Semester 4 Grades

Hi everyone,

Grades have been emailed out today and here's how they stand this semester...

I will admit that these are not my best so far; they aren't the worst but there is some serious improvement to be made and some dedication and commitment to happen next year.

Stay tuned,

Miss Tracy xx 

Semester 3 Grades

Hello readers,

It's that time again! My results have been emailed to me and here they are for semester 3...

There is some room for improvement, I wasn't too thrilled about the two credits since I know I could have at least moved them up to distinction. Once again, I have passed my placement, earning a 7 out of 7 on my final report and my Grade Point Average (GPA) currently sits on 5.75.

Seeing that this was my third semester, I had a better chance to do well however having different types of assignments and the manner they were communicated and graded has effected my grades. There's no excuses for next semester, the only way to go is up!

Miss Tracy xx

My Learning Stories

Hi there,

As placement progresses, I have been diligently recording observations on my three focus children. On my last placement, I never wrote one learning story but I completed an infinite amount of anecdotal records. As an educator, these gave me a lot of information about a child and their developmental and learning needs. However, they were never included in C's portfolio and the few that my last AT included were hardly commented on by parents.

And it was this placement when I realised it, parents hate records, almost as much as I do! They are boring to read, they have no pictures and can come off as clinical and non personal. Considering this, I asked my current AT what she recommends, and the answer was learning stories. I began to look at the ones she had included in the children's portfolios and honed my skills. This is a sample product of what this placement has produced...   

Scroll down to download the PDF version

For the Parents

The Title
This is the hook; it needs to be catchy and it needs to draw attention. Obviously, it needs to link to the overall theme of the observation which is why I like to use alliteration in mine, as you can see from the sample.

The Images
This is what differentiates a learning story form an observation. Choose photos where the child's face is visible and where their actions are clear. Try to take pictures of them in action or from their perspective, limit pictures that look staged. The more photos you can include, the better!

The Story
This is where you get to have the most fun! Recount what you observed, but in a less objective format then you would when recording a record. Let the reader know what the child did, what they told you, how they looked. Finish with how the child left the experience or what they planned to do next. The comment needs to add some finality to the story you have created. 

For the Educator 

Evaluation 
I suppose this is when you would take a more objective tone in your writing. Break down what you observed; what skills are emerging, what attitudes are present, what questions are they asking? This is not so much a description of what happened throughout the experience, but more about how the child in question engaged. This is especially important to note in learning stories which contain more than one child; the learning story would be the same but the evaluation boxes would be different.

What Happens Next
How can you take this experience further, the question you should be asking yourself when thinking about what goes in this box. What can extend the learning that you observed? In the sample, L most enjoyed putting the seeds into the dirt, which was the inspiration for the gardening sensory box. Writing these thoughts and links down will help you to look back and see what you can include in your future planning.

Link to Framework
There is nothing more important to an educator than this section here! This is where you directly link what you have observed to the learning framework in your sector. For myself and all other Victorians, it is the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Rather than type out the entire outcome, I like to give each main point a number and the sub-points, a decimal. For example, if  the child has demonstrated effective communication, by interacting non-verbally with their peers, I would have written it as 5.1, and following the dash, documented exactly how they did so.

Overall Formatting

Just some things to note about the organisation and formatting about my learning stories:

• choose simple and familiar fonts which are easily read
• page borders add a nice touch to the document but it's not necessary - try clip art if you can't find an appropriate border
• adding a border to the text boxes means that the text is contained 
• use colours that relate to the theme but are not to hard to read.
• size your photos appropriately, you shouldn't have to squint in order to see what happening

Please note that these are my ideas on what works really well. I have received a lot of praise for this format and it has worked incredibly well so far but I understand it's not the only direction to take. Please, free free to share how you do yours - I would love to see what's being stored in portfolios in other early learning centres around the globe.

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE LEARNING STORY HERE 

Miss Tracy xx

Assignment File - Sketchbook and eResource Part 2

Hello there,

As promised, here you will find part 2; the eResource. This part of the assignment asked us to create a live webpage using Web 2.0 technology, focused on a single topic relating to the visual arts. This resource would not only be for assessment but for our fellow pre-service teachers as well as teachers out there already teaching with access to the internet.

I chose the theme 'A Bug's Life' after covering a number of artists who focused on natures and the creatures in it. Since I was already extremely familiar with Blogger, I chose this as my method of presentation.

And so my discovery unit was born! Click the title to take a peek...

A BUG'S LIFE

This unit looks at the topic of bugs and insects as a stepping stone for visual art exploration and how to weave this knowledge into other aspects of curriculum and the learning environment.

One aspect of this assignment that I had a hard time working out was the lesson plans I was expected to create.  While I have done 3 curriculum based units, we have not touched on writing lesson plans yet, primarily since we are still studying early childhood. So I took to the internet and put together a template myself, which you can view  as PDFs in the appropriate sections. 

I also had many internal (and one external) debates on how these activities I had designed should be assessed or documented. In the end, I devised a simple rubric with smiley faces, which can be completed by the teacher, student or together as a reflection exercise.

I was very happy with the outcome of both pieces of work and with my hard work and perseverance, I earned myself a credit (C)!

Miss Tracy xx

Assignment File - Sketchbook & eResource Part 1

Hi all,

Here comes another post on one of my countless assignments, this one for a creative arts subject, EDAR-368.

Rather than one set task, the assignment asked us to document our leaning and changed perspective over the semester in relation to this one subject. Using an A4 sketchbook, each class we would sketch what we 'thought' and then what we 'saw' and complete a pre-planned lesson according to a given preparation sheet.

Another component of this ongoing task was looking at a specific artist. Each week, we would have a new focus, which guided our reading, research and tutorials. Depending on the style and technique of the artist, we would take part in activities, such as sketching live scorpions, sketching ourselves using a single line, drawing our tutor with our eyes closed and tearing paper into a thousand pieces.

By the end of the six week block, I had pages and pages of hard work, which I have decided to share with you!

HOWEVER...this was only part 1 of my assignment for this unit! Comeback next week for the next installment.

Miss Tracy xx

Placement Reflection

Hello readers,

So that's it; my placement is over, completely over! After 10 single Wednesdays and a two weeks block, my 0-2 years placement has come to the end and I think it's only fair that I reflect on this experience...and share this reflection with you! 

What impact did this experience have on my personal growth? 

I feel much more confident about creating professional relationships and being assertive in my communication.

What was my greatest accomplishment? 

My planning, implementation and documentation in relation to my focus child, C.

What did I find most challenging about that placement? 

The hours. It took an incredible strain on me, physically and mentally, having to start at 7.00 am one day, come home and plan and finish uni work and then get up the next day and be at the centre until 6.00 pm. The placement coupled with extra uni work was not the most favorable experience.

What skills did I learn? 

• parent communication skills
• how to plan effectively 
• creating successful environments 
• staff communication skills
• integrating my IT skills into planning and documenting 
• collaboration with staff and parents
• time management within the centre

How was I able to apply my current skills? 

My current skills helped me to interact with the children and parents and working effectively with other members of staff. 

What did I discover about myself? (Strengths, weaknesses, dislikes) 

• This is definitely the right profession for me; I enjoyed my time at the centre and am looking forward to getting back into the practical.
• I need to share my ideas with the staff more, I cannot continue to surprise the educators on the day I want to set up an activity 
• I also need to seek out the policies and rules before I let myself run wild with plans.
• I need to make more of an effort to communicate with parents and make sure that I communicate often and relatively.
• I can comfortably multitask and time manage, both within the workplace and during my time away.

What influence will that experience have on my future academic and career choices? 

As much as I enjoyed my time in the 0-2 room, I did find myself looking at my watch a lot and hanging out for my breaks, I also felt limited in how I could enrich the learning experience of the children in the room. 

In the one short day I spent with the 3-4 year olds, things were very different for me. The children were so much more independent and had developed much more social skills so things likes sharing and group play were not an issue. 

The fact that someone had to remind me to take a break during my time there confirms my feelings that I would much rather prefer working with toddlers or in a sessional kindergarten.  

What did I learn about office politics that will serve me in the future?

The best thing is to make friends and be polite. Do not take part in any office gossip, if you are present just smile and stay quiet. And most importantly, form your own opinion of someone, don't wait for someone else to tell you what they think of them.

What successes have I experienced? What did they mean to me? 

My experiences and planning were very well received by the staff and they made sure to compliment me about it. This was also apparent in my final report, which I was very happy with. The feedback I received have helped to shape ideas on what attributes and ideas I should be taking to my next placement.

What setbacks have I experienced? What did you learn from those? 

After planning and activity which used spaghetti an art material, I was unable to implement it as the centre's policy restricted the use of food in activities. Had I asked the staff  before hand and consulted their policies, this could all have been avoided. I will make sure to do just that in my future planning.

Were there people whose work ethics I would imitate?

There was one women at the centre, N, whom the children and staff loved. All her actions and behaviors towards were staff, children and parents were everything I want to embody with my work with children and I do consider her to one of my role-models for this profession.

What did I learn from people I admire in the organization?

That this job takes hard work, time and commitment and when you do your job right, the children reap the rewards and that is the most important part of the profession.

Miss Tracy xx

Placement - Planned Experiences Part 3

Me again!

Can you believe I am posting once a week now? The holidays have left me with a lot of spare time, much of which is dedicated to this blog. This will be the last installment for the Planned Experience series so here we go...

Heuristic Play Baskets

The EDCU 101 unit that I took in my first semester of uni was the first in a series of early childhood curriculum units. My tutor had some very firm beliefs on a variety of topics however one that stood out was heuristic play. Heuristic play refers to the type of play which involves discovering the properties of objects, such as the feel of aged leather or the sound of a whisk as it hits the floor.

We learnt about various types of  play but one task set for us was to set up  a heuristic play basket as present our collection to the class. I used the basket I had set up for this class as a planned activity during this placement. Some items I choose to include in my basket:

• small wooden spoon
• silicone baking tray
• leather samples
• wooden bangles 
• pine-cones
• shells
• stainless steel strainer

The children enjoyed the experience however some became very attached to particular items which did test the groups sharing abilities. I had split all the items into two felt basket from IKEA but ideally I would have liked to use round wicker baskets.

Story Time

C loves to read, both by herself and with an educator so to build on this love of books, I planned a one-on-one story time. I picked up these Beatrix Potter style board books from a local school fete and paid $2 for a set of 12. I also managed to find a squirrel/wombat puppet to complement this experience.

The one-on-one aspect of this experience worked extremely well, we were able to make our way through the book at a comfortable pace so that C should take her time appreciating the illustrations and the motions of reading a book. The puppet added to the interactive nature of reading a story and C even had a turn at managing the puppet.

Paint Stamping

If there is one thing that the children at my placement centre love to do, it is PAINTING! But there are only so many times that the educators can put out the paper and a paint brush. So to spice things up on the craft table, I found some Christmas themes paint stampers for the children and C to enjoy.

The end result was... amusing!

The children started using the stampers as you usually would, pressing them into the paint and then onto the paper. But then they ran out of space on the paper and decided to experiment. As you can see in the picture above, C experimented by sweeping the stamper through the paint on her paper, while others choose to paint with their hands as stampers and some even decided to paint on others bodies!

But all in all, all the children involved loved it! And thank god the paint is washable!

This ends the Planned Experiences series for this placement but never fear, I will be back sometime i March as I kick off my 3-5 year old placement in a sessional kindergarten.

Miss Tracy xx 

Placement - Creating Environments Part 2

Hey all,

So during my second week of placement, I had to make an environmental change with the outdoor environment. The centre had a beautiful blue water trough but following a child getting comfortable inside the trough, a large crack appeared. This meant that for the last 12 weeks, it had only been filled with a small layer of sand and some sifts.

I saw this area as an opportunity to make a positive and supportive change and got to work o  how a could switch it up. During one of my tea breaks, I came across a book in the staff room a out creating play environments and after a quick flick through, I found a recipe for making coloured rice.

Coloured Rice

White rice (amount depending on the activity/environment you are planning)

Food coloring

Water

Large flat tray

Lay the rice flat on your tray. Mix the water, just enough to wet the rice, and your food colouring. The darker the colour you want the rice to be, the more food colouring you should be adding. Mix the rice and the water, moving it around so that all the grains are coated. Lay in a warm dry area to dry. If using separate colours, they can be mixed at this point in the process Once completely dry, the rice can be stored indefinitely.  

I chose the blue so that I could create and under the sea theme following an underwater puppet show that the children experienced. After the rice was dried and mixed, I brought it to the centre and placed it into the trough. I added some small blue cups for pouring, some shells to further the experience and some bath toys.

The end result looked spectacular and the children could not be pulled away!

The rice provided a new use for the trough and really lit up this area of the garden. To actually look at the rice and see it run through their fingers was a different experience for the children and the smell of the Basmati rice added to this.

I would definitely replicate this in the future and already have some ideas on how to do so. However, while the children enjoyed it, the cleaning up is not as easy as sand. Older children would understand that the rice needs to stay in the trough, a concept that was lost on the 0-2 age group. But this did not stop them from enjoying themselves.

The educators really loved this and since the weather in Melbourne is so often hot and dry, preparing this material is terribly easy for the staff. I would definitely recommend trying this in your educational environment!

Miss Tracy xx

Placement - Planned Experiences Part 2

Hello there,

Here comes part 2 of the planned experiences I implemented whilst on placement. The experiences in this series focused on sensory play, primarily implemented for C.

Moon Sand

I had this idea locked up for some time and when staff told me how interested C was in play dough plus my observations on their play with sand, I knew I could use this resource. Moon Sand is this crazy dough that is basically sand which sticks to its self and has the properties of a liquid and a solid. The recipe is as follows:

4 parts sand

2 parts cornflour

1 part water

Mix all the ingredients together, adding cornflour and/or water until the desired consistency is reached.

The final product was amazing! When you held it gently, it flowed through your fingers but roll it like dough and suddenly, it becomes solid and resists! I added some cookie cutters for the children to experiment with and placed the mixture in a tray to minimise the mess. 

When the mixture dried out a little too much, a squirt of water on the hands of the children playing restores a more liquid consistency to the mixture.  The clean up was surprisingly easy; even though I lay down a mat the mixture still spread everywhere but since we were outside, the heat of the sun dried the water up and I just used a broom to sweep the excess back into the sandpit.

Ice Ice Baby

I implemented this activity for one simple reason; the expected temperature was 38 degrees Celsius and I knew the children were going to have a very hot, inside day. Materials are as follows:

Food colouring

Clean water

Ice cube trays

Freezer 

Large trough
Cups, scoops, water play equipment 

It's as simple as mixing the food colouring with the water, pouring it into the trays and freezing it, Transfer the final product to the trough you plan to use and add lukewarm water plus the play equipment.

I would recommend boiling the water before freezing and adding the colour. If you don't, the colour tends to pool in the usually cloudy spots of the ice cube however if boiled, the whole cube becomes a brilliantly coloured shape.

Due to the weather, this activity was very well received by the participants! Staff members were concerned about the water staying in the trough, which is understandable since we still have some unsteady walkers in the room, but other than that...no complaints what so ever.

Bubble Dough

On the third day, I implemented my last activity for the week; bubble dough. Again, this activity was found online during a study/procrastination session and it's contents took me by surprise:

2 parts cornflour/plain flour

1 part dishwashing liquid

2 table spoons baby/cooking oil

Combine all the ingredients, kneading until well combined. If too sticky, add more flour; if too dry, add more dish washing liquid and for more malleability, add more oil.

I set this experience up during a nappy change time, when children are moving in and out of the room. They were free to engage in it when it suited them. Some stayed for 5-10 mins but C and another child lingering for the entirety of the dough's life's span. 

It was a good alternative to play dough, offering different properties than usually with the dish washing liquid giving the material a pleasantly fresh smell that lingering around the room. I made the dough ahead of time and only needed to add oil and liquid on the day. At the time of writing this post, the dough was still usable after some oil, dish washing liquid and plenty of kneading. 

I had plenty of fun discovering and creating these experiences and am so glad that the children enjoyed themselves. I cannot wait to share part three with you all! 

Miss Tracy xx

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

Semester 1 Grades

So excited everyone! My semester 1 grades were emailed to me today and it looks like my hard work paid off...

And with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.50, I was extremely happy to receive these grades. Now, it's all about getting organised and ready to do it all over again.

Semester 2 here we come! 

Miss Tracy xx