Weekly Planning

Hello!

With full control in full swing, it was expected during my placement that I plan for one week and implement for two days. I had seen my AT's weekly plan up every week I was at placement so I knew the expected format and sat down with her to discuss what the expectations for the week were.

As you may have noticed, many of the environments and experiences I have been writing about on here have focused on the letter P, this being because during my full control week, the focus letter was P. The following was my plan for the week...

I accounted for weekly activities, such as sport and yoga, some activities that my AT had in mind and some general planning included every week. The focus on Literacy and Numeracy was part of my AT's original format. It's not how I would probably set out my plan but it was interested to use these as a focus.

The hardest part of constructing this was having all these great ideas for the children and the room but having to find somewhere to link it and aligning these with the children's interests. The research that went into coming up with this plan was so fun and one of my favourite parts of the job. Using other blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr I found heaps of ideas incorporating the letter P and the children's current interests and favourite experiences and then planned these around the routine and timetable of the room.

As the week progressed, I wrote little notes onto the plan, which is displayed above the children's cubbies for parents to view. I wrote the date they were implemented, whether or not it was sucessful and whether I would be doing an observation or learning story for the experience. These annotations helped the parents see what was happening throughout the week and my AT see how I was progressing and following up on my planning and programming.

As a result of this planning, my full control was successful and I learned heaps of new things and really began to see myself as an early childhood educator rather than just a visitor or student.

Keep your eyes peeled for more about my time in full control!

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Block Placement Series

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Dress boohoo.com $Unknown

Necklace Louvisa $Unknown

Bracelet Louvisa $Unknown

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Block Placement Series

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Top Temt $10.00

Pants City Dressing Target $10.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Miss Tracy xx 

Style File - Block Placement Series

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Dress Babe Fashion $15.00

Necklace Dotti $12.95

Hosiery Target Essentials $4.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 8

Jacket Forever New $89.95

Top Forcast $7.50

Skirt Temt $15.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Bag Forever New $89.95

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 7

Coat Target $19.00

Top Temt $10.00

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Pants Target Essentials $10.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Bag Equip $19.00

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 6

Shirt Cotton On $10.00

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Pants Target Essential $10.00

Necklace Dotti $2.50

Shoes Novo Shoes $11.25 

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 5

Dress Valleygirl $19.95

Blazer Kmart $20.00

Necklace Colette by Colette Hayman $9.95 for 4

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.95

Miss Tracy xx 

Style File - First Aid Training

Top Valleygirl $14.95

Pullover Forcast $11.70

Jacket Forever New $89.95

Bag Equip $19.95

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 4

Shirt Dotti $9.95

Leggings Cotton On Body Active $10.00

Gumboots Big W $25.00

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 3

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00 

Dress Dotti $29.95

Handbag Colette by Colette Hayman $49.95

Necklace Diva $10for3items 

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 2

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Shirt Target City Dressing $15.00

Handbag Forever New $39.95

Necklace Colette by Colette Hayman $9.00

Sunglasses Temt $10.00

Miss Tracy xx

My Educational App Collection

Good morning all,

I have been posting a few app reviews lately and thought it was about time I showed you my app collection. It's taking a while to come up with this many educational apps and I have had some great sources; the Ipadopedia, a children's literature unit I took in first semester and a music education unit I just completed.

But lately I have found a new source, the Education section of the iTunes store. This section of the store caters for varying levels of education, from early childhood straight up to self education for adults. It is meticulously organised, much like my iPad, and has great sections:

• Reading
• Maths
• Physics 
• Chemistry
• Music
• Writing
• Life Science
• Geography
• Astronomy and Earth Science

And so we begin the journey through my iPad! I have provided a picture of each folder and the apps they contain and what section I find them useful to store under.

LMST BLOG

• Dropbox
• Pic Stitch
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Blogger
• Twitter
• Mailbox

COACHING

• Coach My Video
• Ubersense

DEMONSTRATIONS

• Educreations Interactive Whiteboard
• bContext
• Class Act Lite
• Show Me
• Brain Pop

DIAGRAMS

• Mind Meister
• Prezi
• Lovely Charts

DOCUMENTING

• iZip
• Jot Not
• Evernote

LITERACY

• Story Wheel
• Chain Story
• Outline
• Claro
• Rhyme Zone
• Character Prompts
• Writing Prompts
• A Novel Idea
• Poetry Creator

MANAGEMENT

• Teacher Kit
• iStudiez Lite
• Chore Pad HD
• Pocket Picture Planner

MATHS

• Algebra Touch
• CALC
• FluidMath
• Soulver
• Mathletics Student
• Calculator 
• iMathematics
• Triangle Solver

MEASUREMENT

• Multi Measures HD
• Tuner Lite
• Pano Tuner
• MultiMeasure 
• M Tools
• Timer+
• iSetSquare

MUSIC

• Baby Chords
• Sound Prism
• Electric Guitar!
• Magic Zither
• Core Synth HD
• Music Sparkles
• GarageBand

SCIENCE & GEOGRAPHY

• The Human Body
• iCell
• Planets
• Google Earth
• Memory of Colours

SOUND MANAGEMENT 

• Too Noisy
• Decibel 10th

And as usual, all apps I have posted today are available on the App Store however please note some are free and some are paid so please check before you press the little green button!

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 1

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Shirt Dotti $19.95

Skirt Temt $15.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.99

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Introductory Visit

Blazer Dotti $29.95

Top Dotti $9.95
Leggings Cotton On Body Active $10.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $20.00

Bag Colette $49.95

Necklace Colette $4.00

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

Semester 3 Begins!

Alas, the time has come for me to return to uni and I have looking forward to a new year, new challenges and new goals!

As always I will endeavour to share these experiences on the LMST blog and starting up again will be some of the regular semester posts, including:

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

&

STYLE FILE - Placement Series

The start of my 3-5 age placement also begins this semester so expect more posts based planned experiences, creating environments and educator-child interactions.

Get ready for a fun filled semester!

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

Style File - Block Placement Series

Shirt ICE Clothing $ 10.00

Skirt Valleygirl $20.00

Shoes Novo $20.00

Miss Tracy xx