Where Am I?

Greetings... I have been quiet for a while as I've been engaged in a few other projects as well as starting up a small business. The small business alone has pretty much take up a year of my life. Plus I work full-time as an advisor and have home-life-responsibilities.

I clearly need to work on my time management strategies! But that's not really a new discovery.

I have two ideas I'd like to explore within the pages of my blog. The first is Intentional Teaching and the second is Reflective Practice. I've been wanting to work on these for quite a while actually - but ya know - TIME. Where does it go, and how does one find more?

I've written my two ideas on a post-it note and I have a page of time management strategy plan thingy-ma-bobs.

I shall write again.

I shall.

- G @ Teacher's Ink.

The EYLF and NQS Programming Industry Brings Me To Tears

The EYLF and NQS programming industry brings me to tears ... tears of frustration. Firstly there is a product money driven industry that has sprung up around the roll out of the NQF. And not everything for sale is accurate or of a high quality.

I don't think programming, planning and documenting should be easy. I don't think it should be impossible either. I think it should be the right amount of challenge and reward. I think it should fit within the paid scope of your employment (i.e. you do your written work AT work), and I think that it should improve you as a professional and I think it should serve a purpose for the children and their families. 

In my role as an over-arching educational leader/mentor I work with programming and planning all day long. It sloshes around in my brain at the best of times. Sometimes it feels like its oozing out my ears. It's what I do. It's my main focus. I work with multiple different styles of programs and plans and not just one. I am essentially a critical friend who provides guidance and feedback for a number of services. Adult learning results from sustained shared conversations. I can't emphasize this enough.

If you don't understand Quality Area 1, don't beat yourself up. Its twisty and convoluted and I don't particularly like it. In fact the whole NQS is so interwoven it is impossible to unravel. Even for me. ANYONE promising you that they have unraveled it is full of the proverbial because it is an impossibility.

I'm looking online today at stuff. And all I can find is crap. Crap that dumbfounds me and makes me want to cry in frustration. I just don't get it. It's wrong. So WRONG. 

Crap that is for wrong and for sale. Crap that is for free. Crap that is about boosting an ego. Crap. 

Crap that has pretty colours, or visual themes, or circles instead of squares because squares are boxes and boxes are bad. Or trees. What the hell is it with trees? Who started this tree thing? What does a tree have to do with anything other than being a visual metaphor for something or other?

If someone tells you there is no wrong way to do the NQS or the EYLF I think they're wrong. If there was no wrong way, then centres wouldn't be getting "Significant Improvement Required" or "Working Towards." 

I think that there are many more right ways than wrong ways, but there is clearly a wrong. 

Please. Please. PLEASE think about what you buy. Just because its pretty doesn't mean its good. Just because its expensive and promises the world, doesn't mean it delivers. 

If you get exceeding at your service it is because YOU did the work and YOU earned it. No one else. Not even me :) 

I think I need to write something and self-publish it. It won't be free - but it will be backed up with evidence and it will be reasonable. And its probably going to take me forever to put it together ... But I just can't sit here and look at crap and not throw my hat into the ring. 

Shameless (well, slightly shameful) Facebook Plug!



www.facebook.com/Teachers.Ink. 
 

I'd like to see a bigger number. That's all. :)

I'm admitting it.

I'm up-front about it.

It's an ego thing.

I'm imperfect.

I'm human.

I'm gonna go with that!

(share us around with your friends!!!) 

Sustainable Resources from the Op Shop!

What you see here, is $11 worth of wooden bowls from The Salvation Army op shop. I love op-shops. I love op-shop shopping. I seriously do! Aside from rehoming items that would otherwise be trash and supporting organizations that support others in need ... I love the style, the originality, the funkiness of what you can find! Even the table underneath the bowls was op-shop fodder! It was $40 from St Vincents and in reasonable pristine condition (until one of my exes put something stupid on it and made a great big gounge - which annoys the stuffing out of me (depsite using a wood crayon!)).

I am using these bowls in my photo shoots and I have used others at my last job to display items like insect and animal figurines as well as natural embellishments: seed pods, leaves, twigs, stones etc.

I now have a box full of wooden bowls - some from garage sales, most from St. Vinnies or Salvos - most of which were between $1-5 each ... In this photo, the large bowl was $5, the double was $3 and the others were all $1 ... and this was one trip to one store.

They also have lots of baskets available in all shapes and sizes, but I'm not buying them! I'm running out of room at home to store these things!

Why are we displaying items in plastic containers when we can use, re-use, recycle items that are so rich and warm in colour, and support a more sustainable life? They just look lovely!!!

PLUS as a bonus, you can link your provisions to sustainable practices which ties in to the NQS and the EYLF ... See? See what I did there?

Op-Shop Wooden bowls = NQSEYLF friendly!

In fact op-shop anything is good for us and our world and our practice!

So there you have it!

Peace Out!

© Teacher’s Ink. 2012

Repurposing: Art Tray

 

 

I'm a BIG fan of recycling and repurposing and re-using if you havent already picked up on that notion ...

The tray is from my uncle. He won it at a tournament a great many moons ago. It's an engraved trophy. The tin cans, well, you all know where they came from and I've posted about making cans safe before in my post:  Sustainable Recycled Repurposed Home Corner Resources. The materials are simply what you might have at an art table or possibly even in a writing or drawing area. This was so simple and easy to put together. You could also have materials for a playdough table. Hmmm that gives my my next idea!

If you don't have the materials to "recycle" you can easily buy metal trays from any number of discount stores if you want to head down this specific path. Weekend market stalls where they sell homewares have them in many different sizes. I've also seen them many times at opportunity shops (Salvation Army or St. Vincents or Anglicare Op shops).  Or if you want a wooden look -  wooden trays are readily available from Ikea or Kmart or any other number of stores.

 

 

© Teacher’s Ink. 2012 All Rights Reserved

Paper Dolls = Home Made Felt Board Resource

I was playing online with Google looking for some inspiration for discovery bottles (there wasn’t a huge amount that really caught my eye ( I think I’ll have to create a post on that myself!) ... and I accidentally found this blog post on her "Shiny Happy Paper People":

http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/shiny-happy-paper-people.html

 

I was really inspired by this blogger and she’s very kindly given me permission to do this post about her dolls! The ones that I have made are quite large! They are going to be good for the toddlers and preschoolers together ... If I make them again, I’ll make them smaller, and I’ll also explore other patterns! These are things that an educator could easily make for their own teaching bag!

Since I had brought some scrap booking paper to work for another project – this is something we were able to do immediately! It’s been evolving over a few weeks – and the ones displayed in this blog are the ones that I’ve made ... the kid’s ones were awesome and I wish I could show them! Some children took them home, some let me keep them for our own collection.

 We are using them as resources that we’ve made ourselves – which ties in with being creative, inventive, following the children’s interest (in collage and making things!), supports the children as capable and resourceful, used budget friendly materials (recycled donated cardboard + donated scrapbook paper).

The children can use them in block play or on the bulletin board where they will stick with some hook-Velcro ... It’s just a resource that we’ve done ourselves – that represent us or people we know or care about – and is something that will give us an opportunity to play! The children could even use them to create stories of their own which we could write down and document with photographs! The children might want to make some other items to help provision the play? Who knows where the children will want to take it ... it might just stay where it is!

 

 

Meanwhile we had an unimpressed observer ... Look at that face! He turned out to be so gorgeous for a "throw away" kitten ... how could you throw something so beautiful and gorgeous away? I'll never understand...

(c) Teacher's Ink. 2012 All Rights Reserved

My Trusty Side Kick @ Photo Shoot

I've been meaning to do a few posts for a while ... and I finally got stuck into house work today and as a result, since the coffee table was clear - I took advantage of it!  I was  helped by my trusty side-kick Cody-Cat. As I am biased and think he's particularly gorgeous, I thought I would post him as well! I made a makeshift backdrop using an old fabric cover I made YEARS ago ... and the next thing I knew, it was being attacked ... It kept me distracted for a little while, and it also meant I couldnt adjust the 'screen' much at all ...

 

So ... Now I'll get to work!

These Were My Preschool Weakness

When I was in preschool ... I stole some bears. I loved that they were bears in different sizes and you could use them to play families. I loved that they were rainbow colours. My mother made me return them. I remember thinking I'd take them back anyway ... I don't know if I was defiant and stole them again, or I just had grand plans that I never followed through with ...

Either way, I loved me some rainbow bears.

Ah, the memories of my own early childhood.

T.ink.

(c) Teacher’s Ink. 2012 All Rights Reserved

More "Natures" in our Garden

I was on my way out the door when I noticed something that someone had said. He’d said to leave it. “It” turned out to be a very young fledgling Noisy Miner bird. It’s a native bird of Australia. They hang out in mobs and screech at most other things: birds, people, cats ... just about everything.

 

So, I dropped my things, collected the tiny little fledgling and then tapped on the window of the staff room and proudly displayed my new little friend asking my colleague to go and get my other colleague.

While Colleague 1 was off getting Colleague 2 for me I wandered around outside and showed the parents that I had their baby safely (well, not sure if they’d agree about the safety element) – they were doing flybys ... It was then that I heard another baby chirp coming from the shrubs inside our gates ... There was another baby. So I gathered up the sibling and had two birds ... What’s that saying again about two birds in the hand?!?

 

So, when Colleague 2 arrived, I passed over the bubbas ... we decided to make them a temporary little nest should they want it and put it near the large pile of branches and plant prunings. We were going to bag them up – but thankfully we didn’t! We can use them to make a safer habitat for the babies should they choose to stay there.

 

There are feral cats about, but we also have to give the family a chance to raise their own young and to keep them within their community. Much like we do with children.

My colleague does wild-life caring so she’s going to keep an eye out on our little friends. It’s best that they stay with their family if they can – you can’t keep fledglings in a nest if they don’t want to! They want to learn to fly and climb and be independent ... just like all babies!

I will be able to put this into a little story to share with the children ... unfortunately we couldn’t share the babies with the children because we wanted to maintain the family connection with their bubs and not freak everybird out so much! If only Miss Five were here today to see the other “natures” that we found! I will certainly tell her all about it next week.

They came from across the road from a VERY tall Jacaranda tree:

 

Some of our children have noticed the nest in the tree across the street ... We don't have sight of it from the part of the centre the children are in, but we sometimes look from the front administration rooms ...

 

Hopefully this will have a happy outcome with their family for the little bubs!

 

© Teacher’s Ink. 2012 All Rights Reserved

The Caterpillar and The Spider

Today my gardening colleague and I took a few of our 'left over' children into our car-parking area (its fully gated and locked with only our two cars - don't panic!).
 
We were pruning our Geraniums and our African Daisy and our Hibiscus and whatever else we happened to have ...
 

We found a teeny tiny caterpillar!

 

 

And we also found a St. Andrew's Cross Spider but the photo wasnt the best and then my colleague accidentally pruned where the web was! We will go back and look to see if she builds again.

 

My student said to me "We found two natures" ... and we did ... the caterpillar and the spider.

 

I love, LOVE, gardening with children. I love helping to connect them with nature and life. And this afternoon was truly special. Watching Miss Five and her sister Miss Two using scissors to prune - snip at leaves in helping us ... discovering little creatures, admiring the flowers, learning about their names Echivera, African Daisy, Geranium etc ...

 

 
I loved watching Miss Two concentrate so much on snipping the leaves. While it wasn't the best outcome for the hibiscus - I was pruning it anyway! - she concentrated so hard! She was so proud of herself as she asked me to look at her work! She was developing her fine motor skills, her concentration, her hand eye coordination ... she was learning to care for plants and "give them a haircut" so that they will grow stronger, greener, healthier ...
 

 

I loved watching Miss Five pick flowers for Miss Apprehensive who didn't want to garden, but loved sitting on the safe sidelines where she could collect and guard the flower collection. She could pick the African Daisies off the plants we'd pulled up ... Miss Five was supporting Miss Apprehensive's choice to sit to the side. Miss Five was showing she has strong empathy for her younger peers, a skill she's developed as a big sister and a member of a strong cultural family.

 

 

Where to next? Well, I'm thinking we'll bring a few out in small groups to do some observational drawings of the plants we have. I'm also pondering letting them use our camera to take some photos. As we only have one camera for now - we have to guard it well!
 
We don't have many plants in our playground - but we do have a garden area which we have started working on. We are adding organic matter to the soil to prepare it for planting - its just too dry and won't hold moisture. We've got grand plans!
 
We are going to use some of the Geranium cuttings to grow new plants which the children can take home themselves and care for should they choose. This way we can share with the children how we can grow some plants from cuttings, some from leaves, some from seeds etc.
 
I'm going to strongly encourage the staff to take the children to our garden area more often ... It's been sadly neglected and once our line is fixed, we can hang out our laundry, start our compost, develop more garden beds etc ...
 
All on our journey to being more sustainable! I would love to see this be a daily occurrence!
 

 
This my friends is the EYLF in action ... it's relationships, it's community, it's purposeful activity, its learning through doing, spontaneous actions, caring for nature, plants, animals, creatures ... its part of being a team with adults and children ...

I had such a good afternoon. I just feel at peace with myself and the world, and I wonder if the children are at home feeling the same glow? They certainly seemed to have a glow about them as we worked.
 

© Teacher’s Ink. 2012  All Rights Reserved

 
 

Reflections: Before & After

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER!!!

I took photos. I can’t share them. I’m sorry. BUT I can tell you how much of a difference I can see. It’s important to take photos I think ... how else do you know how far you’ve come? Your mind will quickly forget what things looked like before ...

I have shared them with my team and it really brought home to them just how far we have come in a couple of months. I put them into a PDF document with before at the top, and then after at the bottom showing the same spaces, with 3 or so photos of each space ... I started with the office and the foyer ... and when I am happy with the children’s rooms, then I will do the same and shock them! Zaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

I wanted to tidy things up in the office and the foyer ... those spaces are after all the face and the "brain" of the business ... people will judge your service based upon what they initially see. And if what they see doesn't represent "business" and "professional" then you might lose them ...

I somewhat have a vision of where I want this service to go ... and I am limited by time (at least at this point I am) ... So, I am under pressure to be a manager and a mentor and an educational leader as well as an innovator! So many things! I feel though, that I am starting to get somewhere with it, which is great ... and the photos help me to remember where I started, remind me of where I'd like to see this "show" go, and give me inspiration to keep going, to keep moving forward!

We've been getting awesome feedback from families and its been really encouraging!

Do you take before and afters?

It really helps you to reflect on what was before, what you’ve got going on now, and where you might like to go ...

That is afterall what they are promoting in the EYLF isn’t it? The distance travelled? I think that we need to show our distance, not just the childrens’ ... I've written about this before - how its important to save copies of your written work ... I am constantly amazed as I look back at my work from 2009 and compare it to what I am doing now ... There is an obvious distance travelled there! And through reflection, I've been able to grow and evolve and demonstrate to my team as well - which makes me more human and accessible rather than just  the "manager" or "educational leader" who is telling them what to do ...

So... go take some photos!  

De-Clutter-Bugging

I’m not working today and I thought I would take advantage of the off-time at home. You see, I moved rather suddenly about 9 months ago during a time of personal turmoil. While it took me 7 or so weeks to pack ... it’s taken me a great deal longer to unpack! I had a huge commute to work plus work drama plus work at home plus my responsibilities at home and I didn’t have enough life left in me to tackle the rest of the unpacking. It was much easier just putting things in the spare room to deal with later.

I’m a bit of a hoarder. I have so many teaching things and papers with ideas on them, or magazine articles or photocopies of sections of books that would have been great for teaching, university papers (most of them are gone now, but some still remain) blah blah blah ... lots of crap!

I’ve always been a bit of a clutter-bug ... but I found that through my years of tertiary education they were telling me to save this and save that for this and for that and ... yeah ...I need to change my thinking on the matter: Use it or lose it!

So, papers I want to keep are going into reorganised binders/folders with labels on the sides so I know what’s in them – I’ve given myself a shelf or two for those things ... then some shelves for books ... and then that’s it. If I’m not using it – it’s got to go!  I want clearly defined spaces.

I want life to be easier! I want more space to create! And right now, with clutter, I simply can’t do it!

Besides, it’s nice finding some treasures! I'm also finding alot of my portfolio ideas! See - something to inspire my writing!

Once there is organization, I can then play around with some creative projects - like the dolls! I found my patterns! Yay! And portfolio stuff!

T.ink!

Creative Presentation of Resources

It seriously doesnt have to cost a fortune ... It will cost more than the plastic baskets at the $2 shop mind you, but they will last forever and they look warm and beautiful and inviting and they are natural materials to boot!

This set of wooden bowls + a wooden square plate I forgot to add to the photo cost $20. There is a little crack in the large wooden bowl, but that could be filled up easily enough with some filler and then sanded back then oiled. They are so warm and beautiful.

So even if you displayed plastic animal figurines in the bowls, at least they are presented in a beautiful way.

The "You'll Never Guess Game!"

I had an idea ... its something I've done for years ... but it just kinda found a 'place' while I was cleaning the kitchen ... cleaning out an old plastic jar actually for the recycling ... I thought this is a somewhat funky plastic container ... and then it hit me! I can (re)USE it! This is a simple, cheap, easily adaptable, transportable group experience!

I've used this guessing game since about 2007 ... but it kinda came and went in my teaching practice - I haven't used it for aaaaages ... I just started using it again last week and it was loads of fun! It's actually extremely useful for a 'bag of goodies' if you are doing casual teaching or you need something quick, easy, and portable to grab to hold the children's attention.
Gather your supplies:

You will need stuff ...any sorts of stuff ... I'll just create a random list: miniature plastic animals, insects, toys, buttons, beads, counting/sorting toys (you know those bears or dinos or fruit or insects, coloured ribbon, stones, sticks, pompoms - whatever you think will be interesting for the children to try and guess - and make sure that its not too abstract to start as you have to give clues to guide their guesses!

AND

A jar, box or other sort of easily tranportable container.

I start this game with:

"I bet I can trick you! I bet that you can't guess what's hiding in my hands!"

They love a challenge and they love a tricky-teacher!

I give varied clues like this:

It has four legs. It's a mammal, which means it has hair on its body and it feeds it's baby milk. It lives in two places in the world: Africa and Asia. It's very big. It has a long nose. It has grey skin and two big ears. Sometimes it has two long tusks. "Elephant!"

It has four legs. It's a mammal (this is often where you'll get "elephant" shouted out all over again!). It lives in the jungle. It hunts for other animals to eat. It has stripes (often you'll get zebra at this point!). It is orange and black and sometimes white and black (yeah, you guessed it, zebra again!). Tiger!

It's got 6 legs (spider! is the usual guess at this eager excited point). It is a type of insect, but its not a spider, its like a spider. Spiders have 8 legs! It hops! (rabbit! No, it has 6 legs! Rabbits have 4 legs and are animals). It makes a noise that is a chirp chirp chirp. (Insects are very tricky I've found for the children to guess. I find that I show them a part of the toy in my hand it helps).

Sometimes you'll get that "psychic" child who will just call out "horse" and yes, you have a horse in your hand. I make a melodramatic face and pout and carry on that its not fair that they guessed too well and I wasn't able to trick them! They love it.

I just pass the toys out as we go, if the children don't guess, I just give them a toy or item anyway so only one child gets one at a time ... This keeps little hands busy, helps focus their attention, helps to support them feeling engaged with the game depsite not guessing right.

I get my supplies from around the way ... I've got bits and pieces at home that I've just accidentally brought home with me over the years and they've ended up in the washing maching or under the lounge. Or I go to the discount stores and buy the toys for about $1-$2 a set. I then mix and match the toys inside. This way the game is always fresh. I actually got the animals I'm using now from Big W for I think $1 a pack - sea animals, insects, farm and wild animals etc. Just use whatever you think is interesting.

This experience is excellent for:
* problem solving and creative thinking
* learning about animals, insects, nature etc (which ever 'characters' you are using).
* this can be a follow-up to what the children have learned about whichever project they are using (eg vegetable gardening, or insects, etc) which helps to reinforce their knowledge base.
* language and literacy - introducing new descriptive words or creative language.
* classifying and sorting and describing.
* turn taking - sharing within a group.

Enoy!

Just Another Day Book Sample

This is just another version of the same sort of thing that I would do from time to time ... I wouldnt write anything at all myself ~ I'd involve the children and interview them ... These are the sorts of things they would say ...

You're Programming Wrong!

“You’re doing it wrong” is what they were told about their programming ...

So who is telling them that they are doing it wrong? Well, it wasn’t the previous manager who has 15+ years experience working in children’s services. It wasn’t the “validator” who assessed the service last year and found them to be a service delivering high quality care and education (who liked the system and methods).

It’s the new manager. This is her first job as a manager. She is also young and hasn’t had her degree for very long, nor has she got a great deal of experience in a variety of services. I think they were desperate to hire someone consistent. It certainly doesn’t look good when you can’t find staff for your service. Out of everything she could have done to improve the team, the service, support the transition to the NQS, she chooses to attack the programming and planning and declare that its “wrong”? Really? Is that the best way of managing? Um, no, it’s not. The methods that she has suggested were also bulky, cumbersome, time consuming, not presented professionally and is just going to encourage people to return to scribbling decorations on a blank page to fill the empty spaces because they can’t think of anything substantial to write. If educators can’t fill one page of a daybook with reflections, how are they going to fill double or triple the space? I know that she’s simply getting them to work the way that she is used to, but it’s not about her.

The programming that a service does should be created by the team for that particular service – what works for them? What physical resources do they have available to them? (slide shows on photo frames or computer screens? Printers? Computers? Photocopiers? Time to write?) What is their philosophy? How is that reflected in the interactions with children? How does all this relate to the EYLF? That programming that a service does should not come from ONE person whoever that person is!

What’s wrong with this line: “You’re doing it wrong?”  ... That’s not great management. It’s insensitive and passing judgement upon others. Even if they were doing it wrong, you don’t put it to them like that! You work WITH them as a team and brainstorm ideas – that’s reflection. That ‘reflection’ sits within the EYLF and is what we are required to do. But to tell someone that they are doing it wrong? That’s wrong.

One of my previous interview questions related to this ... and my answer was – I tend to be quite reflective and have lots of ideas. I’m however not going to walk into a new space and start changing things just because I have a new idea. I don’t know what happened before in this space – I don’t know the history of the room or program. I need to work with the team and the children and in consultation make changes. Yes, there are changes that MUST be made at times, but there are also changes that can occur over time. So, yes, you get what you want as a professional, but you do it in a way that everyone comes on board with you, and together you create change. In the meantime, I’ll just write my ideas down and wait for a good time!

You certainly don’t tell people they’re doing it wrong. People will be invested in their way of “doing it” and if you tell them it’s wrong – well you are going to put noses out of joint and upset people. Not a smart move.

I'd also like to add, that from what I've seen on  visits to quality services, at previous work places, and on the internet about how different people are programming - there are so many different ways it can be done, and as long as you can show an understanding of what your system is, and it meets the requirements - then you are doing it right. You are doing it right for you!

End of rant.

Stepping off soap box.

T.ink

~*~ Indoor Gardens ~*~

Gardening ... I love gardening. I love nature and plants and animals. I set up a terrarium with my preschool group earlier this year. We used an old plastic aquarium. The kids really got into it! Unfortunately it didnt have an air-tight lid which meant it needed to be sprayed alot - and since I took some leave - everyone forgot and many of the plants died.

We also experimented growing wheat seeds in jars which was very successful. You could see the wheat grass, but you could also see the roots in the soil. I found that idea on the internet. The children then took it in a different direction and I remember Miss K suggested that we plant them in the garden ... we did, and they grew. Master X suggested that we grow them in water ... we did, and they didn’t grow. But it was a lesson learned.

I learned a lot and it didn’t cost much. It took time. It took thought. It took planning. It took minimal resources. It’s about being resource*FULL.

Acutally I think back to one of my managers - she wanted the lunch tables to look pretty ... with the three to four serving bowls that the current cook was giving us at each table it wasnt possible with the space we had on the tables and I didnt see the point of putting something on the table that would only get removed right away ... but I was just thinking - jars with plants in them would have been the perfect alternative to the vases with flowers that were suggested. Whether as jars of wheat grass or spider plants or ferns ... I'll keep this in mind for my next employment committment (if I make one!).

Here are some photos of the terrariums I made for myself at home ... They are pretty simple ... just google image "terrarium" and you will get so many awesome ideas! I found a great deal of inspiration for this through google ... I =heart= google.

Here is my assistant ... responsible for quality control and being generally curious about everything.

I used spider plants because they were accessible (i.e. in my garden) and they were small and affordable! I figured if the plants didnt make it, then I could replace them easily enough without disturbing the substrates.

So yeah ... it was pretty straight forward and easy ... I havent added little special things yet like painted stones or trinkets or little figureines ... I thought I would save that for the larger one I will do ... I found some jars at The Reject Shop for $5 with lids - including a funky cookie jar which was rippled ... not sure if it was the best option for a terrarium because the plants would be all distorted ... I ended up buying little mini tea sets  and a bird tote instead! But there are options out there that are super affordable! All the gardening materials I purchased at Bunnings. My assistant was found 12 months ago as a 12 week old kitten on the street at midnight by a neighbour. I'd be lost without him.

If you dont have a space in which you can garden - I know that some services don't have access to gardens - this is a way for you to do something on a small scale inside. And because they are enclosed, they are relatively easy to maintain - i.e. they don't dry out quickly.

If the plants do die, or fail to thrive, this is the time to have those conversations with the children about why that might be happening! Then you are really tackling hypothesizing and problem solving and really engaging with the natural materials!

Now in regards to the EYLF ...

"Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world: Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment:

= explore, infer, predict and hypothesise in order to develop an increased understanding of the interdependence between land, people, plants and animals

= show growing appreciation and care for natural and constructed environment

= explore relationships with other living and non-living things and observe, notice and respond to change

= develop an awareness of the impact on human activity on environments and the interdependence of living things."

Educators can promote this through:

·        " provide children with access to a range of natural materials in their environment

·         model respect, care and appreciation for the natural environment

·         find ways of enabling children to care for and learn from the land"

EYLF, 2009 pp. 29

T.ink.

~*~ My Philosophy ~*~

I've been thinking about my philosophy ... changing jobs will do that to ya! What is often one of the things that they ask you? Tell us about your philosophy!

When I was at Univeristy so many many years ago I had to write a philosophy and present it to the class ... I had an ingenious idea - to make a story book! So I did ... I used photos from the internet, my own photos, quotes, ideas etc and put them into an "old fashioned" scrap book (this is before the days of scrapbook popularity!). I then read the "story" to the class.

So I've been thinking about my philosophy today and how would I present it?

I came up with a montage of images that I've taken, resources I've made and I am creating a sort of picture book philosophy circa 2012 ...

So far I have two pages completed ...

I am going to do more ... adding to it ... I've just realised that the bottom image has a fault ... I'll fix it later ... its somewhat difficult with a 5kg kitten-cat sleeping on the desk in front of you leaning on the mouse and the keyboard ... I might even leave it there (fix it in another post) as homage to the little furry beast I love so much.

Breaking Bread ... & the EYLF

The Finished Product! A Scrummy Loaf of Warm Bread!!!

(a bit blurry but you get the idea!)

Well, the first batch of bread failed (the yeast didnt activate and I later realised that it was out of date!) ... So I bought more yeast and I bought a big giant bag of bakers flour which was way cheaper than buying the other stuff.

This time, because the weather wasnt very warm, I preheated my oven and then turned it off. I placed the plastic bag over the mixing bowl, and put it in the oven ... Whoah did the yeast activate or what! Then when I was making dinner, I remembered what an Italian friend said her mother did when making pizza - they'd cover the dough with the blankets and doonas from the beds ... So I put the bowl in my bed and covered it with my doona and pillows in a big mountain ... This really stayed warm and this is the result after a few hours:

After a few hours in the middle of my bed ...

The next morning

(I probably could have baked it last night b/c there wasnt much visible change from night to morning) 

I did as the recipe said, then formed a loaf shape ... then put it in the oven ...

 This is after the first bake with the lid on ...

And this is with the lid off and finished! YUMMO!!!

Bread will be devoured with home made vegetable soup ... my next project!

The awesome thing about this bread, is you dont have to work the dough ... you just mix, and let sit for a length time ... If you wanted to do this with kids (as I do with my next group) you could have a few of the steps on the go at one time ... You could make some in the morning or the afternoon, bake them early, or later (all depending upon your cook's schedule! Don't upset your cook!)  You could make  on Monday, bake and eat Tuesday, Make one Tuesday and bake and eat Wednesday etc. Or you could just bake traditional bread and get the kids to work the dough ... its all good, I just like this because its no-fuss and effective and it bakes the type of bread I like eating! I really like a chewy crust with a soft moist centre! You'd pay $4-$6 for a loaf like this at a boutique bakery! I should work out how much that cost me ... Not much at all ... So even if your services is on a tight budget - you use flour to make playdough? Well, all you'll need is some yeast - a portion of one packet, salt, flour, water ... done.

Now .. how does bread link to the Early Years Learning Framework? 

I think that cooking is such an important part of a curriculum. We ALL eat.  We don't all however cook. There would be some families who just re-heat and serve, so don't assume that all children will be exposed to cooking. Reheating is not cooking. So its your job to support children in learning about this. If children do cook at home, then if you cook at school you can involve those children to share their knowledge and experience - or involve the family either by sharing recipes, or having family members come in and help prepare if possible.

Cooking supports learning in so many different curriculum areas.

Here are some samples:

= science: how properties change - solid/liquid/hard/soft etc, ... also biology - yeasts, extend by making a sourdough starter culture? further extend by making yogurt?

= maths: measurement, addition, subtraction, weights, time ...

= health: nutrition - healthy foods to eat, healthy ways to prepare ...

= social: working together towards a common goal - bread! taking turns, sharing ...

= physical: hand-eye coordination, fine/gross motor (if you work the dough!) ...

= cultural: so many cultures make bread as a staple - explore all the different types (tortilla, chapati)

= literacy: reading a recipe, vocabulary relating to the recipe and cooking

= cognitive: following directions (what happens if you dont!?)

Ok that's just off the top of my head ... you get the idea ...

Cooking is a really great way to look at community. Think of social engagement as community. You gather your children and you have a community meeting about cooking ... what sorts of foods would they like to prepare? Why? If you ask them do they have any ideas of what healthy foods are vs unhealthy ones?

I remember once asking the kids this when I first started with them many years ago ... I got answers like pizza and MacDonalds ... not what I was hoping for ... I brought in my recipe books the next day and they went through the images and that really got their ideas flowing ...

Make a plan of action:

1. What would we like to prepare?

2. What CAN we prepare (i.e. what equipment do we have access to? what do we need to borrow or purchase?

3. What ingredients can we use? What do we already have? What do we need to buy? What allergies do we need to consider? (i.e. do we have children with egg allergies and can we use a substitute?)

4. When can we do it? (not wise to whip up a curry at 4pm or when the cook is preparing lunch either)

5. Who is interested in this? (remember some children might participate in the whole process, others might come and go and this is ok!)

6. Who will go shopping? Have you made a list? Money? (In a perfect world, the children could go to the local shop and buy what they need, but I know that not everyone can do this!)

I'd suggest you start simple and then complicate things ... that way there is more opportunity for success and less chance for failure! Then, you complicate things a little more and work your way up to other ideas and methods.

From a cultural perspective you can look at the socio-cultural groups of the room/service ... Just because someone is "white" doesn't mean they don't have culture ... They could be from any number of cultural groups. My old service was VERY multicultural ... in fact it was the most culturally diverse service I've ever worked in over 15 years of working in early education ... See what cultural resources you already have within your staff and go from there. Who likes cooking? Perhaps someone who works in the nursery section loves cooking, but the educators in the preschool aren't so experienced ... well, do a staff swap and have that educator share their skills with others (children AND educators).

I'd started a communal meal by asking the staff to bring a dish to share ... Some of my colleauges and myself were always sharing food and ideas at lunch ... It's a great way to bond and learn!  So for our staff meetings we'd bring something to share, Mexican dips, Indian rice and curries, tabouli, cakes, noodles and dumplings, pastries ... Everyone would bring something from their culture or something from another culture that they really enjoy eating/preparing! Maybe that is how you can weave some community into your team? And let it trickle down to the kids?

Cooking is awesome.

Cooking is curriculum.

Cooking is community.

Cooking is life.

T.ink

 

 

Natural VS Commercial

So one of the big ideas I'm exploring is how to use what we have around us rather than ruining our earth by ordering things from companies ... I mean I do love rainbow matchsticks ... don't get me wrong, they are useful and vibrant and the like BUT they are trees that were cut down ... then they were processed to be little match stick shapes, then they were dyed, then they were packaged, then they were shipped to a warehouse, where they wait to be sold ... and again, shipped out ...

So as I was pottering around in my garden and checking out my giant pile of clippings and prunings etc and I was wondering about how it can be used (other than be chipped down and sold as mulch/compost by the company that buys the waste from council) ...

So why not mix it up? Just don't take away all the colour in one go ... but look at ways of incorporating natural materials which are FREE and local and easily made? I just grabbed some landscaping pebbles from my garden, used the May Bush twigs which were at hand, plus playdough with no dye added, glass beads as well as the coloured match sticks ... 

Here are some landscaping rocks from Bunnings, thicker branches or twigs from the May Bush, drift wood (which I'd had for some hermit crabs who have since passed away), different leaves, and the landscaping pebbles ... All of these things you can either buy quite inexpensively ($2.49 per bag for the rocks) or find around the place...

There are some awesomely interesting seed pods out there too ... these came from a fire wheel tree... I wore gloves and long sleeves to scrape out the seeds as they have little prickley hairs which were irritating to me - so this is not a project I'd do with the children. I wore jeans as well and shook everything out and then washed it! But the seed pods last a really long time in the room for play with blocks etc so they are worth the effort.

I've previously used gum nuts - there is a tree in front of my parents home which drops gum nuts all the time - easily swept up and placed along with the twigs, sticks, rocks, seed pods, and pebbles. I should go and harvest some more when its time!

I can't post any pictures of what my old kids did with the play dough and natural materials ... but I can describe what some of the ideas were ... some made animals using the sticks for legs, others flattened out the dough and made artistic patterns with the nuts on the outside. Some created balls of dough which they then placed on top of sticks were were then stick into a base of dough - flowers. Others made the ever famous cookies and cakes with the dough.

I've also put a display of natural materials in block corner where the kids used the large rocks in their play. Mainly as additions to their block work. I guess you could call them embellishments! I like that term, I think its one I will use more often!

Embellish!

T.ink