I have been wanting to write a post about how important it is to remember who our clients are when working in early childhood. Everything we do must have the best interests of the child and the family at the core.
The reasons it has actually converted into making a post are two-fold. One, we are establishing new centre in my newly re-adopted hometown, Newcastle, Australia. I did grow up here but have spent most of my adult life/career in Sydney - but now I'm back. With this new centre, we have quite a few trainees and as it is a new centre, my Director and I are working really hard to make sure all of our practices put the child and their families first. My directors favorite line at the moment is "where is the child when this is happening?". Secondly, is my new partner (Drew) is having some issues with the preschool his son (my new step-son who's 3) is going to.
Engaging and learning with the child is our core job....
I know we have a job which involves a lot of 'extra tasks' such as cleaning, preparations, washing etc - but at no stage should your interactions with the children be compromised to achieve these tasks during your day. One of the easiest ways of doing this is getting the children involved. In my preschool room, the children help clean and set the tables for meal times, they wash their plates when they are finished and place their cutlery, cup (glass) and crockery (breakable) on the trolley (I would also like to point out here that the majority of breakages of our crockery and glass cups have been the staff - the children have been fantastically responsible). Very soon they will also be wiping over their place and their chair before stacking them - I have had children do this at other centres. The children also assist with sweeping the floors, making and stripping the beds and folding the washing. All these tasks are a really important way of building belonging and ownership at a centre as well as developing a child's ability to take responsibily for themselves and their community.
Are you appropriately using your staff?
Another way of dealing with these extra tasks is looking really closely at your staffing and how staff are allocated. If you do have a lot of 'not directly supervising/interacting with the children activities' then you have to look at your staffing arrangements to ensure your ratios are not being compromised. This can be as simple as sitting down with all staff and working out fair distribution of tasks during the day, utilising rest and other down times appropriately, and getting cleaners. If you are an owner or director of a centre and don't have cleaners - please think really hard about this - early childhood education and care is an important valuable job you should be employing your educators to educate and care for your children primarily not to clean the premises.
Listening to and addressing families' concerns?
The other situation with my partner and his child - is more to do with taking ownership when you have made a mistake and apologising to the family and then taking steps to ensure the mistake doesn't happen again. We all make mistakes -early childhood is a notoriously difficult job, we have huge workloads and a lot of expectations placed on us by families but that is not an excuse and if something gets missed, own up to it, apologise and then make steps to address the issue with staff and work with the family to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Building partnerships with families is a vital component of high quality early education and care and this is recognised in both our Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standard - so it is critical to remember at all times the reason you work in this field and the people you are providing for are the children and their families.
What do you think?
How do you make sure the child and family are at the centre of all your practices?
If you are a parent or carer in a early childhood service, what have you observed that you think are good or bad practices in this respect?
Do you feel your concerns are adequately addressed if you raise an issue?
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Building a sense of trust with families
Having recently embarked on my child protection course - I know a bit slow off the mark getting that done. One of the things I found most rewarding from the very high quality Community Child Care Cooperative (or CCCC for short) course was the great discussion on ethical practice and building a sense of confidentiality at your centre.
The trainer argued that in order to build a sense of trust and confidentiality in your centre, you needed to build a sense of trust and confidence in everything you do. For example, if a family mentioned in the morning that they had been to the zoo on the weekend - Instead of going around and telling everyone and getting very excited about links to home on your program (I know I'm guilty of it) she suggested that instead you ask the family first if they are ok with you sharing this information with others.
Her point was that if you do this with non-personal information when the family have more personal or private information to tell you they are more willing to share as they know not every person at the centre is going to know - which is obviously critical with child protection issues.
While I had never really thought of it this way before, I think she has an excellent point. Building trust with your families that you respect them and are willing not to 'talk out of school' about them is a very important part of building quality partnerships within.
I believe it is a very large part of our role to share our knowledge and skills with family about issues that face them... whether it be contacts, information or referrals I think this attitude could really help in building this aspect of our roles (and recognition of our skills in this area)
What do you think of this issue?
How do you build a sense of trust and confidentiality with families at your centre?
If you are a parent, what have you found builds your confidence in your centre to share information?
Photo Source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/valpearl/5103209989/
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The challenges of preschool-land
This year I have had the privilege (and sometimes challenge) of working in a preschool a few days a week in a maternity leave position.
Preschool land is very different from Long Day Care land. There are a few basic differences... Much shorter hours (usually only 9-3), the children bring their own food (I really don't like this one... Mostly cause I like being able to eat with the kids :) ), often they are community based centres so have a parent committee and have very little money, they often have staff that have been working in the field for a long time nearly all of my colleagues have been working in early childhood for over 10 years(which I really like some of my colleagues have the most amazing funds of knowledge about early childhood that I know I will always refer to them when I'm puzzling something out), and they have never (until this year) had to go through accreditation.
Where I have been working is very structured and has taught me lots of important things .... Like how to have a lesson plan ready for language and music every day! The lyrics to lots and lots of songs, the importance of scheduled break time, and how to achieve lots of things that the parents love (like daily craft) without burning out.
But there are times when my inner 'progressive' teacher finds it difficult... There is not much time allocated to 'free play' i.e. the opportunity for the children to meaningfully engaged with the materials we have carefully planned for them, there's all the craft, and the fact I really don't feel like I have the opportunity to get to know the families (or the children) as much as I would in long day care. Plus I love long day care as the 0-3 are my favourite age group - I find people regularly underestimate them and they are amazingly capable.
But the thing I find most difficult is the constant desire to make the children 'comply' with lots and lots of unnecessary restrictions... They are almost constantly asked to be quiet, they are expected to be incredibly well behaved during group times (even when the group time is dull), the routine is so rigid that when we were inside due to wet weather the other day a lot of the children couldn't cope with the change.... This worries me - what type of children are we creating?
I want children that are so excited about what I am teaching them that they can't help but call out, I want children that know I am flexible enough with my lesson plans that if they want to read a different book we will, I want noisy children with the confidence to tell me what they really think! I want them so engaged in what we are doing that the time flies by, I want children with great cheeky senses of humour who know how to make me and their peers laugh til we cry..... Surely that's not too much to ask?
What do you think? Is there too much focus on compliance where you work?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Preschool land is very different from Long Day Care land. There are a few basic differences... Much shorter hours (usually only 9-3), the children bring their own food (I really don't like this one... Mostly cause I like being able to eat with the kids :) ), often they are community based centres so have a parent committee and have very little money, they often have staff that have been working in the field for a long time nearly all of my colleagues have been working in early childhood for over 10 years(which I really like some of my colleagues have the most amazing funds of knowledge about early childhood that I know I will always refer to them when I'm puzzling something out), and they have never (until this year) had to go through accreditation.
Where I have been working is very structured and has taught me lots of important things .... Like how to have a lesson plan ready for language and music every day! The lyrics to lots and lots of songs, the importance of scheduled break time, and how to achieve lots of things that the parents love (like daily craft) without burning out.
But there are times when my inner 'progressive' teacher finds it difficult... There is not much time allocated to 'free play' i.e. the opportunity for the children to meaningfully engaged with the materials we have carefully planned for them, there's all the craft, and the fact I really don't feel like I have the opportunity to get to know the families (or the children) as much as I would in long day care. Plus I love long day care as the 0-3 are my favourite age group - I find people regularly underestimate them and they are amazingly capable.
But the thing I find most difficult is the constant desire to make the children 'comply' with lots and lots of unnecessary restrictions... They are almost constantly asked to be quiet, they are expected to be incredibly well behaved during group times (even when the group time is dull), the routine is so rigid that when we were inside due to wet weather the other day a lot of the children couldn't cope with the change.... This worries me - what type of children are we creating?
I want children that are so excited about what I am teaching them that they can't help but call out, I want children that know I am flexible enough with my lesson plans that if they want to read a different book we will, I want noisy children with the confidence to tell me what they really think! I want them so engaged in what we are doing that the time flies by, I want children with great cheeky senses of humour who know how to make me and their peers laugh til we cry..... Surely that's not too much to ask?
What do you think? Is there too much focus on compliance where you work?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Back blogging!!
Well, after spending a lunch with my fellow Macquarie graduates I have been reminded to get back on my blog and get writing again.
I do have a reasonable excuse - my relationship (of 8 years) ended, then I relocated back to my home town, Newcastle, and pretty much only just got back to the stage where pretty happy and chilled with my life as it stands... So surely that's a good enough reason.
However, there is heaps of change a foot in our field at the moment so there are a few things I'd like to briefly chat about before working through my huge pile of inspirational stuff that I have been systematically collecting with the best of intentions since last post
1. First and foremost - and because you know I love a bit of industrial relations/employee rights (cant live with a union official for 8 years without some of it rubbing off)- the Big Steps campaign is gaining some fantastic momentum at the moment and I hope everyone will try and do there best to get to the events all around the country. It's a really important to get everyone there - people in the field, parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles anyone who cares about our children and their current and future rights to have high quality care with adequately (I'd love to say well) paid staff who are valued for the awesome and very hard work they do every day. So get on board the campaign!!! If you can't attend the events, do something this week to raise awareness of the campaign - share a link, put up a poster at work, talk to your parents (or anyone) about the reality of our field and its current working conditions, if you are feeling brave contact your local politician! Here's the link....http://bigsteps.org.au
2. In other campaign news, the Teachers are Teachers campaign has been presented at parliament and has in principle support - but we still need to keep going to we see the results!
3. I am going to do a specific post on the importance of risk in early childhood - I have always been a fan (I'm the girl whose always secretly making the gross motor equipment higher) but was extra inspired by Paul Tranter's presentation at the recent KU conference. To get an idea of what I will be chatting about have a look on my Facebook page for the links to the Sydney Playground Project and the Playpod. There is some amazing resources to help you convince peers and families of the importance of getting the children out there testing their limits and using their imagination early as possible. Are you seeing much risk in early childhood environments?
4. While I have been fortunate to see some beautiful practice this year while going around and working casually at a number of centres, there has also been some alarming things. For example, worksheets - I have talked about this before and continue to pull my hair out at the fact that these are still out there... Some craft is ok but sitting a child down to do a worksheet is not best practice and there are so many ways you can find out the child's level in a fun engaging way without have to resort to worksheets. They will have plenty of opportunities to do these at school let's keep early childhood a place where learning is something that is achieved through play and is engaging and exciting and individualised. Are you seeing worksheets? What's your opinion of them? If you think they are valid, can you tell me why?
5. Finally, I wanted to quickly talk about an 'interesting' concept I saw lately. I recently had colleagues try to convince me that placing no toys /provisions in a playground would lead to a higher quality play. This was not a playground rich with natural resources and loose parts - this was a empty AstroTurf playground. This obviously was not successful and not only did the children not have anything to do - it undermines our profession. We can't on one hand argue that we are professionals and our job is complicated and significant and on the other provide no provisions for learning for the children. Has anyone else seen this argument around?
Anyway, that'll do to start the ball rolling... I'll post again soon :)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I do have a reasonable excuse - my relationship (of 8 years) ended, then I relocated back to my home town, Newcastle, and pretty much only just got back to the stage where pretty happy and chilled with my life as it stands... So surely that's a good enough reason.
However, there is heaps of change a foot in our field at the moment so there are a few things I'd like to briefly chat about before working through my huge pile of inspirational stuff that I have been systematically collecting with the best of intentions since last post
1. First and foremost - and because you know I love a bit of industrial relations/employee rights (cant live with a union official for 8 years without some of it rubbing off)- the Big Steps campaign is gaining some fantastic momentum at the moment and I hope everyone will try and do there best to get to the events all around the country. It's a really important to get everyone there - people in the field, parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles anyone who cares about our children and their current and future rights to have high quality care with adequately (I'd love to say well) paid staff who are valued for the awesome and very hard work they do every day. So get on board the campaign!!! If you can't attend the events, do something this week to raise awareness of the campaign - share a link, put up a poster at work, talk to your parents (or anyone) about the reality of our field and its current working conditions, if you are feeling brave contact your local politician! Here's the link....http://bigsteps.org.au
2. In other campaign news, the Teachers are Teachers campaign has been presented at parliament and has in principle support - but we still need to keep going to we see the results!
3. I am going to do a specific post on the importance of risk in early childhood - I have always been a fan (I'm the girl whose always secretly making the gross motor equipment higher) but was extra inspired by Paul Tranter's presentation at the recent KU conference. To get an idea of what I will be chatting about have a look on my Facebook page for the links to the Sydney Playground Project and the Playpod. There is some amazing resources to help you convince peers and families of the importance of getting the children out there testing their limits and using their imagination early as possible. Are you seeing much risk in early childhood environments?
4. While I have been fortunate to see some beautiful practice this year while going around and working casually at a number of centres, there has also been some alarming things. For example, worksheets - I have talked about this before and continue to pull my hair out at the fact that these are still out there... Some craft is ok but sitting a child down to do a worksheet is not best practice and there are so many ways you can find out the child's level in a fun engaging way without have to resort to worksheets. They will have plenty of opportunities to do these at school let's keep early childhood a place where learning is something that is achieved through play and is engaging and exciting and individualised. Are you seeing worksheets? What's your opinion of them? If you think they are valid, can you tell me why?
5. Finally, I wanted to quickly talk about an 'interesting' concept I saw lately. I recently had colleagues try to convince me that placing no toys /provisions in a playground would lead to a higher quality play. This was not a playground rich with natural resources and loose parts - this was a empty AstroTurf playground. This obviously was not successful and not only did the children not have anything to do - it undermines our profession. We can't on one hand argue that we are professionals and our job is complicated and significant and on the other provide no provisions for learning for the children. Has anyone else seen this argument around?
Anyway, that'll do to start the ball rolling... I'll post again soon :)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Update and Apologies
I just wanted to do a short post apologising for my distinct lack of posting in the last month.
I do have lots to share including:
- Some great information about cultural competence and other social justice issues that were raised at the Social Justice in Early Childhood conference at the start of June
- Lots of brilliant information from the Margey Whalley visit a few weeks ago
- and finally a few lovely things I have been working on with the children.
So hopefully soon I will recover to a basic sense of normal (my current cold is so bad it hurts to move) and will have more time (another ECT is starting at our centre next week) and then you will have something to read :)
I do have lots to share including:
- Some great information about cultural competence and other social justice issues that were raised at the Social Justice in Early Childhood conference at the start of June
- Lots of brilliant information from the Margey Whalley visit a few weeks ago
- and finally a few lovely things I have been working on with the children.
So hopefully soon I will recover to a basic sense of normal (my current cold is so bad it hurts to move) and will have more time (another ECT is starting at our centre next week) and then you will have something to read :)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Update from NIFTeY meeting
I attended the NSW National Investment in the Early Years meeting this morning and thought I would provide an update of what's happening in Early Childhood Education and Care Sector.
Tonia Godhard reported on yesterday's meeting of key stakeholders with the new minister Adrian Piccoli.
The key points were:
- the sector now falls under the Department of Education
- the department will not be using the term 'child care' but rather Early Childhood Education and Care in recognition of this move.
- there will be a clear separation from child protection
- there will be no pushdown curriculum from the schools
- the separate Directorate for Children's Services will be headed by John Mason (who reports to Lesley Loble, Deputy Director-General Strategic Planning and Regulation).
-Department of Education preschools will remain under the Education Directorate
- the Minister is committed to the National Quality Framework but is concerned about the current reliability and validity of the tools.
- He also is committed to the 1 to 4 babies ratio and the introduction of 1 to 5 for 2-3 year olds as scheduled in NQS
- for preschools, he is aware of problems with RAM funding model and affordability and will establish a departmental review. He advised preschools to enroll for 2012 as they normally would as changes will not occur til 2013
- the teacher contribution scheme will commence in July but may not be ongoing.
- he is aware the sectors concern regarding the lack of consultation and is committed to improving this.
Other matters raised:
Children's Week
- will soon have a website up and running (will provide link when have it)
- as the trademark is now registered, it will now be necessary to register your event if you want to use logo and title
- there will be promotional posters available on the website
Working with children checks
- we discussed the need to move to a national streamlined system.
The NIFTeY conference is coming in July - it has a great line up if you are able to make it. The link is http://www.nifteyconference.com/
The grandparent carer initiatives from the government
- there will be an introduction of peer support networks
- grandparent advisors in some centrelink offices
- high density of grandparent carers on coast
- grandparent care provision for children during the day is underrecognised
- I will provide links to a number of reports when distributed if anyone is interested in reading further.
National Commissioner for Children and Young People
- senate enquiry underway. Report due August
Cultural competence issues:
- Reconciliation week is this week
- NAIDOC week early July
- important to engage local aboriginal organisations and actively engage with the issues and the community
- there is also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's day
- I will provide links to relevant websites when provided.
That the bulk of it and I will forward around the details for reports, websites and so on as soon as I have them.
Tonia Godhard reported on yesterday's meeting of key stakeholders with the new minister Adrian Piccoli.
The key points were:
- the sector now falls under the Department of Education
- the department will not be using the term 'child care' but rather Early Childhood Education and Care in recognition of this move.
- there will be a clear separation from child protection
- there will be no pushdown curriculum from the schools
- the separate Directorate for Children's Services will be headed by John Mason (who reports to Lesley Loble, Deputy Director-General Strategic Planning and Regulation).
-Department of Education preschools will remain under the Education Directorate
- the Minister is committed to the National Quality Framework but is concerned about the current reliability and validity of the tools.
- He also is committed to the 1 to 4 babies ratio and the introduction of 1 to 5 for 2-3 year olds as scheduled in NQS
- for preschools, he is aware of problems with RAM funding model and affordability and will establish a departmental review. He advised preschools to enroll for 2012 as they normally would as changes will not occur til 2013
- the teacher contribution scheme will commence in July but may not be ongoing.
- he is aware the sectors concern regarding the lack of consultation and is committed to improving this.
Other matters raised:
Children's Week
- will soon have a website up and running (will provide link when have it)
- as the trademark is now registered, it will now be necessary to register your event if you want to use logo and title
- there will be promotional posters available on the website
Working with children checks
- we discussed the need to move to a national streamlined system.
The NIFTeY conference is coming in July - it has a great line up if you are able to make it. The link is http://www.nifteyconference.com/
The grandparent carer initiatives from the government
- there will be an introduction of peer support networks
- grandparent advisors in some centrelink offices
- high density of grandparent carers on coast
- grandparent care provision for children during the day is underrecognised
- I will provide links to a number of reports when distributed if anyone is interested in reading further.
National Commissioner for Children and Young People
- senate enquiry underway. Report due August
Cultural competence issues:
- Reconciliation week is this week
- NAIDOC week early July
- important to engage local aboriginal organisations and actively engage with the issues and the community
- there is also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's day
- I will provide links to relevant websites when provided.
That the bulk of it and I will forward around the details for reports, websites and so on as soon as I have them.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Fighting for recognition
I have been spending the last few days in Perth with my partner who is a senior official of the Transport Workers Union. We are over here for the federal meetings.
As a result, I have been having lots of interesting conversations about politics and workers' rights (my previous life in HR sometimes helps and sometimes hinders these conversations).
The discussion of worker conditions in the early childhood field has come up a number of times. But the main theme has been that the wages and conditions for the industry are, to put it politely, abysmal.
One of the officials revealed to me that he was thinking of retraining and working in the field but he worked out as he was single and had rent and child maintenance to pay the income would not to be enough.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the workers in early childhood needing to stop being 'nice' (see the work of Sandra Cheeseman) and be honest about what we need in terms of a livable wage and a realistic measure of the work we do (so we are not doing everything at home on our own time).
One of the possible directions for my phd studies is a comparative study between what the nurses have achieved (and where they are going) and what we need to do to achieve a similar recognition of our skills. The Nurses have run a strong campaign to increase society's awareness of their skills, training and role within hospitals which has led to measurable improvements in wages and conditions and overall respect for the profession.
A key part of this is making the industry attractive and viable as a career choice for males (and single females) as well as the 'secondary' breadwinner.
Early Childhood Teachers study for 4 years at university only to come out and be paid very low wages. We need stand up and say this is not fair and our role is very important in society and should be recognized as such.
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
As a result, I have been having lots of interesting conversations about politics and workers' rights (my previous life in HR sometimes helps and sometimes hinders these conversations).
The discussion of worker conditions in the early childhood field has come up a number of times. But the main theme has been that the wages and conditions for the industry are, to put it politely, abysmal.
One of the officials revealed to me that he was thinking of retraining and working in the field but he worked out as he was single and had rent and child maintenance to pay the income would not to be enough.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the workers in early childhood needing to stop being 'nice' (see the work of Sandra Cheeseman) and be honest about what we need in terms of a livable wage and a realistic measure of the work we do (so we are not doing everything at home on our own time).
One of the possible directions for my phd studies is a comparative study between what the nurses have achieved (and where they are going) and what we need to do to achieve a similar recognition of our skills. The Nurses have run a strong campaign to increase society's awareness of their skills, training and role within hospitals which has led to measurable improvements in wages and conditions and overall respect for the profession.
A key part of this is making the industry attractive and viable as a career choice for males (and single females) as well as the 'secondary' breadwinner.
Early Childhood Teachers study for 4 years at university only to come out and be paid very low wages. We need stand up and say this is not fair and our role is very important in society and should be recognized as such.
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wrestling with the budget....
Is it just me or does every 'educational' catalogue seem to charge completely unreasonable prices for basic resources?
I am trying to work out my priorities for my may budget (which has just had a hundred shaved off it to pay for the cleaners) my wish list has been rapidly culled.
I started off with an aim to focus spending on maths and science resources this month. But as most of those cost more than my budget. I have reprioritised to spreading the spending over a few curriculum areas and hope that in the mean time - buttons, milk caps and other odds and bobs will work.
So I thought I would mine the wonderful resource that is my readers and see if anyone can point me in the right direction for the following resources ( I am aiming for quality sustainable resources that can withstand two year olds but still challenge preschoolers)
- a scale
- mobilo instructions -is there a website?
Is there some fantastic ( read here cheap) place where I can get the following:
- more mobilo
- geoboards ( I do remember blogs about making your own but I'm not that keen yet)
- unifix cubes
Or are there any great maths and science resources that you would recommend?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
I am trying to work out my priorities for my may budget (which has just had a hundred shaved off it to pay for the cleaners) my wish list has been rapidly culled.
I started off with an aim to focus spending on maths and science resources this month. But as most of those cost more than my budget. I have reprioritised to spreading the spending over a few curriculum areas and hope that in the mean time - buttons, milk caps and other odds and bobs will work.
So I thought I would mine the wonderful resource that is my readers and see if anyone can point me in the right direction for the following resources ( I am aiming for quality sustainable resources that can withstand two year olds but still challenge preschoolers)
- a scale
- mobilo instructions -is there a website?
Is there some fantastic ( read here cheap) place where I can get the following:
- more mobilo
- geoboards ( I do remember blogs about making your own but I'm not that keen yet)
- unifix cubes
Or are there any great maths and science resources that you would recommend?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Social Inclusion: The role of early childhood education and care
The recent Australian Institute of Family studies - Communities and families clearinghouse Australia (CAFCA) - practice sheet raises the important issue of social inclusion ( and its counter social exclusion) and asks child and family services to think about their role. The full practice sheet can be accessed here: http://www.aifs.gov.au/cafca/pubs/sheets/ps/ps7.html (while you are there have a look around it is a useful site).
The article raises the four domains of social inclusion, the opportunity to:
1) participate in society through employment and access to services;
2) connect with family, friends and the local community;
3) deal with personal crises; and
4) be heard.
Traditionally, long day care and preschools have been closely intertwined with the community and providing a supportive role to their families and the surrounding community. It is a role most of us try to supply on a daily basis.
The article suggests we have a key role by:
- providing space for parents and children to meet one another and develop friendships and informal support networks
- providing opportunities for parents to take up leadership roles within the program,
- encouraging parents and children to contribute to decision making processes in the local community
You may note the link with the Early Years Learning Framework concept of 'belonging' and the article specifically uses the word.
The practice sheet also discusses the importance of giving children the chance to 'be heard' and their rights as a citizen now (not just a future citizen).
Practices that are family centered, partnership based and strengthens based are designed to enable family and children's voices to be heard. Working with families is not just about providing advice but about:
"hearing the whole story, seeing the full picture, knowing the main worries, learning their strengths, and taking all these into account in enabling them to find ways of managing the problems that confront them and their children" (p.11).
The importance and value of including and ALL families in our daily practice cannot be underestimated and is a vital part of our role that while challenging can be very rewarding for all.
Some suggestions for your practice include:
- is it viable for your centre to offer voluntary or paid employment opportunities to parents using your centre?
- can you provide parents with easily accessible information to increase their sense of inclusion? ( think about ways of reaching families who may feel marginalized e.g. Single parents, young mothers, parents with mental illness)
- can you provide parents with a leadership role within the centre (e.g. Committee?)
- what opportunities are you providing for parents to socialize with one another? Is there a dedicated space? Do you organize regular social activities for your families ( and at a variety of times?)
- do your families realize the importance of social interactions and friendships for their children?
- what opportunities are provided to parents and children to provide feedback on the program? Are these taken up? Do you know why or why not? How can they be encouraged?
What do you do at your centre?
For my parent readers, how does your centre help you feel socially included in your local community?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
The article raises the four domains of social inclusion, the opportunity to:
1) participate in society through employment and access to services;
2) connect with family, friends and the local community;
3) deal with personal crises; and
4) be heard.
Traditionally, long day care and preschools have been closely intertwined with the community and providing a supportive role to their families and the surrounding community. It is a role most of us try to supply on a daily basis.
The article suggests we have a key role by:
- providing space for parents and children to meet one another and develop friendships and informal support networks
- providing opportunities for parents to take up leadership roles within the program,
- encouraging parents and children to contribute to decision making processes in the local community
You may note the link with the Early Years Learning Framework concept of 'belonging' and the article specifically uses the word.
The practice sheet also discusses the importance of giving children the chance to 'be heard' and their rights as a citizen now (not just a future citizen).
Practices that are family centered, partnership based and strengthens based are designed to enable family and children's voices to be heard. Working with families is not just about providing advice but about:
"hearing the whole story, seeing the full picture, knowing the main worries, learning their strengths, and taking all these into account in enabling them to find ways of managing the problems that confront them and their children" (p.11).
The importance and value of including and ALL families in our daily practice cannot be underestimated and is a vital part of our role that while challenging can be very rewarding for all.
Some suggestions for your practice include:
- is it viable for your centre to offer voluntary or paid employment opportunities to parents using your centre?
- can you provide parents with easily accessible information to increase their sense of inclusion? ( think about ways of reaching families who may feel marginalized e.g. Single parents, young mothers, parents with mental illness)
- can you provide parents with a leadership role within the centre (e.g. Committee?)
- what opportunities are you providing for parents to socialize with one another? Is there a dedicated space? Do you organize regular social activities for your families ( and at a variety of times?)
- do your families realize the importance of social interactions and friendships for their children?
- what opportunities are provided to parents and children to provide feedback on the program? Are these taken up? Do you know why or why not? How can they be encouraged?
What do you do at your centre?
For my parent readers, how does your centre help you feel socially included in your local community?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Documentation part 2: Observing and interpreting
With the latest Early Years Learning Framework newsletter out - here if you are interested: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/eylfplp/newsletters/EYLFPLP_E-Newsletter_No10.pdf
It is reassuring to see that there is a return to a recognition that all forms of observations can lead to fulfilling the expectations. There did seem to a bit of confusion that only Learning Stories should be used.
However, there are lots of ways to record what is happening with the children in your care and ensure you are adequately reflecting their learning and thinking.
These are a few of my favourites:
-Jottings: if you are anything like me, jottings is one of the main ways you record what is happening on a day-to-day basis. I quickly pop down on a notepad, post it or even a scrap piece of paper whatever is being said and done and add it to my pile. The intention is then to turn this into something more meaningful when I have a chance to have programming time.
- Photos: I am of the personal belief that you cannot take too many photos. Especially if you take a number in quick succession you can often later interpret much of the children's thinking and their social skills.
- I also believe there is still a role for the many templates that were in use for the NSW curriculum framework. I would add an additional page or bit that talks about what it means in terms of the outcomes.
- Art samples - I collect as many as the children will let me keep (and take photocopies if they desperately want to take them home). As part of this I try to record what the child has talked about while making the picture and how they explain it at the end. I also love when art is displayed with the children's comments next to it.
- Word samples are very developmental psychology (and I know some people think this is a bad thing, but it's not) but they provide a important insight into the child's language development
- another useful psychological tool are interaction maps. Both the ones that track movement around the room and ones that track who the child talks and plays with.
- learning stories are fabulous but do take time and commitment (which many of us simply don't have in the world of long day care where we are lucky to have adequate staffing let alone time off the floor or a computer)
- finally, being a Macquarie graduate, there is the concept of pedagogical documentation (which will be a whole other post and something I am very much learning still)
The above is barely scratching the surface of techniques that can be used.
Finally, it is important to remember that all the observations in the whole world have little or no meaning if you don't take the time to interpret them and use them for planning and assessment (so my pile on my desk at work is rapidly becoming useless if I don't dedicate some time to them).
What forms of observation to you find to be most effective?
If you are a parent, if you see observations in a portfolio which ones do you enjoy the most?
How do we bring families into the documenting process?
Do you send home observations that you are working on?
Or put posters around showing the children's thinking and understanding?
I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
Posted by Wendy
It is reassuring to see that there is a return to a recognition that all forms of observations can lead to fulfilling the expectations. There did seem to a bit of confusion that only Learning Stories should be used.
However, there are lots of ways to record what is happening with the children in your care and ensure you are adequately reflecting their learning and thinking.
These are a few of my favourites:
-Jottings: if you are anything like me, jottings is one of the main ways you record what is happening on a day-to-day basis. I quickly pop down on a notepad, post it or even a scrap piece of paper whatever is being said and done and add it to my pile. The intention is then to turn this into something more meaningful when I have a chance to have programming time.
- Photos: I am of the personal belief that you cannot take too many photos. Especially if you take a number in quick succession you can often later interpret much of the children's thinking and their social skills.
- I also believe there is still a role for the many templates that were in use for the NSW curriculum framework. I would add an additional page or bit that talks about what it means in terms of the outcomes.
- Art samples - I collect as many as the children will let me keep (and take photocopies if they desperately want to take them home). As part of this I try to record what the child has talked about while making the picture and how they explain it at the end. I also love when art is displayed with the children's comments next to it.
- Word samples are very developmental psychology (and I know some people think this is a bad thing, but it's not) but they provide a important insight into the child's language development
- another useful psychological tool are interaction maps. Both the ones that track movement around the room and ones that track who the child talks and plays with.
- learning stories are fabulous but do take time and commitment (which many of us simply don't have in the world of long day care where we are lucky to have adequate staffing let alone time off the floor or a computer)
- finally, being a Macquarie graduate, there is the concept of pedagogical documentation (which will be a whole other post and something I am very much learning still)
The above is barely scratching the surface of techniques that can be used.
Finally, it is important to remember that all the observations in the whole world have little or no meaning if you don't take the time to interpret them and use them for planning and assessment (so my pile on my desk at work is rapidly becoming useless if I don't dedicate some time to them).
What forms of observation to you find to be most effective?
If you are a parent, if you see observations in a portfolio which ones do you enjoy the most?
How do we bring families into the documenting process?
Do you send home observations that you are working on?
Or put posters around showing the children's thinking and understanding?
I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
Posted by Wendy
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Graduation!!!
After underplaying it all week, I graduated with my Masters of Teaching (birth to five years) today and it did feel really good.
I was very proud to see girls ( or should I say women) that I have met over the years in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies walk down to get their pieces of paper.
The speeches were lovely and short but still inspirational and meaningful.
I agree with the Chancellor that we now have a responsibility to go forth and apply our knowledge and benefit our community.
I also agreed with our guest speaker, Professor Kevin Wheldall, AM, that we have a obligation to the children we teach to teach them using methods proven by research and scientific study.
I look forward to watching us all work in and influence the very important field of early childhood.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I was very proud to see girls ( or should I say women) that I have met over the years in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies walk down to get their pieces of paper.
The speeches were lovely and short but still inspirational and meaningful.
I agree with the Chancellor that we now have a responsibility to go forth and apply our knowledge and benefit our community.
I also agreed with our guest speaker, Professor Kevin Wheldall, AM, that we have a obligation to the children we teach to teach them using methods proven by research and scientific study.
I look forward to watching us all work in and influence the very important field of early childhood.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Teach/Learn Carnival: Easter!
Lots of lovely links to Easter ideas today. It seems like most people are on holidays, so here are lots of things to read and do with kids.
- Deb from Science@home looked at the calendar and the Timing of Easter.
- Marita from Stuff With Thing has been creating Easter Bonnets from items sourced at the Op Shop. She's trying to teach her girls that recycled items are best and create Easter Bonnets that can be used in years to come.
- Monique at Your Cheeky Monkey found out why Hot Cross Buns are special, and some easy instructions to make your own Easter Gift Tags.
- Nurturing Forests is wondering about the debate about the celebration of Easter in Long Day Care.
- Narelle at A Bunch of Keys shares a kid-friendly craft activity - how to make an Easter chicken using the kid's hand prints.
- She also has the most gorgeous Batik eggs, given my kids' love of candles we'll be doing these ones.
- Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now has links to lots of Montessori-inspired Easter activities for home or school.
- To make a change from all the lovely decorated eggs, the Science@home girls dissolved egg shells and made Bouncy Eggs.
- Jeannezoo at Zella Said Purple has Easter with a twist - an art/science project with 4s/5s to "study baskets and anything that carries anything else". We research items, make lists of features, then design our own "carrier" using paper, tape, cardboard, rope, paint...voila! An Egg Collector Basket for Easter :)
- Catherine from Adventures with Kids has hints for a great Easter egg hunt, whether it's for a party or your traditional family celebration.
- Another kid-friendly one from A Bunch of Keys, wheat is a sign of new life at Easter. This kids planted wheat in some old egg shells to make 'egg heads.'
- And a final Easter Basket idea at Science@home, making them from handmade paper and embedding seeds to be planted after the festivities are over.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Patterns: The building blocks for mathematical thinking
Recent early childhood research has found that the ability to make and understand patterns is a critical skill for future mathematical understandings. Studies have found that an understanding of patterning can lead to the development of analogical reasoning and the ability to identify, extend, and generalise patterns is important to inductive reasoning. The studies have found that a child can learn these skills at a very young age.
Papic and Mulligan (2007) found that teaching the "unit of repeat" is the key concept. The unit of repeat is the element that constantly reoccurs. For example, in a pattern that goes: Blue, Yellow, Blue, Yellow, Blue Yellow. The unit of repeat is "Blue, Yellow". If the pattern was changed to : Blue, Yellow, Red, Blue, Yellow, Red. The unit of repeat would be blue, yellow, red. It can also be any other representation e.g. square, circle; rectangle, circle, triangle.
Joanne Mulligan when she lectured us about the findings was so particular about the finding to the point that if the unit of repeat was not completed e.g. red, blue, red, blue, red. We should not label it a pattern at all as it doesn't demonstrate a understanding of the unit of repeat. However, the child can be scaffolded and asked "what needs to be done to finish the pattern?" and if they are able to suggest the addition of "blue" then they are on the way to understanding mathematical patterning. A sound understanding of the "unit of repeat" concept was the key to future mathematical development.
Those of you who are familiar with mathematics will see that this "unit of repeat" concept is identical to the algebra concepts. E.g. a+cd. This is why the study also recommended a focus on the 'structural features' of the pattern rather than the colours - as a focus on the colours of led to a over simplification of the pattern that was occurring.
Overall, the study has opened a new direction in mathematical practices and understanding in the early years. So when you next look at a child's building or construction ask yourself:
Papic and Mulligan (2007) found that teaching the "unit of repeat" is the key concept. The unit of repeat is the element that constantly reoccurs. For example, in a pattern that goes: Blue, Yellow, Blue, Yellow, Blue Yellow. The unit of repeat is "Blue, Yellow". If the pattern was changed to : Blue, Yellow, Red, Blue, Yellow, Red. The unit of repeat would be blue, yellow, red. It can also be any other representation e.g. square, circle; rectangle, circle, triangle.
Joanne Mulligan when she lectured us about the findings was so particular about the finding to the point that if the unit of repeat was not completed e.g. red, blue, red, blue, red. We should not label it a pattern at all as it doesn't demonstrate a understanding of the unit of repeat. However, the child can be scaffolded and asked "what needs to be done to finish the pattern?" and if they are able to suggest the addition of "blue" then they are on the way to understanding mathematical patterning. A sound understanding of the "unit of repeat" concept was the key to future mathematical development.
Those of you who are familiar with mathematics will see that this "unit of repeat" concept is identical to the algebra concepts. E.g. a+cd. This is why the study also recommended a focus on the 'structural features' of the pattern rather than the colours - as a focus on the colours of led to a over simplification of the pattern that was occurring.
Overall, the study has opened a new direction in mathematical practices and understanding in the early years. So when you next look at a child's building or construction ask yourself:
- Is there are unit of repeat happening here?
- How can I draw attention to it?
- What scaffolding do I need to provide to build on this child's understanding?
- How can I discuss the concept but in a different way? e.g. drawing it, building it etc
- How can I model (or demonstrate) the unit of repeat in everyday practice? For example, setting the table has a unit of repeat, everyone has a pair of shoes and so on.
What are your thoughts??
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Encouraging your child to write
There is much pressure on preschoolers to be able to read and write before they enter school.
However, it is important to remember that your child is taught these skills AT school so there is no need to force and drill your child into reading and writing.
Instead, what you can do is encourage a understanding of language and its uses.
Initially, this can be a simple as ensuring your children see you using writing as a tool. For example, involve them when making a shopping or to do list.
Secondly, encourage them to attempt to write - it doesn't matter if it looks nothing like their name or words, with practice it soon will. You should encourage your child to write in as many contexts as possible. For example, making lists, sending letters and even typing on the computer.
One skill they do need for school is the ability to recognize their name. So draw attention to their name in print whenever you can.
Finally, a key indicator for a child's literacy and language skills is how much they are read to. The more the better and there is significant research supporting the continual reading of the same book is very beneficial as it gives the child time to comprehend all aspects of the story. Thebookchook.com is a lovely place to start for story ideas.
If you are looking for more practical literacy tips the blog childhood101.con does weekly literacy spots that are excellent.
In my next literacy post, I will discuss some of the initiatives we are doing at my work.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
However, it is important to remember that your child is taught these skills AT school so there is no need to force and drill your child into reading and writing.
Instead, what you can do is encourage a understanding of language and its uses.
Initially, this can be a simple as ensuring your children see you using writing as a tool. For example, involve them when making a shopping or to do list.
Secondly, encourage them to attempt to write - it doesn't matter if it looks nothing like their name or words, with practice it soon will. You should encourage your child to write in as many contexts as possible. For example, making lists, sending letters and even typing on the computer.
One skill they do need for school is the ability to recognize their name. So draw attention to their name in print whenever you can.
Finally, a key indicator for a child's literacy and language skills is how much they are read to. The more the better and there is significant research supporting the continual reading of the same book is very beneficial as it gives the child time to comprehend all aspects of the story. Thebookchook.com is a lovely place to start for story ideas.
If you are looking for more practical literacy tips the blog childhood101.con does weekly literacy spots that are excellent.
In my next literacy post, I will discuss some of the initiatives we are doing at my work.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Documentation part 1: Using the daily diary as a tool for reaching your families
There was a lot of feedback asking for a post on documentation. As documentation is a rich and varied area, I thought I would start with the trusty daily diary.
I know a lot of preschools don't use a daily diary but it is a lovely way of filling families in on their child's day. Also, it can be used as a way of demonstrating to children that their contribution to the day is valued and if you are organized and detailed enough you can use it for your observations.
At our centre, we do the diary in a number of ways:
- we have pictures of the children and what they have been interested in and add text explaining what is happening and if possible a quote from the children
- secondly, we cover any group activities undertaken
- we also list the art experiences
-And finally, the books we have read
The diary is in constant evolution and half of above were added as a result of parent feedback.
In the past week, I have endeavoured to add a few more dimensions as a result of the conference:
- a couple of highlighted boxes explaining the value of a particular type of play especially maths and dramatic play.
- I have changed our generic "parent feedback/ comments" line to a " for our families: what you can do a home?". Here, I have tried to provide suggestions to families on how they can extend a interest of their child e.g visit a museum to see fossils, dinosaurs; talk to your child about the weather e.g. Is it cold, hot, wet, dry? How can you tell?
- I have also added a paragraph about our latest project
The diary is at the same level as our children's sign in sheet which makes it very accessible for the children and they will often check the photos and ask to be read what it says. I have also started putting a copy into a plastic sleeve book so the children can easily read the diary and look back over time.
And next week.... I am going to add some stronger links to the early years learning framework using the five overarching outcomes. I'll let you know how that goes.
How do you use your daily diary?
Do you use one? If not, how do you let the families know about their child's day?
Do your parents read your daily diary?
How do you reach families from non-English speaking backgrounds?
Do you use technology e.g. Email or blogs to reach your families?
If you're a parent who uses long day care, what do you think of the daily diary? Do you read it? What would you like included?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
I know a lot of preschools don't use a daily diary but it is a lovely way of filling families in on their child's day. Also, it can be used as a way of demonstrating to children that their contribution to the day is valued and if you are organized and detailed enough you can use it for your observations.
At our centre, we do the diary in a number of ways:
- we have pictures of the children and what they have been interested in and add text explaining what is happening and if possible a quote from the children
- secondly, we cover any group activities undertaken
- we also list the art experiences
-And finally, the books we have read
The diary is in constant evolution and half of above were added as a result of parent feedback.
In the past week, I have endeavoured to add a few more dimensions as a result of the conference:
- a couple of highlighted boxes explaining the value of a particular type of play especially maths and dramatic play.
- I have changed our generic "parent feedback/ comments" line to a " for our families: what you can do a home?". Here, I have tried to provide suggestions to families on how they can extend a interest of their child e.g visit a museum to see fossils, dinosaurs; talk to your child about the weather e.g. Is it cold, hot, wet, dry? How can you tell?
- I have also added a paragraph about our latest project
The diary is at the same level as our children's sign in sheet which makes it very accessible for the children and they will often check the photos and ask to be read what it says. I have also started putting a copy into a plastic sleeve book so the children can easily read the diary and look back over time.
And next week.... I am going to add some stronger links to the early years learning framework using the five overarching outcomes. I'll let you know how that goes.
How do you use your daily diary?
Do you use one? If not, how do you let the families know about their child's day?
Do your parents read your daily diary?
How do you reach families from non-English speaking backgrounds?
Do you use technology e.g. Email or blogs to reach your families?
If you're a parent who uses long day care, what do you think of the daily diary? Do you read it? What would you like included?
Posted by Wendy
"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" -Martin Luther King
Preventing sudden unexpected infant death (SUDI)
I realise this isn't part of the upcoming post list but this is such an important issue I had to make it a priority.
On Thursday morning I attended the National Investment For The Early Years (NIFTeY) NSW branch meeting. This meeting is attended by key stakeholders in early childhood including government, Gowrie NSW, SDN, and others. I attend as a independent member as I asked pretty please if I could join as I am very interested/passionate about the work they do.
Anyway, on Thursday, we were honored to have a presentation made to us by Professor Heather Jeffery. Heather led and co-author the recent NSW Child Death Review - 'a preliminary investigation of neonatal SUDI In NSW 1996-2008: opportunities for prevention '.
For access to the full report click here: http://kids.nsw.gov.au/uploads/documents/FinalSUDIneonates.pdf
The key findings were:
The three key risk factors for sudden unexpected death of an infant are:
- co-sleeping. Therefore never sleep in the same bed as your child, they can be in the same room but not the bed. Cultures that do co-sleep, eg China and Japan, have a separate safe place for the child to be moved to when asleep.
- safe sleeping i.e. The child should always be put to sleep on their back, NEVER on their tummy
- smoking
If these three risk factors are removed, most deaths will be preventable.
This is a link to the SIDS and KIDS brochure about safe sleeping: http://www.sidsandkids.org/wp-content/uploads/SidsSafeSleeping14ppa1.pdf
The SIDS and kids website is : www.sidsandkids.org
I know this is a sensitive issue and there is a lot of misinformation about what is best for your child. However, this is the very latest research and it may prevent your healthy child from dying.
As a result of this presentation, there will be a substantial government campaign implemented to raise awareness to the findings.
If you have any questions just let me know and and I will endeavor to point to in the right direction
Posted by Wendy
"we are the change we have been waiting for" - Barack Obama
Monday, April 4, 2011
Maths Links: Early mathematical thinking
Thank you for all your feedback and positive comments about yesterday's post. Hopefully I can live up to everyone's expectations now :)
I think off the top of my head the winner was documentation as a place to start which I will try and do a post about over the next few days. If you are keen to look at template/ ideas Carly over at Early Childhood Resources did a post today about observations, the format she recommended is similar to one of the tools I use (probably the influence of the same uni at very similar times).
But as today is Monday it's time for Joyful Learner's maths links... Head over and check it out for some great maths ideas www.joyfullearner.blogspot.com
The main thing I wanted to share with you was some quick places that will quickly get you up to speed on the latest maths research if you haven't studied recently.
One of the best places to start is the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers position statement on early childhood maths which you can find here: http://www.aamt.edu.au/content/download/721/19509/file/earlymaths_a3.pdf
A article about common misconceptions about maths education in the early years: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/early_childhood_teachers_misconceptions_about_mathematics_education_for_young_children_in_the_united_states.html
Dr Jenni Way highly recommends the following book for excellent practical and up to date advice on applying maths in the early years:
Dr Kate Tucker,2010, Mathematics Through Play in the Early years (2nd ed.) Sage books. This is the book depository link for you: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781848608849/Mathematics-Through-Play-in-the-Early-Years.
To paraphrase Jenni "I have been waiting for years to find one I could recommend and this one is it". It's only $33 and free worldwide delivery! And tax deductible if you work in the industry. Have just ordered it myself.
So there's some reading to whet your appetite... Next Monday I will write about the vital importance of developing patterning skills in the early years.
Posted by Wendy
"we are the change we have been waiting for" - Barack Obama
I think off the top of my head the winner was documentation as a place to start which I will try and do a post about over the next few days. If you are keen to look at template/ ideas Carly over at Early Childhood Resources did a post today about observations, the format she recommended is similar to one of the tools I use (probably the influence of the same uni at very similar times).
But as today is Monday it's time for Joyful Learner's maths links... Head over and check it out for some great maths ideas www.joyfullearner.blogspot.com
The main thing I wanted to share with you was some quick places that will quickly get you up to speed on the latest maths research if you haven't studied recently.
One of the best places to start is the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers position statement on early childhood maths which you can find here: http://www.aamt.edu.au/content/download/721/19509/file/earlymaths_a3.pdf
A article about common misconceptions about maths education in the early years: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/early_childhood_teachers_misconceptions_about_mathematics_education_for_young_children_in_the_united_states.html
Dr Jenni Way highly recommends the following book for excellent practical and up to date advice on applying maths in the early years:
Dr Kate Tucker,2010, Mathematics Through Play in the Early years (2nd ed.) Sage books. This is the book depository link for you: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781848608849/Mathematics-Through-Play-in-the-Early-Years.
To paraphrase Jenni "I have been waiting for years to find one I could recommend and this one is it". It's only $33 and free worldwide delivery! And tax deductible if you work in the industry. Have just ordered it myself.
So there's some reading to whet your appetite... Next Monday I will write about the vital importance of developing patterning skills in the early years.
Posted by Wendy
"we are the change we have been waiting for" - Barack Obama
Sunday, April 3, 2011
A post about upcoming posts
Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a Sydney University conference about the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality standards.
As a result, I have lots of excellent material that I plan on sharing with you over the next few weeks/months.
A broad summary of what I intend to write about for you...
- documentation within the context of the eylf so portfolios, observations, assessment and daily diaries
- ensuring that families are integrated into your practice
- language and literacy in the early years
- using popular characters e.g. Superheroes, barbie and Thomas in your practice - what the research is saying
- maths in the early years. This particular presentation was so fantastic I have enough for the whole year
- working together as a team to achieve the eylf outcomes
- how to use the reflect respect relate document
- how to demonstrate continuous quality improvement ( for this, I will also draw on my previous experience in hr)
- more about advocacy
Posted by Wendy
"we are the change we have been waiting for" - Barack Obama
As a result, I have lots of excellent material that I plan on sharing with you over the next few weeks/months.
A broad summary of what I intend to write about for you...
- documentation within the context of the eylf so portfolios, observations, assessment and daily diaries
- ensuring that families are integrated into your practice
- language and literacy in the early years
- using popular characters e.g. Superheroes, barbie and Thomas in your practice - what the research is saying
- maths in the early years. This particular presentation was so fantastic I have enough for the whole year
- working together as a team to achieve the eylf outcomes
- how to use the reflect respect relate document
- how to demonstrate continuous quality improvement ( for this, I will also draw on my previous experience in hr)
- more about advocacy
Posted by Wendy
"we are the change we have been waiting for" - Barack Obama
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Celebrating Easter - Do I do it?
I wanted to do a post on the celebration of Easter in a Long Day Care setting because it seems to be an issue that a lot of people are concerned about.
There has been a extreme trend (and often the only version seen in the papers) to ban all celebrations in the understanding that that is how you recognise diversity and difference within the centre.
However, recognition of diversity and difference is not about pretending things don't exist - it is acknowledging that other people may hold different views to you and each other and talking about that at the same time.
This including providing families with a choice and ability to ask their child not to be involved in a certain celebration.
I, personally, do not hold any strong religious beliefs - I do strongly recognise with the principles of Buddhism and try to implement them but often fail - but my boss and my Diploma staff member are both strong Christians and as I explained to them - it is OK to celebrate something at work that they believe in.
Part of being a good teacher and role model is having conviction of your beliefs but not to the exclusion of others.
What do you do for Easter? Do you celebrate it at your centre?
There has been a extreme trend (and often the only version seen in the papers) to ban all celebrations in the understanding that that is how you recognise diversity and difference within the centre.
However, recognition of diversity and difference is not about pretending things don't exist - it is acknowledging that other people may hold different views to you and each other and talking about that at the same time.
This including providing families with a choice and ability to ask their child not to be involved in a certain celebration.
I, personally, do not hold any strong religious beliefs - I do strongly recognise with the principles of Buddhism and try to implement them but often fail - but my boss and my Diploma staff member are both strong Christians and as I explained to them - it is OK to celebrate something at work that they believe in.
Part of being a good teacher and role model is having conviction of your beliefs but not to the exclusion of others.
What do you do for Easter? Do you celebrate it at your centre?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Maths Links: Integrating the concept of time into the curriculum
A critical maths skill that all children need to learn is the ability to read a clock and both types of clocks, not just a digital clock.
Many people argue that telling the time is too complicated a skill for young children but I know many 2 year olds (and even some babies) who are able to understand the basics. The main skill is an understanding of the numbers and the idea that they represent a concept (time). Most children have been exposed to time as a concept from a very young age - for example, being asked to wait for something.
Like many complicated concepts, such as reading and writing, it is all about modelling and demonstrating how the skill is used in every day life.
For example, for many children I like to introduce the concept of time (and a clock) when they are arguing over a toy. For example, Joe can have the toy til the big hand gets on the 2. For a very popular toy this can even involve the making of a waiting list then writing the numbers and drawing what the hands will look like.
It is also useful for when morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are coming as well as when their families will be here. It can also be used in a pictorial communication system to enable children to plan their day.
I also like to supplement this with clock puzzles that show times etc. At the expense of coming across as a Melissa and Doug Sales repersentative (I promise I'm not) this clock is incredible and suitable for all ages.
What do you do to help your children understand the concept of time?
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