Photographing Children – Observations and Documentation

Hi all,

Observations and documentation are a regular, daily occurrence in the lives of teachers working with children. There are plenty of ways to go about it; learning stories, anecdotal records, running records, parent postcards and plenty of others. With all these different ways of approaching how to document your student’s experiences and progress, it’s easy to find one that works well for you, your classroom and your student’s parents however they all have one thing in common, photos.

Recently, I have seen a push towards more visual oriented observations. In an early childhood settings, these can be seen in display book portfolios, shown proudly on group display boards and handed out in the staff room for inspiration. The rationalisation is that parents are more likely to engage with these observations because they are quick to decipher; you simply need to look at the photo and the words are put into context. In a recent primary placement, the visual element to documentation was imperative; many of the families at the school were immigrants and refugees which made text heavy communication difficult due to language barriers.

So here it comes to the part of putting together the most important part of the observations, the photos. Photographing children doesn't seem too difficult but it is important for the photos to seem genuine and authentic. I typically use 3 types of shots that help to vary the types of photos you can include in your documentation…

Work in progress

I feel like this angle really lets the viewer see what the child is doing and the focus is on their action, preferably the one you are documenting. It works for a range of activities and actions and doesn’t distract the child from their task.  

 Birds eye view

These photos are great if you want to capture a play setup, piece of art or group interaction. The frame is filled up with the play the children are engaged with and often, their interactions with each other.  

 From my perspective

In this photo, you are seeing exactly what the child is seeing and what they are choosing to do with the materials in front of them. This shot is great for documenting the journey from blank slate to finished product, capturing the child’s process in between.

So long as the photos you choose to capture are focused on the child and their play, there is no wrong way to photograph children. Not only do these shots capture the essential but they can also be tweaked so that the photos are non-identifiable, in order to be shared in the public forum.

Happy snapping!  

Miss Tracy xx

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

Placement - Planned Experiences Part 8

Hi there!

Still trying to capitilise on all the rich experiences I had on placement, today's post is about how to make and use puffy paint! Again with the letter P theme, my AT's idea was to create the paint and set them up on our art and craft table.

The recipe for creating the paint is super simple, with things you can readily find in your kitchen or supermarket.

Puffy Paint

1 cup flour

1 cup salt 

3 cups water  

Paint

Mix all the ingredients together until they form a batter-like consistency. Depending on how many colours of paint you would like to make, separate into your chosen containers that the children will use to paint with (see note). Add a small squirt of paint to each mixture and mix until you see the desired colour appear and then you're ready to go!

I used zip lock bags with a smal hole cut out from a corner for the children to paint with. While there was no problems using these, they were very flimsy and some children had difficulty using the bags to 'pipe' the paint. I would suggest using old sauce bottle or buying a new set as they are easier to hold and could have plenty of other uses in the classroom, not just for this activity. 

The other thing I noticed when I tested it at home was that normal paper would get soggy under the batter and would rip, tear or start to break down. For this reason, at the kinder, we used A3 canvas paper that had been halved for the children to paint with. Stiff cardboard or poster paper can substitute if you don't have or can't find this. 

Once I had set up the activity after afternoon tea, the children were very eager to see what was happening. My AT and I had to show a few children how to hold and press the bag, but they were very eager to get painting...

Now the magic happens! After the children had completed their painting, we set them on the drying rack. During their outside play time, I went into the staff room and put the painting in the microwave for 30-60 seconds depending on how much paint was on the paper. The flour and salt cook leaving the paint raised and very bumpy. 

The children loved the change and how different it felt. Some even compared the picture to the paints by feeling one and then the other. This was a really fun and engaging activity and could be used with younger or older children. Give it a try in your classroom and let me know how it goes!

Miss Tracy xx

Group Observations and Learning Stories

Hola!

I have shared how I write my individual observations for portfolios and planning on here before but am yet to share group learning stories. I only started writing them this year but they are an incredible tool!

Most kindergarten classrooms ave a space where we educators post what we are doing in the classrooms and pieces of children's work to share with parents and caregiver. this was no different in my placement centre...

Featured on this board are two group learning stories printed on A3 paper and photos taken from the group experiences. Writing a group learning story, I feel, is quite different from writing them for an individual child.

Rather than focusing on the specific, I tend to focus on what all the children are doing, what they are learning, what they all have in common. I also try to include some individual responses, sometime included in the story or by writing/typing them out and sticking them up near posted story. This one was an example from the creek experience I set up earlier in the year...

As always, include lots and lots of photos! I cut mine off the bottom, but taking and selecting group phots is one of the most fun parts of writing these! These group experiences are wonderful to have but even better to document and share with families. Slightly adjusting how we write these isn't too difficult but the end result is completely worth the extra time and effort.

Some key things to remember:

• keep it general, try not to write about specific children or their responses
• chose to an experience where about 80% of your students were involved in, not just one or two
• linking to the curriculum framework is important so think of the learning that happens, what thinking did this inspire, what relationships are being built?
• link the chosen experience to how you will plan in the future - this is one of the most important aspects!
• display these printed stories in a well trafficked area and make the presentation appealing to look at - the point of these are to share what happening on the inside with the outside.

Would love to hear from other educators who do these... or are planning to!

Miss Tracy xx

Placement - Planned Experiences Part 7

Hello!

The letter theme is a big help when it comes to structured planning at this centre and during my full control time, the letter of the week was P. Sensory play has so many benefits and purposes  and the children absolutely love it! With this is mind I went with making play dough with them, with some added extras…

I made the play dough with the children during their quiet time, with each having a turn at pouring and mixing the ingredients. I had arranged the invitation to play in the morning, selecting the following items; pom poms, patty pans, pipe cleaners and paddle pops and decided to dye the dough pink. Are you seeing a reoccurring theme yet?

I never made this theme obvious to the children, I never mentioned why it was pink, the link between the additional items, not once. But they were quick to observe. One child mentioned that we should make it purple because purple starts with P. Another suggested earlier in the week that play dough was a p word so we should play with it soon.

The children had a great time making and exploring with the dough with this being the result…

The end result = a fun play dough experience with strong links to the children's interests and learning goals!

Miss Tracy xx

Graphing in Early Childhood

Hi all,

Inspired by this pin, I planned this activity during my full control period. Preparation included cutting out the pieces of paper and writing the children's names, adding a heading to the page and gathering your glue, scissors and permanent marker.

I sat the children down and began by talking about our other graphs and what we measured on them and what we were going to measure on the new graph. I placed the names on the ground and asked the children to come out one by one and see which one belonged to them.

They then stood out the front and counted the letters in their own name. I then cut out the individual letters and the children all called out what letter I should glue up.

After gluing the letters on, there was some discussion about who had the most letters and who had the least. We also compared whose names had the same amount and the same letters.  

At the end, we counted up the letters in everyone's names and I wrote it in marker down the right hand side. After drawing in the grid lines, labeling the axis and underlining the heading, the final product was ready to be tacked onto the door with our other graphs...      

This activity incorporated so many concepts including:

• graphing
• spelling
• counting 
• information representation 
• word recognition 
• number recognition 
• comparison and contrast

Definitely one to try out again, perhaps with a little tweaking for the primary placement... 

Miss Tracy xx

Parent Postcards

Hi all,

I am currently in the midst of my block placement and slowly getting accustomed to the new expectations. one of those is documented in my placement booklet as follows:

"Implement a parent communication strategy during block placement." 

It says so much and yet ...it doesn't. Many of my units, my assignments and my readings have discussed different ways of involving parents and the many benefits of a early childhood service who does.

Taking what I knew, that parents usually love photos and something specific to their child, I came up with the following template...

Each day, I document 5-6 things that their child did or engaged with and hand-write it onto the left side. On the address lines I write the children's name, the room they are currently in and the date of the observation. My current placement's logo, which I have placed under the address lines, features puzzle pieces on which I place pictures of their child and how they spent their day at kinder.

The children in the kinder room absolutely love writing their names at the moment so I have been asking them if they would like to write their names instead of me doing it. For the uninterested children, I usually just write their name myself.

Just like the learning stories, I try to choose easily identifiable photos of the children and their friends. I also try to include pictures from group time, outside and scheduled sessions, like Hey Dee Ho.

These postcards have proved to be a success! They give the parents a quick slice of what happened that day and something to stick on the fridge. Since they are dated and often approved and requested by the children, they are also something which can be included in their portfolios.

The only problems I have had so far is the timeline. I try to complete one per night with a different child each time but taking and downloading the photos, putting it together, printing, writing and photocopying, it can be really difficult to produce the amount that I would like to send home. I have also been having some issues with whether or not it reaches parents; they seem to be staying in some children's bags and not being read until a few days later.

These aren't massive problems but it means I may have to tweak my approach further down the track. I'm going to stick with this communication method until the end of placement (next week).

Would really appreciate some ideas on what you think all think and whether this is something you would consider implementing!  

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE POSTCARD HERE 

Miss Tracy xx

The Letter Theme

My lovely readers!

It's been so hectic lately but with the semester over,  my exam done and block placement coming up, there will only be new posts from here on in! So let's get on with it...

As noted in some other posts, my AT plans her room and set up based on the letter of the week. We create a letter chart, with common words and the words we know at the beginning of the week and group discussions and planned activities often revolve around said letter. At the end of the week, the poster goes up on wall. 

I have discussed this with some other pre-service teachers and it seems to be a common focus at this level of early childhood however each centre does it differently. For some, they only make the letter poster and talk about the words they know but my AT really goes above and beyond. Let's take a look at the letter L week...

The Letter L Poster

At the beginning of the week, the children create this letter poster. The picture are pulled out of a hat and they all take turns to guess what they are as they all start with L. At the end, the children can list all the words they know with the featured letter. The last step is counting and underlining all the Ls in the words that we write onto the poster.

The Lovely Letter L

At the start of the week, my AT played this song. On the first watch, the children simply watched what was happening.When they asked to play it again, they got up and dance, clapped and stomped their feet. For the rest of the week, they asked to dance to the robot song!

Ladybug Land 

Early in the week, the children each collected a stone from outside and painted it with similar patterns to a ladybug. When dried, my AT took these painted rocks and added them to the tray above. This then sat at the project table, where the children are free to engage with it whenever they please.  

Words with L

Every morning during group time, my AT does her morning minutes. This is her way of encouraging group discussion and the social behaviours expected during these discussion. It is also a way that she intends to prepare the children for what is expected of them when they go to school next year. Above is a copy of the morning minutes sheet, where they were asked, 'What words  do you know that start with the letter L?' Their responses are recorded and the transcript is displayed near the sign in sheets for parents to view at the end of the day. This procedure provides some consistency for the children in the morning and ideas for planning, specifically based in the children's current interests.

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Dough Recipe

2 tablespoons cooking oil
4 tablespoons cream of tartar
2 cups of flour
1 cup salt
2 cups boiling water
bottled lemon juice
lemon extract
yellow food dye

Simply mix all the ingredients together until combined and knead until you get a consistent texture. Add extra essence or juice as necessary.

A member of staff and myself made the play dough with the children, giving them the ingredients to take turns to pour into the bowl. Since we used hot water, the other staff member mixed the dough. when ready, the dough was placed on the table with some wooden pegs and beads. The photos above show what play followed. 

Conclusion - Rather than just focus on the letter in isolation, my AT really looks to provide a wholesome literacy experience which is not didactic or overstated. The linking to the letter L is so well distributed throughout the week and all the activities are so subtlety linked. I love the fact that the learning takes place without the children being denied their unstructured play time, something that will become more restricted as they move into primary school.

This form of planning is definitely something I will be coming back if I decide to become a kindergarten educator. 

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