Documentation

Documentation is a practice that I have only come to meet within the last three years-the learning curve has been huge! Those who are new to ELKP -or those who are still waiting for it to come to them-may have heard of documentation (or documenting) as a means of assessment or "making learning visible". It is essentially capturing the learning process. Documentation is not to be taken lightly, nor is it an easy undertaking, but it is one that I enjoy nonetheless. I feel great pleasure in reflecting on the children's learning, through the dissection of my own notes and thinking. My creative side gets much satisfaction from creating (what I feel) are beautiful displays of the children's work and thinking. Not only do I appreciate these pieces, but the children also. Pride beams in their faces and throughout their entire bodies when they see their images or work displayed in a aesthetically pleasing way in our classroom. The children will often recount learning experiences that have been documented, which, in turn, may then extend the experience or blossom into a new inquiry. Very exciting stuff.

Now, this is certainly not your traditional way of assessing children and that is where I, and I know many other educators, struggle with (well, only at first!). I am so fortunate to have such wonderful, collaborative colleagues who I often turn to when I need help or guidance. However, at the end of day, I have (and I hope you will) come to learn that documentation is truly an authentic and beautiful representation of who children really are, what they know and what they have learned.

Speaking of wonderful, collaborative colleagues, I would like to thank them for sharing this video. I hope that you watch, that you enjoy and that you gain some insight into what documenting is. I also hope that you too will see the value, the necessity and the beauty of documentation and will be inspired to try it in your program.

http://vimeo.com/36323323

How Are the Children?

This past weekend some colleagues and I attended this amazing conference:

Transforming Pedagogical Practices
Making Connections Across Ontario

Saturday, November 10, 2012
Charles Sturt University

Hosted by

and

Keynote Speaker:

Jim Grieve

 QUICK BIO: Jim Grieve was appointed the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Early Learning Division for the Ontario Ministry of Education in November of 2009 to lead the provincial implementation of full day learning for 4 and 5 year old children in all Ontario schools. He has travelled the world (Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, The Netherlands, Italy, France) to study other school systems and districts.  

 

 Jim Greive's keynote address was titled "How Toddlers Will Save the World".

 

He and his colleagues usually greet one another by asking, "How are the children doing?" I love this. Just how are the children doing?

 

Mr. Grieve was a wonderful speaker; so full of light and passion! Passion for the FDK (full day kindergarten) program and for it's long term benefits on our children, our economy... our entire world, really.

 

I would like to share with you some important messages that stayed with me during Mr. Grieve's address.

 

 

"20% of a baby's brain is formed at birth"...how do we foster the rest of the 80%?

 

We have a tremendous influence on the lives of our children.

 

"If we invest in our children they will be forever changed and motivated to work in this world."

 

Another interesting thoughts by Jim Grieve...

 

"It's not about child develop, it's about human development"

 

Education needs to be modernized ...which is about "putting away your October box of pumpkins" and instead focus on...

 

INTERACTION
talking and listening to the children's interest and questions
getting down, eye to eye
provoking children to challenge thinking

"Kids are ready for school, how are we getting ready to receive them?"

 

We need to shift to our thinking from, "Will these kids be ready for grade 1?" to "Will grade one be ready for these students?"

(LOVED this quote! I think it was my favourite moment of the day)

 

 

 

Every conference that I have been to always tells us educators the same thing, that we have the most important jobs in the world. How are our interactions with our children each day shaping them?

 

I loved this image. It's not exactly the same one that Mr. Grieve shared with us, but the message was so beautiful that I really wanted to post it.  In China, trainers have dressed themselves in panda suits to teach panda cubs the way of panda life.

What does this say about how we as educators should approach teaching young children?

 

 

The conference then broke off into some smaller sessions with presenters from FDK programs around the region. The information and documentation presented was so inspiring. The sessions gave me a tonne of new ideas and information that I can't wait to share with Mrs. Clarkson.

Here are some messages from other sessions:

• The concept of "Spicy Work". Children working in groups to complete a task and create rules for communication. Children assure that all members are included and wait until all members are finished before moving on.

I also had the pleasure to once again hear Dianne Riehl speak. She and Karen Calligan from The Ontario Ministry of Education spoke about how we view children and how does this mindset transfer into and reflect in our teaching as well as our learning environments. My favourite quote from them...

"Wisdom is built by wonder" How do we get our children to wonder about the world?

The last session was presented by Dr. Sharon Speir, and Dr. Jeffrey Wood from The Rainbow District School Board and Laurentian University in Sudbury Ontario.

This team focused on teachers as researchers which really motivated to be even more reflective in my practise. What most captured me was the importance of my role in the documentation process and thinking about "what is the story you want to tell?" I loved the documentation of The Pedagogy of Love then it hit me...I have so much freedom in what I capture. Sometimes I get so distracted in capturing moments that align with the evident curriculum, but what about highlighting and teaching to the hidden curriculum? The education of the child's soul. This really moved me.

All in all it was a wonderful day with my colleagues. I feel so grateful to have had such a wonderful opportunity to expand my knowledge and challenge my thinking. I feel re-energised and ready to go back to the classroom feeling rejuvenated and ready to put my learning into practise.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing Personal Experiences

 It is such a pleasure when our children share their personal experiences with one another. A few weekends ago, one of our children visited "a different Toronto" with his family. His parents were kind enough to take some photos of their trip to share with the class. With our inquiry on skyscrapers still going strong, the picture show was a wonderful success! Some the children's ideas about Toronto, the CN Tower, cities and skyscrapers were validated...and of course, some exciting conversations and questions came about. My favourite part? The sound of 26 little voices saying, "WHOA!" with the switching of the each photo. Thanks for bringing Toronto to us!



-"I was up in the CN Tower...we took it [the picture] in the circle." (at the top of the CN Tower)
- "It's poking through the clouds!"
-"You can see other towers."

Our presenter ran his hand on our brightlinks, up the tower. He mentioned that he took an elevator to the top, but that there were also stairs.The children also discussed what material the CN Tower was made out of. Our presenter thought it might have been cardboard, others thought wood. There were many ideas...
-"It's not wood!"
- "It's big blocks."
-"It's bricks."



"I was walking on the glass floors. I saw the pieces outside" shares our presenter.
"You saw the brick?" asks a friend.
Our presenter nods, yes.
-"Is the glass floor glass?"
-"Ya, when you look down you can see the bottom."
"What if you were scared? Were you scared?"
"I was just okay. I saw the mini cars."
Miss. S: "What are mini cars?"
"When you go in the CN Tower, they are mini cars when you look at them."
One student helped to clarify our presenters thinking:
-"They are big when you are close and little when you are far."

"You can't see all the way up because it's too big."

Miss. S: "How many skyscrapers do you see?"

"That's the zoo!"
"No, that's the dinosaur place."
"It's called a museum."
"The pointy things are pointy that way" (child uses his fingers to point in different directions)

"I see a timer."
"That's the clock for Toronto."

 As an extension to this inquiry we have been busy planning a trip to explore our own city; downtown Cambridge and the School of Architecture to learn how structures truly come to life. We hope to share some photos of this experience with you in the upcoming weeks.
 

Too Soon?

Our children want to write comics...but aren't they too young to even READ a comic?
Our children want to write scripts...but are they ready for such an undertaking?

The fact of the matter is, children are ready to write when they are ready-it's not something we should hurry or rush them into. This is not to say that we do not promote or practise writing/fine motor skills in our program-we certainly do! We just explore and use writing in more authentic ways, through play, during the course of the day. For example, in just one week we've observed children writing scripts for puppet play, writing down others "ideas" during our sharing of learning times, writing comics complete with thought and speech bubbles, using their names in tallies and charts to take a vote and of course, writing orders in a "restaurant". There has been such a great energy in the room-an excitement for writing! And it excites us to no end.

This week I had a chat with Mrs. Clarkson and our wonderful ECE colleague in room 2. It was a brief chat but it really resonated with me. Together we thought that perhaps other educator's ambivalence towards this program may be based on their belief that children are just not "ready" for this type of learning. For example, some educators feel that it's too early to teach young children the musical patterning of  "ta-ta-ti-ta". My thinking is, if students are interested in patterns (like our students) why not explore musical patters? Yes, I know this is a lesson that is traditionally taught in the primary years, but if explored early on just IMAGINE what children could accomplish or produce in the grades to come. It's a wonderful thought, isn't it?

So, my thinking? If children are showing a genuine interest in something allow them to explore it. And use the language that is true to their exploration. If they interested in rocks, call them archaeologists or even scientists. If they want to build towers, call them architects. If they want to write comics, or scripts call them writers, authors or artists. Guide them through the world that they are so curious about; it is never too soon.

Writing our comics during our weekly journal time.  During our reading to self time, some students noticed and wondered about the "white parts" on the pages of our very popular Ninjago comic. We talked about speech bubbles and thought bubbles and looked at their differences. The children were extremely motivated to write their own "comics."
This student illustrated himself going to the beach. He is saying, "Go".

This is page one of a student's journal work. His "comic" extended over two pages. The blue ninja is saying "hiya!"

The second page. The red ninja is responding with "Rrrrr"- notice the r's to the left of the page. When I commented on his work he replied, "I like it because it's my favourite thing."

We even noticed speech and thought bubbles on some clothing.

Typically a hesitant writer, this student was observed as being engaged for over 10 mins.

Two friends at the beginning stages of script writing for their The Little Pigs production.

Thinking About Mental Health: Relationships are the Key to Learning

I have been extremely fortunate this year to already have had three wonderful professional development opportunities.  They include:

1. Building Mental Health Literacy in Educators-Sept 20th
Presented by Don Buchanan, Knowledge Mobilization Officer of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

2. A Framework for Understanding Poverty-Sept 28th
Presented by Michael Whithead, Social Worker for the WCDSB

3. Making Learning Visible-Building Relationships to Know Your Learners-Oct 4th
Presented by Dr. Jean Clinton, Child Psychologist at McMaster University and Children's Hospital

These workshops were equally eye-opening and inspiring! At the end of the day, however, I couldn't help but notice that they all had a common focus, or now that I think about it, a common question; how do we create mentally healthy classrooms? The answer; by building relationships with our students-get to know who they are.

This entry has taken sometime for me to write as I have been reflecting heavily on this topic and ALL the information that I have gathered from these sessions (I am quite the note taker...just ask my ELK team). Here are some things that I have been thinking about and reflecting on.

• 1 in 5 students struggle with a mental health problem and all it takes is one caring adult to make a difference. This fact laid heavy on my heart, not to mention made me that much more motivated to be that ONE person in a child's life.
• I am thinking more about what I attribute children's behaviour to. I find myself having even more casual conversations with our students to gain a deeper understanding of who they truly are. In doing this, I am hoping to learn more about their beliefs, prior experiences, and thinking. I aim to understand what is the intent of their behaviour and guide them (if need be) in a different direction or to take preventative action.
• "Satisfying the social and emotional needs of students does more than prepare them to learn-it actually increases their capacity to learn" (Hawkins et al., 1999; Malecki & Elliot, 2002).
  How do I better teach these skills which include self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, relationship skills, decision making skills?! This year, we have started with talking about our feelings. As well, my teaching partner and I always model acceptable social and emotional interactions and reactions. I still feel that I will have to educate myself further on this one.
• How do I consider the different temperaments of children? What strategies will I or, do I use that accommodate to the extroverts and introverts in our class? To the students that are sensitive to different stimuli?
• "The brain is sculpted by experience." Dr. Jean ClintonI felt like I have known this since my days in Psych 101 but something about the way that Dr. Clinton said it just lit the biggest light bulb in my head. If I know that the brain (and behaviour) can actually change, yes CHANGE with positive experiences then I aim to continually provide our students with school experiences that are safe, playful, meaningful and educational.
• It's about "progress, not perfection" when it comes to working with children. I may be a teacher but I am only human. I am not perfect and may make some mistakes and I certainly don't know it all. What I do know is that I am growing in knowledge. What I lack in experience I make up for with enthusiasm. It is safe to say that my passion for early learning is stronger now than it has ever been and I strive to become a more informed and educated professional.

So, in final, when it comes to creating relationships with children I strongly feel that it all comes down to reexamining what my view of the child is. I will fully admit that at the beginning of my teaching career I would have said that children are empty vessels that needed to be filled knowledge. Since then, and since teaching in the ELKP my view of the child, teaching and education has changed DRASTICALLY! I now see children has creative, capable people full of experiences, curiosities, knowledge and questions of their own that they long to share. When interacting with children, I am beginning to look more for their strengths and competencies rather than the things they lack or struggle with. I am enjoying learning how to learn with children; in slowing down, listening to them-to their interests and questions. I enjoy being challenged in planning how to extend their learning in ways that are fun and meaningful to them.

As always, I am extremely grateful for my knowledgeable colleagues the all PD that comes our way. For those of you who are interested in more PD/information about mental health in children and creating relationships I have included a few titles and links below.

Calm, Alert and Learning
A NEW book by Dr. Stuart Shanker
http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/self-regulation-calm-alert-and-learning

Understanding PovertyBy: Ruby K. Payne, Ph. D

C.A.P.E. (Consultants and Coordinators of Primary Education)
Don't be fooled by their title, we are educators and are very welcome at their workshops!
http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/963647643

http://cymhin.offordcentre.com/

Thanks for reading!

"I am so gald I came to this Open House..."

...was a comment we received from the mother of one of our SK students during our Open House on September 18th. We've made some changes this year and by the sounds of it, our families, even the ones that we've had a year to get to know, seem just as excited as we are.

This past summer I took my Reading Specialist course. A part of the course focused on parent involvment and engagement which, at first, I thought were the same idea. During my research, however, I leanred that they are two quite different things. I was encouraged to think about how do I involve parents and families in our classroom, in our school, in our learning and teaching? Likewise, I got to thinking about how I could better engage with families; how might  I offer them opportunities to "join in," to become informed and to get messy with us! At the end of the day, I realized that I could be doing a much better job of this (hence the creation of this BLOG!). One of my many goals for this year is to involve parents through this BLOG, through our slideshows and also to engage with them by inviting them into the class more frequently and communicating with them via videos and the web. But back to the Open House!

So, with a head full of new learning and fresh ideas, for the Open House, I decided to create two centres for students and parents to explore together-my way of involving and engaging parents. The first centre was a community building centre where families could build inukshuks together to represent their presence in our classroom. Earlier in the week the children had the opportunity to create their own inukshuks as a part of our rock exploration project. It was interesting to see how the families reacted to this artistic invitation. Like our children who explore our classroom learning centres, some parents jumped right in, some were slow to warm up and some just walked right by. Nevertheless, we found it to be a beautiful activity and were glad that we tried something new. We ended up with some beautiful inukshuks which are now on display in our classroom.

The second centre was a homework display which offered a parent letter communicating information regarding our new Daily 5 Home Reading Program. I was able to inform parents of this new homework routine which we feel is much more meaningful and easier to manage than what we've done in the past. We got many comments about our new program including, "This is so much better than last year" and "Thanks for adding a list of on-line reading sites and activities, [child's name] is going to love that." I think parents really appreciated the opportunity to have their questions about the homework answered via a face-to-face conversation. I also felt good about it and was glad to have been able to have a little chat. Again, a great way to really involve and inform parents in a much more personal way.

All in all it was a beutiful and busy evening. Thanks to all of the families who made it out and for your participation and support!

Our First Week

Our first week together was a terrific one! On Wednesday we welcomed back our new SKs-my how they have grown! It was clear that they were proud to be back and to be the "older" children in the class this year. The children really impressed us with their manners and knowledge of our rules and routines. What was most inspiring, however, was their eagerness to get back into "project" work and "talking about things" like "why do people have rock collections?". It was our pleasure to see such joy and eagerness amongst the group.

Of course we can't forget to mention our new bunch of JKs. We are truly so lucky to have such a kind and overall remarkable group of children join us this year. Their bravery in diving into  Kindergarten at this place called St. Ambrose blew us away.

So now our class is complete! We look forward to getting to know our children in the days, months and weeks to come. But mostly, we are excited for all the learning that is to come.

We remembered patterns...and even made a few.

Natural and open-ended materials provide endless opportunities for creative play. Soup anyone?

We built and analyzed the shapes in our structures.

We collected rocks from our yard...

...and decide to wash them. I wonder what will become of this exploration.

Our Space

When it comes to creating a space that fosters comfort and creativity we feel that less is more. Our teams works very hard to provide our children with a neat, simple and neutral space with little distraction. On the other hand, we do try to incoperate new and interesting elements into our space to spark thinking including mirrors, water and light and items from nature. Our activties and tools are displayed in an athestically pleasing way in order to teach the children how to respect and honour the beauty that surrounds them.
We look forward to filling our boards with documenatation of the children's learning through project work.
Thanks for taking a look!

Just getting started...

Welcome to our new Room 1 ELKP blog! This is our first blogging experience...so please bear with us! We are excited to include parents, teachers and other community members in our learning. Our hope is that through being interactive, we will develop a partnership with you and the community to help better foster your children through their kindergarten experience.

We kindly thank you in advance for your contributions! We look forward to an exciting year with you and your children.

God bless,
Room 1 ELKP team.