The fist day in willows
On the first day of the practicum, I tried to remember the names of the children in my room, and I could remember most of them in one day. I know I will have 7 days to play with them, so I will not be in a hurry.
Staff name: Stutee Randi Shira Trisha
willows’s Schedule:
8:00- 9:30 indoor play
9:30- 11:30 Outdoor explore
11:30- 12:00 circle time
12:00-1:00 lunchtime + nap time
1:30 yard play for the rest of the day (including 15mintues snap time)
Luna is the kid who talked with me for the very first time. Me and Divya sat at the table, Luna came and said hello to us:
Luna: hi my name is Luna, I am 3 years old.
Divya: HI Luna how old do I look?
Luna: you are 3
Kristen: how about me?
Luna: you are 4
Kristen: why do you think I am older than you and Divya?
Luna: because you are bigger than us.
This is a “big” that Luna defines.
How to show your engagement with children?
1. narrating things:
Repeat or state what children have said. For example:
– oh, my leg!
– How about your leg？
2. Sharing the same experience with them
-my mum bought me Oreo last night
-you know what, oreo is my favourite snack
3. using “I message”
I can see…
I found…
I know…
I understand…
4. asking crazy questions while playing with them (tip for my mentor)
“no respond is a respond”(Jobby,2024)
The situation is as follows: Two children were playing on a teeter-totter when a third child intervened, standing in the middle and manually moving theteeterboard.
Noah, who was on the seesaw, said, “Stop, I don’t like you touch it.”
I stepped in and said: “he said to stop. If you want to play, you have to take turns.”
Yanlan responded: “I think it’s not a big deal if he stands in the middle.”
I felt confused, so I asked Mary for her opinion. Below is the conversation between Mary and Kristen:
- Firstly, the boy William, who stood in the middle of the teeter-totter, does not understand English. At the moment, he requires additional support.
- Secondly, if we intervene in every single incident, we would exhaust ourselves by the end of the morning. Not every conflict requires adult intervention. Sometimes, observing during disputes can be more effective, as the children may resolve the issue on their own in the next moment.
Intervention Is More Than Just Stepping In
Desmen, Avrik, and Weston were playing a chasing game in the yard. During the game, Desmen tackled Weston to the ground and pinned him down. Upon noticing this, Shira stepped in. She first asked Desmen to get off Weston’s body, then comforted Weston by holding him and soothing his emotions. Simultaneously, she arranged for ten other children to move to a different area of the yard.
At this point, Desmen started crying, saying that he was forced to be separated from Avrik and Forrest, who were now playing in a different area because of Weston.
Shira responded, “It’s not anyone’s fault. My friends just need a little break to calm down.”
What left me puzzled was: when two children are both emotionally overwhelmed and there is only one teacher, who should be prioritized?
Shira explained, “This situation requires a deeper look. First, Weston is younger than Desmen. Second, Weston’s mother is currently expecting a second child, which might make his emotions more volatile. Considering these two factors, I chose to prioritize comforting Weston. As for Desmen, I leaned more towards verbal reassurance. For example, I said, ‘Desmen, I know you are sad, and it’s okay. We are here to take a break.”
Think out of the box when you step in
Gordon and Raymond were arguing over some tires. Gordy and Izzy were using three tires to construct a small base. During the process, Raymond came over and, without permission, jumped into one of the tires. Izzy shouted loudly, “Get out of here!” Gordy also exclaimed, “This is what we built!”
Randi intervened, having observed the entire process beforehand. She said, “Raymond, these tires were used by Gordy and Izzy to build their structure. If you want to join, you need to ask for permission or take turns. Besides this spot, there are three more tires over there. If you need help, I can assist you.”
Raymond decided to use the third set of tires.
Instead of blaming Raymond or forcing Gordy and Izzy to share tires, Randi creatively provided an alternative solution, guiding Raymond to use a different set of tires and offering to help.
Collaborative rule-making
In the morning, Willows went to TRU Hills. Before climbing the hill, the educator would set rules and boundaries. However, their approach was not to let the children define these themselves. The conversation is as follows,
we gonna turn our ears， we gonna stay here and play a little bit, can somebody tell a rule when we up to the hill;
s: we can not pass the boundary
Shira: So, the top of the hill is the boundary, if you go way up to the top, the teacher can not see you, and that is not safe. If you go down to the hill, the backpack is gonna be your boundary. Everybody plays on the other side of the backpack, and you should stay where the teachers can see you, if you can’t see the teachers, that means teachers can not see you, and that is not safe.
c: We stay away from animals
s: We can not scar the deer
a: Dont touch the dinosaur
What Shira did was collaboratively formulate rules, and supplement and refine them to ensure safety
Using Questioning Strategies to Develop Children’s Problem-Solving Skills
Ameya and Winney were playing with dinosaur containers in the hallway. When Winney put two containers together, she tried to climb up. At this time, Ameya was lying under the two containers. Trisha saw it and asked Winney:
-Win, Ameya is lying down on the ground. If you fall on the ground, you might heat her. There is nothing wrong you did, but could you think about how to keep us safe in this situation?
-Probably move out of the box.
-Yes, it is a good idea.
Trisha used questions to train Winney’s problem solving ability.
However, the same situation happened to Forrest and Weston the next day. I tried to intervene in the way of Thrisha, but failed. The response I got was “no, I am not gonna move the box. ” I asked Trisha for help. She told Forrest in a firm tone that it was not safe because it might break his arm if he fell down, while moving the box down.
The goal of the second practicum
I realized that the intervention method for each child is different. And when to intervene in what way for what kind of child will be the direction of my next practicum.
