressure throughout the semester .

This semester planner is one of the organisational tools they provide to help students time plan and strategise how they going to work during the semester.

This little beauty keeps track of everything uni based for me. Using the unit outline, I look at each subject, written down the left side (in its associated colour), and then write when each assignment/task in the week it is due.

This document tells me:

• When the documents to due -  the capital letters "DUE" shaded in the colour code 
• How much time I have sectioned to plan/produce the assignment  - the straight coloured line preceding the DUE

• What else is due at the same time - the vertical column which corresponds to a learning week.

Under the 'Assessment Tasks', I used to just write what number assessment task was. But this semester, I decided to write 'what' it actually was. For example, instead of writing  assessment task 1 for EDLA, this semester I wrote 'presentation'. This way I actually know what task is due and don't have to uselessly look at my unit outline.

Writing the grade % is also handy dandy. I'm not going to say that it lets me know how much effort to  put in, because I do try my best with every assignment, but it does help to prioritise. Especially when a whole heap of things are due at once (see week 12!)  

When the week is over, I draw a black slash through each box in the vertical column, like so:

While I prefer the handwrite on mine, the OSS has thought of everyone and on their website, provide a PDF version, which I use, or a MS Word version, which can be edited and then printed.

I know I cannot be the only person at ACU who uses this  planner, but my course mates have left me wondering. Many have never seen this document before. Many are surprised when I pull it out. Some even ask where I got it from, or if I made it.

While the OSS is doing a great job, I think that there needs to be little more advertising about the great seminars and resources they provide so amazing tools, like the general semester planner, don’t go unnoticed be majority of the student body.

Does your uni have a similar service to the OSS?

Do you use an organiser like the semester planner for study?

Do you use something similar in the workplace?

I would love to hear how you keep an eye on your many and upcoming deadlines!

Comment, Tweet or Tumblr! The LMST blog is always listening!

Miss Tracy xx