Preschool Room Reflections 2023

 Room Reflections January 2023

21st December 2022

So I'm writing these reflections before I even start teaching. This way you can see my to-do list and my ideas for the classroom. When I'm able to fine tune the floor plan and the shelving and resourcing, I'll add in photos. I am so freaking excited about this up and coming year I can't even. 

To Do List:

• Set up Planning Diary 2023 + Bound
• Set up Planning Calendar 2023 + Bound 
• Created Preschool Plan Template in StoryPark for 2023 
• Completed Room Set Up Reflections Book for 2023

Room Arrangement:

Assistant and I worked to create our initial room space. I’d already identified that it made sense to keep the painting next to the bathroom door so we don’t have paint covered children walking through the room to wash their hands. 

I’d also like to have sensory play as part of the classroom and that could be at the playdough table or possibly the jellybean table. There are opportunities across the space. 

I am also considering putting my nature and science table and discoveries where two shelves meet and can create a nice wide surface. Or it could also be a small world play space. 

We have pot plants, and we will continue to have them moving forwards. We are planning on adding more to the classroom. 

Our Indoor Preschool Play Spaces:

We’ve created our learning spaces using the resourcing and shelving, tables and chairs we have. We’ve also considered pathways and traffic flow across the room. 

We have things in the way that I would very much like to move out of the way such as a large 2nd hand photocopier (that is being retired at some point) and the fridges. If we move the fridge down a little we can back to back them and gain back some wall space once the photocopier is gone We can then use the sides of the fridges as notice boards or information boards AND place a shelf in the middle and use that for displays or for books or compliance folders. 

Our Preschool Indoor Play Spaces for January/February:

• Painting with mini easels (2) 

• Water colour trays 
• Acrylic paints in small pots that can mixed to create new colours 

• Playdough table with collage trolley in the middle for dough tools (4) 

• Rollers, cutters, small containers and cups 
• Wooden stampers, clay hammers, dough tools
• Thick sticks, twigs, pebbles, river stones. 
• Playdough in muted tones. 
• Playdough in two colours for children to mix 
• Playdough inspo pictures/Playdough mats?

• Drawing table at door with turn table in middle (4) 

• Paper in various sizes - A4, A5 and A6. 
• Frames of patterns 
• Frames with Aboriginal patterns/language 

• Writing Table against wall near painting table (2) 

• A5 size paper with mini clip boards
• Tin with pencils in graphite
• Tin with coloured pencils 
• Alphabets in frames
• Word/Vocab cards on rings 

• Small world play table (2)

• Dinosaur small world play set: mini felt volcano, volcanic stones, river stones, pebbles, vinyl river and pond,  Wooden and felt trees + cardboard tube and paper tree tops 

• Puzzles + small manipulatives (4) 

• Magnetic blocks (small set)
• Wooden geometric blocks 
• Peg puzzles 
• Life cycle puzzles 
• ABC + 123 + shape puzzles
• Magnetic tiles (large set)

• Block area in the group area next to computer (4) 

• Wooden unit blocks 
• Baskets of people figurines, large animals, loose parts, small wooden blocks, natural blocks, branches, sticks, planks etc.
• Recycled boxes turned inside out with buildings drawn on them. 
• Wooden and felt trees + Homemade trees
• Tree stumps with planks?
• Low bench/shelf with baskets of loose parts

• Home corner with lounge at middle of room (4) 

• Recycled and repurposed boxes and containers stuffed with shredded paper. 
• Jars with lids for dried goods: lentils, beans, chickpeas, pastas, rice etc. with words written on jars. 

• Book area TBD (2) interim next to lounge 

• Books in baskets, books on shelf

• Science + Discovery Shelf/Display/Table

• Cycline bottle 
• Discovery bottles - make with the children so they feel ownership and connection 
• Magnets 
• Eye -spy bottles with small mini things in rice 
• Life cycle sets 
• Scientific posters, displays of life cycles, dissections of plants, cross sections of insects, aquarium with water plants and water snails or a fish?

We have a total of 28 positions in the classroom for a class of 20 children. This gives children plenty of play spaces and opportunity to play and learn in smaller groups or a larger group. 

Preschool Curriculum Plan 2023:

Once our rooms are organized we will sit down on our first joint planning session and tackle the plan for 2023. We have our initial plan from 2021 that I helped create way back when. 

Our previous plan is our starting point and we can then add in any new additions to our spaces such as the new climbing equipment.  We can then also share this with our extended team. Everyone needs to know 

We will source an A3 sized display folder so we can place the plans in there and also include some printed images of our vision board for 2023. 

Goals for Term 1 2023

I chatted with my co-teacher about next year’s goals for the children and we thought that it would be best to make our first term all about belonging and forming relationships with educators and peers. We will write these starting in 2023 and then have them set up online for the families and other educators. 

We will update our preschool goals for our classes next year and feed that information into Storypark so it is easier to tag them on the children’s observations. We will also create our own written versions of the learning outcomes so that we don’t have to spend time matching the learning outcomes. Streamlining! 

Preschool Veranda Play Space:

• Table 1: Drawing table - paper on clip boards plus pencils in tins in basket. 
• Space 2: Duplo on mat or low table (wooden coffee tables via op-shop or marketplace). 
• Space 3: Small world play set up on low table 
• Space 4: Lounge chairs with baskets of books
• Easel with acrylic paints + drying string (also possibly placed in garden?

Preschool Outdoor Play Space

• Climbing equipment 1 
• Climbing equipment 2 
• Hoops + Balls 
• Bikes with bike path + chairs for queuing children
• Mud Kitchen (move to sandpit) 
• Sandpit with recycled containers and kitchen items
• Construction zone play + natural elements, dirt, stones, concrete clumps?, 

Gardening with Preschoolers

• Set up potting station to use with children for setting up growing station 
• Plank of wood + crates for growing tables for seeds to germinate 
• 2 vegetable beds 
• Grow vines + low vegetables along fence line. Grow the 3 Sisters along the fence line?: Corn/Squash/Beans? 
• Grow nasturniums 
• Add more grasses to the sensory garden.
• Replant plants that are too high + add mulch 
• Reposition stepping stones 
• Create flower patch along pathway at entrance to preschool next to grevillea. Plant more grevilleas + add in flowering for bees and butterflies 
• Add in small trays of water for insects and lizards with stones + sticks.

Preschool Routines 

• Start summer routine and include an indoor outdoor program to assist children in settling into the classroom 
• Crunch and sip at 10am
• Meals at tables in small groups 
• Including elements of belonging + name recognition in routines.
• Move hats outside for easy access. 
• Create circles of childrens names + photo to place above their number hook for bags. 
• Arrive at service, greetings, parent sign in, child to hang bag, place name card on hook, fruit and water bottle on trolley, lunch into tubs, confirm/apply sunscreen, wash hands, play
• More later … 

Science Centres + Nature Tables for Preschool

The Value of a Science Centre for Preschool 

This Blog is a Work in Progress! But I'm so excited I've just had to publish it now as it is ... There will be images and inspo and ideas and links to resources coming soon! 

Children are natural scientists, and they are keen to explore the world around them. 

The humble science center in an early childhood service is so much more than just a spot you plonk some science stuff.  A true science center will intrigue and inspire children's curiosity and learning. It's a space that will be inherently interesting and be an invitation to learn offering children many opportunities to investigate, explore, discover, and use all of their senses to learn about the world around them. 

" Curriculum should include activities that encourage children to use their five senses to observe, explore, and experiment with scientific phenomena. Include simple tools in your science learning center so that preschoolers and kindergartners can observe objects and scientific phenomena. Provide experiences and materials that allow children to collect data and to represent and document their findings (e.g., through drawing or graphing). Teachers should plan activities and provide experiences that encourage children to think, question, and reason about observed and inferred phenomena. (2018, p. 27)"

- National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2018). NAEYC early learning program accreditation standards and assessment items.

Links to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)

Early Years Learning Framework - Learning Outcome 4: Children Are Confident and Involved Learners: 4.1 Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.

The Vision of a Preschool Science Centre + Nature Table for my Classroom

I have always incorporated nature and nature exploration as part of my curriculum in early childhood settings, however in 2015 I started setting up designated tables and spaces in my classrooms. This aligns with both the philosophies of Waldorf-inspired approach and the Montessori-inspired approach. 

Setting the Scene of our Science Centre

If you lack the space for a designated learning corner or table you can have collections of gathered seasonal treasures in a box or basket or even a tray. I had one student many moons ago who loved collecting rocks and "coconuts". The "coconuts" were seed pods and he'd carry them home at the end of each day with dedication. His family popped his treasures into a box which would have its contents siphoned43 off from time to time - the never-ending collection! 

As I prepare myself for a year in preschool, I am thinking about my science centre and nature table that I cannot wait to create for and with the students! As I sit here and visualise I'm seeing some sweet retro shelves that I've salvaged from the side of the road or from op-shops. I can't wait to have an excuse to hit the opshops. 

So anyway, back to the wooden shelves ... I'll have tubs or baskets with discovery bottles, magnifying glasses, natural treasures and loose parts. I can bring in a few of my own baskets and my collection of science and information books. I can't decide if I'll have a big noticeboard with the table, or if I'll have it looking out a window. The bonus to using the notice board, is we can add diagrams and images and explore documentation 

When I started wriging this blog, I was brushing my tangled way-too-long hair and researching. I found some fabulous blogs and pages and I thought they're too good not to share! So rather than just bookmark them or jot down some ideas for my own space, I thought why not add them to this article in a "further reading" section! So I hope you enjoy! 

Resourcing the Space 

• Discovery bottles 
• magnifying glasses 
• natural and botanical loose parts 
• terrariums 
• photo cards 
• crystals, rocks, gems 
• growing plants in water such as spider plant, onions, Swedish ivy 
• life cycle figurines 
• life cycle posters and signs 
• vocabulary cards 
• science and reference books  
• colour lenses 
• metal and magnets
• sensory materials ot touch + smell 
• tweezers, sorting trays, tongs 
• scales, rules, measuring tapes
• bug catchers, aquariums

- GiGi 

References + Further Reading 

Nature Table Printables & Set Up - East TN Family Fun 

Nature Exploration Table - The Imagination Tree 

Nature Trays and Nature Tables (livingmontessorinow.com) 

Nature table in Montessori classes — The Wonderful World of Montessori (wonderfulmontessori.com) 

Science at the center: Meaningful science learning in a preschool classroom - Raven - Journal of Research in Science Teaching - Wiley Online Library 

How to set up the Science Center in your Early Childhood Classroom - Pocket of Preschool 

Seasonal Nature Tables

Nature Table: The Seasonal Table (thehomeschoolmom.com)

How to make a spring nature table - NurtureStore 

How to make an autumn nature table with free printables - NurtureStore 

Fall Nature Table for Preschoolers » Share & Remember | Celebrating Child & Home (thingstoshareandremember.com) 

Nature Table Printables & Set Up - East TN Family Fun

Australian Sources 

How to Create a Seasonal Nature Table Yarra Ranges Council 

Australian Nature Table (aunaturetable.blogspot.com) 

Science Centre

Science Center Set Up and Ideas for Preschool (pre-kpages.com)

Preschool Science Center Ideas - Little Bins for Little Hands 

My Dream Preschool Outdoor Play Space

I'm Back! I know I know ... I've done this before. I really should upload my teaching reflections from 2021 because I started out strong, but then a 15 week lock down happened and I was 'teaching' preschool from home! Longest. Term. Of. My. Teaching. Career! Not to mention the toll it took on my personal sanity. But that's not why I'm back. I'm back because I have a new job in 2023! I am so exicted to be a preschool teacher full time. 

Yo. New job. Familiar team. And an outdoor space with tons of potential. I have finally landed my dream job. It only took me 4 years. And slowly the excitement is building. I am still pinching myself and worrying that it might disappear. 

So since I have a couple of months to dream and fantasize, I thought I might use this space to do that! I have already created some Pinterest boards, some ideas webbing and interviewing the current preschool class. I am so lucky I have the luxury to ask the current students what they like, either in words or through observation. Play is of course one of the hundred languages of children. 

I was having a lovely time on Friday when I was backfilling the current preschool teacher. I was watching my students engage in the entire outdoor area and I was pondering what next years students might like. There are of course the common interests of children that we can leverage to help children settle and develop their sense of belonging to a new community and space. 

Construction items had been put in the sandpit and they children were so amazingly engaged. Dolls indoors have been crazy loved as well, so of course we'll need to bring those outside. I'll bring my home made dolls, and I'll make a few more. Those can live inside my new classroom. And the existing dolls collection can move outside to the veranda and the other spaces. 

Small World Play in an Outdoor Play Space

Urban Road Small World Inspo 

This idea came from DigsDigs. 

It features a small urban setting with pebbles, rectangular and square pavers in a dark gray, lava rocks, bark and leaf mulch, a strategic small shrub, toy cars and vehicles intimate nook to engage in some pretend play.

I have been wanting to make a space like this for years. And when I say years, I mean years. I had plans to do this in the last centre I was manager, but the staff were so apathetic and it wore off on me in the end. After 4 years I had the early childhood life sucked out of me. So it has taken years to recover from this burnout and I am now in a position with a supportive team, in a healthy work environment, AND I don't have to hold back as I'm not waiting for the permanent teacher to return, because I know she won't be. So I can let my imagination run wild! 

Image from The Keeper of Cheerios

Image from Pinterest

I really love the above idea using a magazine rack for the wooden roads. I really love these so much! I can't tell you! And I love that they are made portable. So I will DEFINITELY be making these, and I cannot wait to put them into action. 

Construction Zone Small World Inspo 

This idea came from DigsDigs. 

They have some awesome ideas! This deceptively simple outdoor small world play space features pebbles, mulch, sand and has section dividers using pavers. There are also pipes, rocks, tree trunks or thick branches and soil. It really is a sensory wonderland.  This space could be built using repurposed materials that you may have laying around or would be easily purchased from a large hardware chain that rhymes with Runnings *nudge-nudge-wink-wink*

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest.

Photo from Kinzie + Riehm via Pinterest

 

Dinosaur Small World Inspo

I of course MUST include a dinosaur small world. 

Found on Pinterest. @playful_porter

Magical Nooks and Sacred Spaces

This idea came from DigsDigs. 

 

This is a colorful teepee covered with yarn, pompoms, buntings, flags and other bright embellishments plus potted greenery.

We actually already have an existing wooden teepee structure. While I would love to create a new one using branches, it would be a silly double up. BUT while looking at this image I was inspired to embellish the teepee we already have. And I'll have to take some before and afters of course and then share them here. 

I can use the existing structure and then weave in some branches and create more of an organic frame. We can then add in some bling and make it gorgeous. I'm doing it. I can see it in my mind. I can't wait to start. I will have to wait since I'm not in the space yet. But making my vision board is totally how I get there. 

So now I can add in a wish list. I can make bunting myself, create some pompoms and add in some strips of fabric scraps since I have some rainbow fabric I found the other day! I've been carrying this fabric around since a job in 2009. Time to use it elsewhere and turn it into something else: bunting.

The teepee we have is already part of our sensory garden that I am working on establishing further, so adding in some potted plants would be a fabulous addition! 

Insert New Space Idea Here 

THIS BLOG IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRCTION ... I AM WORKING ON IT IN THE BACKGROUND OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. SO STAY TUNED.

Starting Over in a New Preschool

Reflections of a Preschool Teacher:

Term 2 Weeks 1 to 4 April 20th to May 10th

Background: I'm contracted to a preschool for 2 terms. I knew going in they were in the middle of Assessment and Rating. 

Where do I begin!? I’m happy to be back in a familiar space with a welcoming team. It’s been a really nice change to my contract last year. I loved some of my colleagues, but honestly the assholes really made going to work with a smile upon my face difficult.

I’m keen to dip my toes back in the preschool pond and create some beautiful learning spaces for the children. I look forward to following their interests as the vehicles of their learning. And I look forward to being creative and making resources on a tight budget.

A short term maternity leave position requires some finesse. I don’t want to be “that teacher” who takes over an entire room but I also have to work with the children and the team to create innovative curriculum and a workable space for this group of children.

So, I’m being cognisant of any changes I'm making and I'm having conversations with my colleagues so they understand the why of what I'm doing.  I’m currently making little resourcing adjustments to the play spaces without any big changes for now as I want to respect the previous children/educator experience, but also support the learning and interests of the children. I am also making sure I speak with my co-teacher along the way, especially in regards to the verandas and outdoor spaces that we share. Again I don't want to be "that" teacher.

It's really been so refreshing NOT working with passive aggressive and territorial assholes.

My biggest focus is relationships relationships relationships! I need to get to know the children and they need to know, like, and trust me in order to feel safe to learn alongside me. The same goes for the parents and my colleagues. I want to have honest relationships with everyone, and this will take some time. As I get to know the children and understand them, I’ll be able to better assist them to grow within our space. 

Nature Science & Discovery Table

We are going to revamp the science and discovery table. I had a couple of my students join me and we did some google research on the computer to see what types of resources we could add to our space and came up with some discovery bottles, magnets. I have found some timers in the storeroom as well as a broken globe. The globe has now been repaired and I’ve added it in. We had been looking at the map of the world, and the globe is an extension of this. Later on we'll play with Google Maps and Google Earth.

The table will also be a home for our Spiny Leaf Stick Insect. This will also be a way for us to show their life-cycle as well as include some of the insect discoveries we’ve been making outside in our garden. The table is a bit too dark for us to be growing seeds, but we can maybe set up a space outside on the veranda or near the veggie gardens to continue this.   

I’ve gathered some spider plants from my garden which we have popped into a bowl of water. I was thinking that we could grow one in some water, and we could plant another in some soil and over time see how the two go and perhaps compare their growth in the two mediums?  

Spider plants are perfect safe indoor plants for children. They are very resilient and forgiving as well.  I am also looking at bringing some Swedish Ivy from home and growing this with the children. Both plants are safe for children to use and handle. 

We ended up adding a small shelf to the top of the table in our discovery area so we can go up a bit and include more resources. The notice board above is where we will include some small educational posters, document some of our work for the children, our webs, our discoveries and research, so that educators and families will be able to see some of the ideas we’re exploring.

Play Dough Table 

I have moved the play dough table to the front wall of the preschool room where the covered trolley and small manipulatives had been. The reason I’ve done this is because I want the children to be able to exercise agency and make choices around the tools they need for their dough work. Previously they had rollers, coloured dough and a handfull of cutters. This kind of resourcing tells children they should roll the dough and cut out some shapes. Play dough can be so much more than that. I will be using the existing materials, but also adding in the natural elements that the children have been showing so much interest in. 

Our mentor visited from Management and I was sharing our space with her and some of the changes we’d made and our decisions behind these changes. She’d suggested that we use the trolley for art supplies to support the painting space as well as the play dough space. We have another shelf that I had been wondering how to resource, so we’ll transition the play dough tools to that shelf, and then resource the trolley to support both dough play and painting. I’d also explained that we were going to be working towards exploring multi-media artwork in a few weeks once the children are confident painters.

Painting Table 

I wanted the children to have independent daily access to painting. I found that this was such a successful space in my old preschool classroom and I want to make this part of our classroom here. So we have moved the play dough space to make way for a larger table for two to paint. We will use small fine brushes and we’ll start out with the water colour palettes. I am going to work on finding some small table easels or looking at how we can make our own. 

Children benefit from painting on a flat surface, but they also benefit from painting at different angles. I'll have to see what I can come up with on a budget! Or what I can make myself using cardboard.

Writing + Drawing Table

I usually like to have my drawing and writing spaces separated but they are also so very much related so using the space we have, I am going to have them together in the same space.

To support the children’s literacy development, I have written two signs that say “What can I write?” and “What can I draw?” I’ve used the previous teacher’s signs she had written with the children and placed that above the space. 

I’ve found an Auslan alphabet that I thought would be a fabulous addition to our space. I’ve also included an Arabic alphabet. I will also be adding in English signage and resources to the pace to support the children’s interest in writing and to continue their journey with written language. The resources are available if the children would like to engage with them, otherwise they can draw and drive their own ideas. 

Block Area 

Block area is working well as it is. The imagery and quotes are similar to what I have done in the past and what I probably would have done in this space. The inspiration cards are a nice touch too! I’ll see how this space goes over the next few weeks and we may add some elements to it … I’m thinking some loose parts in baskets.           

                                                                                

Veranda 

I’ve moved the tables to the far end so they line up. This gave us space  to move our chairs and create a lounge area with a coffee table. The children can access a basket of books or simply sit and chill. It's near the garden so it’s a lovely outlook.  

The tables have had duplo in two large containers either side on the ground which frees up the table space for building and playing. While I love having baskets of resources, I

I’ve actually moved a shelf from my room to the veranda as we simply had too many shelves in our space. This means we can resource our outdoor small world play space and the writing area outside a bit better. But this is still a work in progress. 

Crunch n’ Sip 

In term 1 the children were introduced to Crunch n Sip and I was so glad to hear that this was part of the program. In my last preschool service children didn’t eat until 11 and I felt that was such a long wait, especially for those children who either don’t have breakfast or have it early in the morning. I had tried to introduce crunch n sip at the old preschool but I was told I couldn't do anything differently and I was shot down. That pretty much summed up a lot of my suggestions at the "old place". So when I saw we had crunch and sip in this space I was stoked.

The children are transitioning well to having a progressive crunch and sip, and the play is not interrupted. They come and go as they need. They are washing their hands independently without any if much reminding to do so, finding their own containers and eating their fruit and veggies. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to have discussions about different types of fruits, personal likes and dislikes. 

Music 

I love music from around the world and to be honest I’m not a huge fan of children’s music. It annoys the crap out of me. Ridiculous I know. So if I’m playing music for dancing or possibly during our transitions to and from preschool, I like to choose music from around the world such as something from Putumayo. They also have children’s albums that are fantastic as well. 

I’ll be interested to see how the children respond to different types of music and we can then explore movement and dance and see where this takes us! We have a portable bluetooth speaker and we've been playing some music outside for the children and its been a great use of our stage and grassy area.

Indoor/Outdoor 

We thought we’d re-introduce an indoor/outdoor program. The reasoning behind this is that children will be able to make choices and seek learning spaces that suit their style of learning. It also means we aren’t excluding children from connecting with their peers across both groups. Two of our students prefer to be outside are able to make this decision around their play. We talked about how to best implement this between both rooms in the best interests of the children and the educators.

We are going to alternate daily - so one day our room will be open and on another day, the other Room will be open. This way the children have an opportunity to play in both spaces, make choices around where they play and who they play with.  

It also gives us a chance to work within our own rooms with our students. It’s also an opportunity for us to work across teams. When I’m inside/outside, if the numbers permit, the other assistant will join me, and vise versa. This gives the children familiar educators from both rooms and it means we can work on the children’s individual plans collectively and holistically. 

As we've implemented the indoor/outdoor plan, and it actually flowed quite well.  

Miss GiGi

Preschool Teacher

What do you do instead of a “follow-up” or “extension of learning”?

What do we do instead of a “follow-up” or “extension of learning”? Well in one simple single word using four letters, we: PLAN. We plan for teaching and learning. We plan for possibilities. Writing about planning is not something that can occur in a blog article. That’s a whole freaking book…

Follow-ups have been big discussions on Facebook groups as well as the bigger Australian early childhood education community.  

On Facebook groups there are so  many requests for extension ideas for activities … Brian was interested in painting today. What extension activities can I do for this interest?

Well Brian was painting with brushes at the easel. He was busy exploring the paint: how the colours mixed upon the paper. How they blended in to each other and how they created, like magic new colours. It wasn’t an instant colour change - there were streaks of this colour and streaks of that colour and then somewhere in the middle a mixing and a muddling into a new colour. A colour that Brian had never before seen before much less made himself. 

Brian was learning how to turn and swirl the brush to move the bristles. He was learning that the changes of pressure from his hand changed the way the paint worked upon the paper. He learned that he could control his hand this way and that. He was learning that there was cause and effect in the world of painting. He learned that he had to share the paints with Tammy who was on the other side of the easel sharing the same pots of paint. Brian was learning. 

Brian was painting, but Brian was doing so much more than this. 

On the very surface Brian was painting. Really though, Brian was learning so very much about colour, texture, pressure, transformation, creativity, social skills, fine motor skills and the power of his hands to create and explore his world.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion about what learning is; what interests are and what the role they play in children's learning. 

Interests are a vehicle educators can use to support children's learning.

An observation is merely a moment in time. It is a small snapshot of a child engaged in playing, growing, learning, being, becoming. It is not the ultimate definition of a child. It is not the be-all and end-all of that child. It is a moment in time. A child engaged in play, in a moment is not necessarily a child engaged in a true interest. It may be a child engaged in a passing interest, a superficial interest but not a deep genuine interest.

Educators are being told they need to extend the interest, to plan for the interest. So they extend the interest. It doesn't matter that the interest was a once off moment in time. It doesn't matter that the surface interest really has nothing to do with the learning or possibly the true interest. The powers that be say extend the interests, plan for the interest, so that's what we do.

I wonder if educator's go for the interest because it's easier to research and support. I wonder though, do educator's go down the path of interest because its more tangible to share with their leaders and supervisors.

We have to plan something right? We have to do something to show that we are being responsible and maintaining the cycle.

Let’s return to Brian.

Brian is learning. If we go and implement all these extension activities based upon what we think Brian was interested in .. We go from easel painting to sponge painting to car painting. We completely rob Brian of the time and opportunity and resources to continue on his self-directed learning path of painting with brushes at the easel. The assumptions that are made around the National Quality Standard and the planning cycle are robbing Brian, robbing all the Brians of their real self-driven learning.

How do we support Brian? 

How do we plan for Brian? 

Well, I would hope that easel painting would be a core element of our learning environments. I would hope that there were a wide selection of paints out each and every single day. 

I would love to see thin brushes and thick brushes in pots or in re-purposed glass jars. I’d love to see painting at a table as well as the easel. On big paper and small paper with collage bits and pieces available - all freely. We could change the tone of the paints by adding white or adding black. We could make paints up with the children - long after Brian’s had his unhindered time to explore. 

We could mix the paints in jars and give them made up names that have meaning for Brian and his peers. We could write those names onto masking tape and stick them to the jars.  We could create a colour wheel using the paints in the store room. You could buy artists acrylics and water colours and mix authentic colours and compare the quality of the paints we use in children’s services to the quality of paint that artists use. We could explore the notion that children deserve artists paints to use in their art making.

We could explore the great artists - both historic and contemporary. We could do all of this - AFTER - we give Brian the time to learn to be a painter in his own right. Brian is three years old - THREE. 

Give Brian time. 
Give Brian resources. 
Give Brian our time. 
Give Brian us. 

Use our teaching skills to support Brian, all the Brians… Draw Brian's attention to what he has done … Give Brian the creative language that he may otherwise not have. 

In fact if we don't have the language of art on the tip of our tongues - that should be our “follow-up” or our “extension of learning” … 

We should go and teach ourselves the language of art … tones, shades, colours beyond red, blue, yellow, green … learn about magenta and chartreuse and teal.

Please don’t rob Brian of his learning. 

Let Brian be. 

Let him learn. 

Support him with our teaching skills. 

Don’t distract him or redirect him away from his learning with novelty painting sourced from the internet.

Support Brian to be the artist Brian was meant to be. 

Support Brian with art, through art. 

© Teacher's Ink. 2019 All Rights Reserved

Original: 25/03/2016Updated: 15/03/2019

Quitting to Succeed

 Yo. Here we are. It's Friday evening and I'm sitting out on the back patio with the dogs and contemplating life and the last couple of weeks. 

I'm a teacher again. Ya know, like actually working with children. I did the managerial thing for a number of years, and to be honestly I just got over it. I didn't have the support I needed and it was just sucking the life out of me. I worked with amazing educators but the apathy was taking over my life and it simply wasn't fair to those educators who were really deserving of leadership that really was invested in them. 

I said goodbye to apathy, and hello to finding myself again. 

Here's to my future, whatever that may look like. 

Spiny Leaf Stick Insects

This wasn't a planned post ... but it turns out it's necessary! I'm not spending a huge amount of brain time on this which is new to me! I usually take  a couple of weeks to write, edit and publish a post to a point where I'm happy with it ... I'm churning this out in a couple of hours in between house work and other business.

I made a post on a Facebook group I help admin, giving away about 10+ pairs of babies to new homes. We're running an Emporium and I've been wanting to find homes for my extra babies but I've not necessarily wanted to drive across Sydney or have people come to my house! So giving them away at the Emporium seemed like the most convenient option. So I thought I'd throw together a page to support the insects and their new homes. It was easier to do it here than it was on the business website.

Spiny Leaf Stick Insects are awesome. They make amazing sustainable companion animals for early learning services or for children in the home. They are so easy to care for. They also allow you to view a life cycle over the course of a year and you're not slaughtering orphan baby chickens in the process (yes, I have a strong political view on this).

It's hard to tell from this photo, but its female ...

Large plastic aquarium with my nymphs - note the jar covered in foil. This is our nursery tank.  Do you know how hard it is to move 20 odd babies over from old branches to new branches? Yeah, it's not easy!

It's a boy ... 

The work enclosure which I bring home for the weekends so I can care for the bigger bubs .. They love their water spray ... and my cat is plotting hunting adventures ... No. Just, no.

Female having a meal ... I've graduated them from callistemon (bottle brush) to bigger gum leaves.

What you will need:

• A suitable enclosure/habitat.
• A spray bottle for water only
• Fresh supply of gum (eucalyptus) leaves
• A jar  to support the gum branches to last longer (up to a week). When the nymphs are young,  you will need to cover the jar with aluminium foil and poke the branches through to prevent any accidental drowning. 
• Paper towel, newspaper or something for the substrate of the habitiat

Enclosures/Habitats

There are all sorts you can use. While they are young, I use a plastic aquarium which is about $25. They provide cats with endless entertainment as well - so that's a bonus. 

This is like the one we have at work:

Kellyville Pets 

Its fabulous. I am actually thinking about buying one for home! Because yes, I may need my own insects for home ... don't ask. And it will save me transporting a full enclosure to and from. I can just grab the ones we have and then put them with my own.  I know I have a problem.

Links with information:
Australian Museum:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/care-of-stick-insects

Creature Features
http://www.abc.net.au/creaturefeatures/facts/spinyleafinsect.htm 

Australian Insect Farm Life Cycle:
http://www.insectfarm.com.au/newsletters/Life-Cycle-3-Spiny-Leaf-Stick-Insect.pdf

Wikipedia: Extatosoma tiaratum, because life is not complete without Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma_tiaratum

Bugs ED
http://www.bugsed.com/fact_sheets/spiny_leaf_insect.html 

Care Sheet:
http://shop.minibeastwildlife.com.au/content/Minibeast%20Wildlife%20Care%20Guide%20-%20Extatosoma%20tiaratum.pdf 


I've included a few videos ... I've never seen one hatch, despite having a hundred or so eggs ... One of my team did with one of our students and that would have been the most wonderful thing to behold! So here's a video which I showed to my children at work - the babies just kept popping up without most of us (bar one) seeing the process! I've included videos of one of the males on my hand - he has a smoother body and he also has wings. The female has a spikier body and she has the tiniest wings that don't function. They can be tricky to tell apart when they're young and you're not used to them.

Videos:

A hatching spiny leaf insect nymph:

One of my young male spiny leaf stick insects:

One of my young female spiny leaf stick insects:

And this awesome video of the insects up close ... if the insects gross you out, then this close up video will make you die... so be warned and don't die!!!!

Ok, I think that will do us...

I hope this is all useful!

© Teacher's Ink. 2016

(your friendly local bug dealer)