Objective Observation
Objective observation.
When observing children it is important to write an objective observation. Why is objectivity important?
It is important for educators to be as objective as possible when recording their observations in order to avoid bias. A bias could be defined as a pre-determined way of perceiving, and can be positive or negative. Usually, bias arises out of past experiences. Pre-determined perceptions can influence how an educator records an observation as well as what an educator includes in an observation.
Objective observations are descriptions of what is observed stating the facts and details with as little interpretation as possible. The objective observer will seek to record simply what they see without offering any opinion. In this type of observation results should be the same among individuals.
Objective information is that which can be observed, seen, tasted, touched, smelled, counted, or heard.
Examples of objective observation. Bennett speaks into the phone, “hello, yes, please bring milk home.”
Objective observations are used for child assessment and injury reports.
Subjective observations are observations that are influenced by past events, opinions, background or personal experience often biased information.
Subjective information is opinion, judgement, rumor, assumption, belief, or suspicion based on thoughts, feelings, ideas or decisions. Results among individuals vary widely.
Examples of subjective observation.
Bennett talks on the phone, probably imitating how he sees his mother use the phone.
Slide show with objective or subjective questions to answer.
http://www.slideshare.net/janiceaughey/subjective-objective-exercise
Documentation Board: For Families
This is a simple explanation of a documentation board for families in your program.
A Documentation Board is a visual communication tool. These boards are organized around a theme, with artwork, photographs, dictation, anecdotes, work samples, and educational information to communicate with you. They are also used by the teacher to deepen and extend the learning in a classroom and to inform future classroom learning goals.
A documentation board is created by observing, recording, interpreting and sharing the processes and products of learning.
A documentation board will enhance communication with you by:
- Allowing for a deeper understanding of how children learn
- Sharing a visible record of classroom learning
- Sharing your child’s learning
- Deepening our relationship with your children and yourselves
- Encouraging you to ask questions
Children can re-visit, reflect and respond to the visuals of a documentation board, enhancing their learning experiences.
Additionally, a documentation board allows your child’s teacher to reflect on her practice which completes the cycle to start over again.
Declutter
TLC Too is undergoing an extensive renovation of all the classrooms with new paint, new flooring, new cabinets and countertops. Teachers have been asked to declutter and intentionally reflect on what they will put back into their classrooms.
Decluttering seems a daunting process but what a wonderful opportunity to start fresh with a specific purpose in mind.
When setting up for the new school year ask yourself these questions.
- What do I want the children to learn in the space?
- How do I want them to use the materials you present?
- Are materials displayed to invite use?
- How does your classroom convey what you want children to feel while there?
- Is your environment inviting and beautiful?
This is the link to a great article to refer to creating a beautiful learning environment. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Or watch as a webinar. http://home.edweb.net/lessons-from-the-bowerbird-how-to-create-inspiring-and-purposeful-environments-for-young-children/
Research has pointed to decluttering or the “bare walls” theory for increasing creativity and reducing distraction and anxiety in the classroom.
Read more here. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/decrease-classroom-clutter-increase-creativity-erin-klein
Overwhelmed, start with a few small changes. Let me know how it goes.
Happy planning for back to school!
Sensory ideas
Things I have used in a sensory table this year.
Rice
Flour
Oatmeal
Cornmeal
Beans
Bird seed
Cotton Ball
Mash Potato Flakes
Salt
Salt and Spice
Ice
Water
Feathers
Pom poms
Corn Starch
Sand
Shredded Paper
Bubbles
Dish Soap and Corn Starch
What would you add?
Patriotic Cupcakes/Muffins
Feeling Patriotic? Let’s make patriotic cupcakes or muffins for a Fourth of July celebration!
Here’s how.
Purchase a white cake mix or muffin mix. Follow the directions for making cupcakes/muffins on the box. Let the children add the ingredients as directed and stir the mix.
After sufficiently mixing, divide the batter into three bowls. Now it is time to add color! Add red food coloring to one bowl, mix well. Add blue food coloring to a second bowl. Mix well. Please leave the third bowl uncolored.
Use one color to fill 1/3 of your individual muffin cup. Here we used red first.
Use the second color to fill the next 1/3 of the individual muffin. Here we used the uncolored batter.
Scoop the last color to fill the muffin cup. We scooped blue last.
Bake according to the directions on the box. Here is the final baked muffin! Enjoy
Potato Container Garden
Want to try container gardening with your little ones? We had success with potatoes! Here is why it worked for us!
First, seed potatoes or potato eyes are large enough for little hands to manage. Have you ever tried planting tiny carrot seeds with young children………you get the idea, potatoes are doable!
Second, the potato grows under the soil so there is minimal disruption if a child or children pick the leaves of the potato plant. Unlike, if a just forming tomato is picked, the project is over!
Third, the potato is not delicate. Children can dig into the box at the end of the growing period and find the potatoes without harming the produce.
Here’s how to set up a potato container garden.
You will need some kind of big container, soil, starter potato, a trowel,water and mulching material.
We used an old window box, filled it with soil, dug a few holes into the soil, plopped the potato in and covered the whole box with more soil and a layer of old leaves and straw. Place your container in a sunny location.
Water your container steadily if you don’t have rain from time to time. Water it, watch the plants grow and when the plants die off sometime about 10 weeks from the start of the project, it is time to dig up your potato!
Small potatoes, big impact!
Process Art Experiences
NAEYC has written a great article about process art experiences. I have edited the content to show the benefits of process art. The whole article is here. http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences
Many of us still look for “cute” projects. Cute is usually not art, it is craft and product based. Pinterest has made it easy to find product oriented “cute” projects. One needs to understand the difference between process and product art and use that knowledge when offering art experiences to young children. There are many ideas online however don’t be fooled by posts that come up with the heading process art but are product art in disguise!
The following is about process art as summed up by NAEYC.
Characteristics of process-focused art experience
- There are no step-by-step instructions
• There is no sample for children to follow
• There is no right or wrong way to explore and create
• The art is focused on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, and materials
• The art is unique and original
• The experience is relaxing or calming
• The art is entirely the children’s own
• The art experience is a child’s choice
• Ideas are not readily available online
What children might say
“Look what I made!” “I’m going to do another!”
“Can I have more time?”
Provide open-ended, creative art experiences by offering activities such as
• Easel painting with a variety of paints and paintbrushes (with no directions)
• Watercolor painting
• Exploring and creating with clay
• Finger painting
• Painting with unusual tools like toothbrushes, paint rollers, potato mashers
• Printing and stamping (stamps purchased or made with sponges)
• Creating spin art using a record player and paint, squirt bottles, paintbrushes, or markers
• Stringing beads independently and creatively
• Weaving cloth, yarn, or paper
• Drawing with pencils, art pens, various sizes of markers, or crayons
• Using homemade doughs
• Making collages using tissue paper, various sizes of paper, glue, paste, glue sticks, scissors, and recycled materials
Tips for leading process-focused art
- Approach art like open-ended play—for example, provide a variety of materials and see what happens as the child leads the art experience
2. Make art a joyful experience. Let children use more paint, more colors, and make more and more artwork
3. Provide plenty of time for children to carry out their plans and explorations
4. Let children come and go from their art at will
5. Notice and comment on what you see: Look at all the yellow dots you painted
6. Say YES to children’s ideas
7. Offer new and interesting materials
8. Play music in the background
9. Take art materials outside in the natural light
10. Display children’s books with artful illustrations, such as those by Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, and Javaka Steptoe
11. Let the children choose whether their art goes home or stays in the classroom
12. Remember that it’s the children’s art, not yours
What children do and learn through process-focused art
Social and emotional
Children relax, focus, feel successful, and can express their feelings
Language and literacy
Children may choose to discuss their art and add print to it (on their own or by dictating to a teacher)
Cognitive
Children compare, predict, plan, and problem solve
Physical
Children use small motor skills to paint, write, glue, use clay, and make collages
Full article is here: http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences
The Poop Blog
Today we found “poop” on the playground.
It was just another day on a snow covered playground when all of a sudden above the din of the children playing there was the call of “poop”! Several two and a half year old children gathered around the spot as did I, their teacher. Much discussion followed as to how this poop got here. I listened intently as the boys discussed. There discussion went from “a dog did it” to “a moose did it” to naming one of their friends who must have pooped there on the ground (fully dressed in snow gear, giggle giggle). I looked at the “poop” with the children and would occasionally utter, “oh” and “I see” and “interesting”, I wondered aloud how a moose entered the yard. Sometimes I repeated with an inquisitive tone, “a dog?”. As time went on they got a little braver and a little closer to the “poop”.
Another teacher wanted to know what was going on here. I answered we were looking at poop. To which she replied, “oh, Riley spilled her coffee yesterday”. My little friends overheard this and the investigation came to a halt. I casually said, “or it could be split coffee”. NO one answered. Their behavior turned. Where they had been exchanging and processing information, taking turns and learning they began to stomp on it and kick at the snow!
I later reflected the impact of adults “solving” the “problem”. These children were not in harm’s way. Why are we as adults so quick to fix what these young children were able to negotiate? I don’t know if they would have concluded “coffee” however I did watch them getting physically closer and closer.
At lunch time we recalled the situation and talked about one of our favorite stories, It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw (http://www.amazon.com/It-Looked-Like-Spilt-Milk/dp/0064431592) where the clouds take on different shapes. The children were processing that what we see can sometimes be something different. Young children can be trusted as intelligent problem solvers. Let them investigate, explore and come to conclusions, right or wrong, no need to solve their poop!
I am going to read Duck and Goose by Tad Hills (http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Goose-Tad-Hills/dp/037583611X) which has a similar “things are not what they seem” story line. I’ll report back with results.
The “talking” blog
Let’s reflect on our practice of talking to children.
Just the other day an early childhood colleague jokingly said, “you should be a commentator” as we were walking with a group of children and I was pointing out trees, birds, trucks and signs along the way. In my quest to evolve as an early educator and person, I try to listen to what people say to me at a deeper level. I recalled an article I had recently skimmed about talking to/at young children.
How much should we talk to children?
The answer is children should talk to us. Asking children too many questions can lead to a child not talking at all. Imagine being bombarded with “what are you doing?”, “what are you making”, tell me what you drew”, “could you add/change this?”, “look at this, look at that” and on and on. There would never a peaceful moment to reflect.
Children like adults need quiet to reflect and assimilate information. If we allow uninterrupted space children will come to us with what they need.
Does your classroom or life have peaceful moments where you can reflect? This week practice being quiet.
St. Patrick’s Day Jello re-post w/ a twist
I am excited to share with you a fun St. Patrick’s Day snack.
First a disclaimer, you have to really like having fun with young children on Saint Patrick’s Day as this is a time consuming snack, you will need several days to complete this.
Supplies
One box each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple jello
Water
Small clear cups
Start by making the purple jello according to the directions. Pour about a ½ inch worth of purple jello into your pre-counted cups. Make sure that the children watch this process. This is the only step that they should see, so that they are surprised at the end when their jello has turned rainbow!
Next make the blue jello according to instruction and pour a layer on top of the purple jello layer. Continue with green, yellow, orange and last add a layer of red!
On Saint Patrick’s Day surprise your young child with rainbow jello!
If you are into leprechaun tricks, here are a few favorites at preschool.
Turn the milk green. Turn the toilet water green. Turn anything green!
Build a leprechaun trap. During the night leave a glitter trail leading to a lost piece of gold.
Hide gold coins.
Leave a trail of small handprints/footprints leading up to a small tea party.
Leave a tuft of leprechaun hair and a piece of clothing on the window sill as if a leprechaun left in a hurry.
Turn a select few things upside down.
Leave a message from a leprechaun.
Here is the link to the 2016 version! Combining St. Patty’s and Easter as the dates are so close this year.
Have fun, happy Saint Patrick’s Day!