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

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)

We Teach Relationships, Through Relationships

I actually wrote this piece last year in October. There was actually a great deal of reflecting upon  relationships. In fact I could add to it almost every day!

I am using it now following on from my piece about Belonging. I think they do fit and flow together a fair bit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I've been pondering relationships with children. Its actually something that I have been thinking about since the start of last year and moments have come up since then that really highlight the importance of relationships. Without relationships we cannot be educators. Children need to trust you – trust you to care for them – trust you to have their best interests at heart – trust you to tell them and teach them the truth.

Relationships are central to our work as educators. Our relationships with the children, their families, our peer colleagues, and yes our managers. These relationships have the power to help us soar, or sink; work in harmony or misery.

I was sitting in my office reading a Teacher Tom article which touched on relationships. One of my Korean contingent came to little school. She arrived with her father who called out 'good morning' and I called out a 'good morning' back. Miss Y came running around the hallway to smile, say good morning in English and then greet me in Korean with a bow. An-Ya-Ah-Sey-Yo I said back as she threw herself into me for a morning hug. I am not their 'teacher' … I am the manager of a service with limited time with these children, yet my interactions have nurtured these relationships.

How we engage with children is CRITICAL. It does not matter the time, the quality of those interactions is what matters. Teacher Tom, in "Icelandic Fairies" was yet another reminder of this – he connected with children in brief moments without a shared language and he was overwhelmed with emotions.

I've always had fabulous relationships with children. I'm not bragging. I just have. I was the teacher who would walk into the room and have a cluster of my students come running to greet me each morning I was on a late shift. I didn't encourage it or foster it – it just was what it was. It was not some ego boost. I wasnt grooming teacher worshiping students. We genuinely enjoyed one another's company. Now this isn't to say that there were not children who I found challenging to connect with. There were children who I really struggled with, and those were the relationships I had to work to nurture. And sometimes I think we never got there, that child and I.

I've been working at my current service as a non-teaching director for about 6 months. I walk in and out of the rooms. I spend some time in the garden. I'm not consistently working with children. I have noticed something critical. A single interaction, no matter how seemingly insignificant to me – a passer-through – was significant to a child.

That is our power to nurture or to do harm.

I spent more time in the preschool side of our service – purely because the 2IC is the lead teacher in that space. She was central to supporting me in learning the bureaucratic nuances to this organization. My first interaction with a toddler in our nursery was a passing through moment: I noticed someone wearing one sock. Which led to a conversation about socks – I decided to take my shoes off and show them that I was wearing odd socks: one spots and one stripes. That moment – an unplanned sharing – led to this child saying my name, looking for me when he arrived at little school, saying goodbye to me when he left. Simply showing the children my quirky sock choices led to a connection and a relationship.

Reflecting further back, at the start of the year I was running a vacation care program. We were sitting at the kinetic sand table and a younger boy who was new to vacation care and transitioning from preschool to kindergarten, started to flick the sand. I asked him to stop because he was possibly going to flick sand into someone's eyes which would really hurt them. He stopped and all was good in the world of the kinetic sand table. A young friend, about 11 years old, sitting next to me said “You're really nice.” … I wasn't expecting to hear a random statement like that so I asked him why. He said I just was and because I didn't yell at that boy. I didn't yell at the children. He went on to say that if someone had done 'the wrong thing' then all the children would be gathered on the stage where they would be reprimanded as a collective. I was really nice because I let him charge his gameboy where the other 'teacher' wouldn't – she'd only let her son charge his and not the other children.

This hit me. It hit me hard. I'm still thinking about it ten months later.

I was greatly saddened to hear that this was this child's experience of vacation care. I was saddened by a great many things that he had divulged to me about how other children had bullied him and pushed him against walls and held him by his neck – threatening him. How nothing was done about it. How he didn't feel safe. This explained why he spent time at my side from day one, why he checked the children's sign in and out, why he'd watch the door nervously when children and families would arrive. I thought it was simply because he recognized me for the awesome teacher and fabulous human being that I am. It was because he was living in silent fear.

I saw the fear in his eyes when 'that kid' turned up. That kid was about a year older than he but taller and much older in terms of physical development. This kid was mean. He was manipulative. He would watch and strike strategically. It's not often that I don't like young people. This individual was not being a nice person. Look, I still treated him like I did all the others, but I watched him. I watched him watch me. Thankfully he only attended two days.

{Fast forward to three months to this moment where I am editing this article for my blog and I want to add a moment which includes Miss E. She's just turned two and she's pint sized. She has always been a reserved and quite little soul. I'd love to tell you about the little moments I've shared with Miss E at the end of the day when I step onto the floor for 30-60 minutes - where I might share 10-20 minutes with her in family grouping. But I won't. They are brief. And they are mostly about her accompanying me to do the final day lock up ... We would walk through the centre with my colleague, and we would check the rooms and make sure no one was left behind in the other rooms. This was not our every day thing, it was just our sometimes thing when my shift aligned with a late collection of her. 

The other day when I was in the nursery room speaking to the two leaders about their spaces and their plans for 2016, Miss E approached me. I looked down and asked her if she'd like a cuddle, her arms were raised which I read as a yes. I picked her up and balanced her on my hip while I continued to discuss the piece of paper in my hand with my team. I'd placed my glasses upon my head, and she grabbed my face in both of her hands and held her nose to mine and squeezed my face. She then put her check to mine and then squeezed again. Then she put her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. Then she looked at my face again. I died. I just died. I just ended up giving her the biggest squeeze back and a big kiss on the cheek. I had no idea. I just didn't. I'm important to her. I need to make sure that I do not let her down. I need to make sure I don't let any of them down. What a seriously big freaking responsibility we have! Seriously. Now, back to the original piece I wrote ... }

Anyway. The significant point I am trying to make here is that the children watch you and learn from you. I'm not referring to the role modeling you do when try to demonstrate those typical academic things that many educators seem to focus upon … I'm referring to deeper things. The touchy feely, the emotional and feeling things.

We teach children. We teach them what we think of them. How we value them as people. How we think they should be treated. We teach them how to accept treatment by others – peers and adults alike. We teach them 'their' worth through our eyes. We teach them what we think of them by how we engage with their peers – do we place more value upon one child over another?

One single moment, seemingly unimportant in our adult eyes, can carry so much weight for a child.

Remember that.

We teach relationships, through relationships.

We form relationships through actions and words.

Make every action, every moment priceless.

© Teacher's Ink. 2015

The Art of Being a Relief Educator

So casual work? Relief work? Subbing? Temping? Whatever it’s called ... It’s an art form.

I did a shout out on a few networking groups and asked what advice there was for people who work as relief educators or what they appreciate from a relief educator ... Here were their answers (plus a few of my own offerings!) ... They are in no particular order ...

THE DOS

• Remember as many names as you can. One strategy was to try and link the names of the children to people you already know or to ask the older children to quiz you on their names – this makes a fun game out of it. And we all know that children love games!
• Use your initiative throughout the day. It’s the little things that add up and count in the long run.  Examples of this could be:
• Be available to work! If you’re not able to work for a while, or if you’re on a holiday, or doing a block of relief work somewhere else, please communicate this to who you work for.
• Arrive on time if you were booked in advance.
• Plan your trip online, double check your GPS!
• If you were booked at the last minute, when you arrive, be calm! Don’t be in a frazzle because you’re late. You were expected to be late as you were booked at the last minute. It’s ok! Relax! Start your day off cool, calm, and collected.
• Answer the phone ... and say yes as often as you can
• Be approachable to everyone: children, educators, parents.
• Greet people – say hello and smile and introduce yourself when you can. “Hello, my name is Holly and I’m an educator working with the children today.”
• A name badge would be a nice touch – I’m shocking at remembering names. I try by my brain doesn’t work with me on this!
• Speak to the staff and ask for guidance. Respect the permanent staff’s expertise in the routines, the service and the children. Qualifications do not an expert make ;) .
• Work closely with the educators in the room and centre to try and support them in maintaining a flow for the routine.
• Be aware of the service’s philosophy. You don’t need to know it back to front, but have a general idea of who they are and what they are about.
• Ask about any children with dietary issues or allergy issues – where is the documentation kept so that you can access it if you are concerned a child is unwell.
• Wipe noses, and do it with the utmost respect – How would you feel if some random stranger came up behind you from nowhere and wiped your nose? Seriously think about it ... Creepy much?  I suggest you also ask the child before you do: “Would you like me to help you wipe your nose?” (I used to be a random creepy from behind nose wiper! I own it! I’ve moved on!)
• Sweep the floor – is it messy? Grab a broom and a dustpan and tidy that mess up.
• Wipe tables down after they’ve been used – is their caked on glue? A smear of weetbix from breakfast? Wipe it up! Even if the mess isn’t from you, it shows that you care and you’re making an effort.
• Don’t spend all your time cleaning! I know I just suggested you show initiative and clean – but if you’re spending your whole time face down sweeping around the sandpit then you’re not engaging with children which should be the priority.
• Engaging with children is the biggest and the bestest part of ‘supervision’.
• Be a team player ... work as part of the team, look listen learn and take on responsibility.
• Be open and willing to learn ... the services’ way may not be your way, but you’re there to support them as they enact their philosophy and practice. You are a support person ... do what you can. Even when you don’t agree.
• Be committed to the children and their well-being.
• Role model sun protection – wear a suitable sun protective hat – with a wide brim and sunscreen if you’re able to.
• Read professional journals and quality early childhood blogs.
• Engage in ongoing learning and professional development! Keep current and expand your knowledge and understanding and where possible network with others to consolidate this critical learning and thinking. 

THE TIPS for EDUCATORS:

• Have a bag of your own resources:
• Children’s story books that you are familiar with,
• A bag or box of novelty items that you can use to capture the children’s interest and engage with them. Shannon suggested Goldilocks & the Three Bears using real figures which she says works a treat! Simple but effective.
• A bag of magic play-dough (check for wheat allergies first!)
• CDs or an device with music and portable speakers
• Puppets and songs,
• a pencil case with textas, pencils, scissors, and glue sticks,
• finger paints and cotton buds (Sarah recommends a Faber Castell set that she swears by) and you throw the cotton buds away when you’re done.
• Unusual and beautiful art supplies – washi tape and collage materials
• Spare gloves – you’d be surprised and you don’t want to be caught out at an “interesting” service without some spares.
• Your own tea, coffee and sugar in something such as a nude foods container as well as a coffee or travel mug (because let’s face it, sometimes their mugs are filthy!)

THE TIPS for SERVICES:

• Perform a first day induction – buddy the relief educator with someone who can support them or give them guidance.
• Help the educators feel welcome! Smile and let them know if they need anything they can ask you or someone else. There’s nothing more daunting than being in a space where you don’t know anyway, and no one makes eye contact with your!
• Offer a locker or a safe space to keep their belongings.
• Give respectful direction, make eye contact, use pleases and thank yous and give a variety of responsibilities ... As opposed to just “go supervise outside”.

THE DON’TS

• Stand around and chat to adults all day.
• Play music loudly! I find it overwhelms my brain having a colleague playing their own music all day long and quite loudly because they don’t like “the quiet” ... I’m a fan of settled play noise ... I also don’t mind music, but not all the time and not to make adults happy either! Be very careful if you play contemporary popular music as it can have totally inappropriate content for young ears. You’re asking for consequences for that one – parent complaints, staff complaints etc.
• Sit or stand staring off into space with your arms crossed.
• Sit or stand staring off into space with your hands in your pocket.
• Wait to be asked to do things ... show initiative! If you’re not sure, then just ask.
• Don’t be so good at what you do, that you get booked up too far in advance by other centres ;)

Thank you to Lana, Trisha, Michelle, Lyn, Jo, Debra, Sarah, Shannon, Kim, Julie, Stella, Chantel, Alexandra, and Sandi  for responding to my shout out, and to the other’s who requested anonymity who provided me with private messages. 

©Teacher’s Ink. 2015 

Being: a Teacher

So I have returned to teaching and I’m doing short term contracts. I made this choice for myself because I really didn’t know what steps to take next. In fact there are many reasons why I made this choice:

1. I’ll get paid, ya know? There are bills and adult responsibilities that have to be taken care of and an income helps in this regard.
2. I can take some time off as I need without having to ask for approval. I can get things in my life sorted – whether that be project or house work or garden. I will have more time.
3. I get some variety in my life.
4. There is limited responsibility. I am still responsible and professional. But at the end of the day, I walk away. I am not required to do rosters or work an 11 hour day to cover staff who are sick because there are no available relief staff and none of my team are able to, or will work a longer shift.
5. I get to be. The Being part of Belonging, Being and Becoming. I get to experience that too. I am there for the children. I am not feeling the same pressures I once felt as a teacher or director or teaching director.
6. I can experiment with documenting children’s learning - with my writing style, what I choose to include or leave out and all that jazz.
7. I can really focus on myself – my professional self. Who I am. Who I am for the children. Who I am for the team. I get to observe myself and how children respond to me. I’m finding it quite interesting.
8. I can bide my time ... work and figure out who I want to be when I grow up. Because, at the end of the day, I have no idea what direction I want to travel in.
9. I don’t have to get sucked into centre/service/organizational politics. I go to work. I do my job. I do the best job I can. I go home. Tada!
10. I will have plenty to reflect upon ... which means I can write about it ... which means I can do my Teacher’s Ink. work as well as a few of my other of my other projects!
11. I will be able to practice what my brain now knows after the last two years of mentoring and thinking ... Which can only be a good thing.

© Teacher’s Ink. 2015 All Rights Reserved

Dear Team ...

Dear Team,

First, I should tell you where I’m coming from. I think about the children. I’m not always right, and I’m not always equally fair to absolutely everyone, but the first and foremost thought running through my mind is the children, both collectively and as a cluster of individuals.

I want the children to have the best experience they can in the space I am in - with the other individuals they are with, both adult and child. Now, I don’t mean I want them to be happy all the time. That’s not a realistic possibility, but I want them to be safe, valued and heard. I want them to feel connected to the learning community as well as the world as a whole. I want them to be on a journey of discovering who they are as an individual in this life.

One of the aspects of my role is to give directions and guidance in regards to interacting and supervising, setting up of learning spaces, routine tasks, as well as workplace health and safety.  I don’t give directions because I enjoy doing it. I do it because I need to.  I am trying to manage and lead a service community which is made up of children and their families, our local community, educators and the many other individuals who step inside our door. It’s not easy. I need your understanding and your assistance.

I want the children to be safe, well and engaged – getting the most out of the moments they are in. This means we have to create dynamic learning environments that will encourage children to play and learn. We should engage with the children with respect and not take overpower them. We need to move around and spread ourselves across the space and the children. Parking ourselves at the art table because we like crafting ourselves isn't what we are here for. We need to 'work the party' and be accessible to all, not just the few.

I want the educators to be safe. I don’t want you to injure yourself or your colleagues. I don’t want to see you stressed and miserable. I want you to enjoy the great many hours you are spending at work. I want to mentor you and support you as evolving and growing professionals. You’re not here to babysit or be babysat yourself. I want you to be the best educators you can possibly be. This is something we can work on together, but only if you will let me.

I’m not the perfect leader, but I can promise you I am trying my best. My best will fluctuate from one moment to another, one day to another. That doesn’t mean I’m inconsistent, it means I’m human, like you. It also means that I am growing. I too evolve as a professional and learn new things each and every day.

You and I are legally responsible for the children in our care. That means, each and every thing you do, don’t do, say or don’t say has consequences. Now these consequences might be minor, a scratch on a knee because you didn't speak to your colleagues about leaving the room for a moment, but they might also be major and result in a trip to the hospital with a fracture. We hold the children’s lives in our hands. We are answerable to the child – both the child as they are now and also as they will be as an adult.  This is why records are kept until children are 25 years old. 

We answer to the child’s parents and families. We answer to our managers at every level. We are also answerable to the licensing and regulatory bodies as well as the law. Please do not take this responsibility lightly, I don’t.

Please work with me. Together we could achieve so very much, but it is something we need to do together, as a team. I cannot do this alone. 

Kind Regards,

Your Leader

Why So Many Ways to Document?

When I studied the first time around I learned how to observe and document using the following methods:

Anecdotal Observations
Running Records
Jottings
Time Samples
Event Samples
Sociograms ...

I'm sure there were more, but those are the ones that come to mind.

That was 1996. Waaaay back when.

Now, there are training organizations, the now defunct DEEWR with their 'Educators Guide'  and the self-proclaimed consultants who are passing the old formats of observations off as if they are something new, and adding:

Morning meeting minutes
Afternoon meeting minutes
Reflective practice
Reflective Oblongs
Children's Philosophies
Family Philosophies
Surveys
Projects
Learning Stories
Mind Maps
Analysis of learning
Etcetera

Do you not wonder why you are being told to spread yourself too thin? And who are these experts? Have they been through Assessment and Rating themselves? Have they even managed a centre consistently under the new National Quality Standards? What are their early childhood qualifications? Are they certified? Or are they just out to make a quick buck out of your insecurity and fear? If they were really out to help you, they wouldn't charge you exorbitantly for their time and supposed expertise.

I am a consultant. That's my nine to five. But I resent using the word because of those who are laying claim to it. Abusing it. Abusing you.

No one, NO ONE can get you exceeding. EVER. Apart from the fact that I have little faith in the A&R system as it is, I certainly think that if a centre gets Exceeding then it's their own doing. They did the work, not the books that they read, the websites they joined or the consultants they consulted with. The centre earned it. Not the hired help.

Are you even comfortable with someone claiming to take credit for your hard work? Is that fair? Is it ethical for someone to take your success, pass it off as their own, and then use your success to advertise themselves to make more money from other educators and service providers?

Just because someone delivers something in a way that you connect with. Just because they are charismatic and friendly, doesn't mean that they are speaking the truth and giving you sound information or advice.

My advice to you: Stick with a few styles of documentation and do them well. You only need a few. Don't fall for the "children's magical voices" bullshit. Writing anything down is worthless without some serious reflection behind it. And children are not magical beings. They are people. If you called me magical I'd smack you across the head for demeaning me and tell you it was just fairy dust. Don't. Call. Me. Magical. It's degrading. I'm a person who deserves respect.

Don't fall for empty promises and spread yourself too thin. That is not the path to a "Meeting" rating much less an "Exceeding" one.

Reflection is deeper than asking the children what they liked or didn't like about their day. Reflection is not about what you liked or what 'went' well or how lovely it was in the sandpit with all the children playing so nicely or what the children said.

I've given you plenty of professional reflection on my blog - go read it.

So what sorts of documentation would I use?

The Teacher's Ink Approved Documentation Methods: < tongue in cheek in case ya didn't know.
Anecdotal observations
Jottings
Photo montages
Conversations
Narratives

And then I'd tie it all in together with my reflections of my knowledge of the child and what I would like to see the child working on in the near future.

I personally am not a fan of (New Zealand) Learning Stories - I think they're great for NZ and I think they're fabulous for centres that are above ratio and provide their educators with a) a computer and b) extensive time to document. Otherwise who has time to do them? I didn't.

I've never particularly liked them. And most people don't do them properly anyway. I doubt that many people know they come from NZ in the first place. You don't need to do them. They're not required. No matter what anyone says. There is NOTHING in the NQS or EYLF that says you need to use them.

So in regards to children's portfolios, I would have five main documentation formats. Five. That's it. FIVE. Not 10, not 20 or 30 or 86 different ways to document (yeah you think I'm joking? I've heard this one).

Pick five, and do them well. Especially the jottings - do lots of them! They're more meaningful that a whole long drawn out story.

In regards to hiring consultants, Google them, do some research! Just because they're nice and charismatic doesn't mean they're qualified.

Remember that: Charismatic is NOT the same as Qualified.

And a pretty portfolio is NOT an assessment of learning nor is it your curriculum documentation.

Portfolios are not even required, yet many of us do them. But that's another story.

I think perhaps the moral of this story is that you shouldn't spread yourself too think. You're not Vegemite.

Work smarter, not harder. I know. That's what they say. They all say it. But they're full of shit. Because they tell you to do it 10 or 20 or 30 or 86 different ways.

© Teacher’s Ink. 2014 All Rights Reserved