tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51194010120559925812024-02-19T10:09:59.219-08:00Early LearningA blog for educatorsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-79836876709667248112019-01-10T21:10:00.001-08:002019-01-10T21:10:49.068-08:00Motivation needs purpose<b>The first word that my twenty month old nephew says when he wakes up in the morning is 'book'. </b><br />
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He climbs over his dad to reach the books on the bedside table, then waves them under his face until he wakes up and reads them to him. The last thing he does at night is cuddle up in bed with my sister while they read some books. He asks for books all day long, and sometimes he sits and looks at books by himself. I bought some 'Paddington' books for him for his first birthday thinking that he would be interested in them when he was older. I thought they would be great for their complex vocab. He has already had them read to him over and over. When we were on holidays they were read in a variety of voices and with a variety of inflections by Mummy, Daddy, Nan Nan, Dad-daddy and Auntie Payee, with Mama and Papa (his great-grandparents, looking on).<br />
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It's a familiar story. A parent calls me, asking for help for his or her son or daughter who is struggling with reading. The teacher says that the child is on the low reading level. This is appearing on report cards halfway through prep, when children are up to a year younger than we were when we started reading at school. Other children seem to find reading easy and are flying through the levels. It is easy to feel discouraged, lose confidence, and lose interest in books. Besides, why do we have to read? Because we have to read at school? Do adults read? Do children see adults reading?<br />
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Our expectations for children can be so much higher than our expectations for ourselves, but it's strange that so many of us are blind to this. Children are expected to do things - just because. We don't like to do things - just because. We like to feel motivated to do things. This is where we find our energy. Motivation comes from purpose. Without purpose it is very difficult to find motivation. Purpose for a child can be related to fun, or it can come from the desire to emulate adults. Children are in the process of becoming adults, so are looking to adults to see what adults 'do'.<br />
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Expecting adults to sit and read in front of children is expecting a lot. Lives are busy, and when we're busy the last thing on our minds is probably reading. Most of the time children are seeing adults using their phones or watching TV. We wonder why they want to use our phones and watch TV. We wonder whether the answer is for children to enjoy reading. Do they see us reading for enjoyment? It's a big ask to expect children to enjoy reading if they don't see us enjoying reading.<br />
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It's an issue that's hard to address. Children need to learn to read so that they can read to learn. It's essential for every subject area. Not every child will see his or her father spend every spare moment reading - as I did. Not every child will see his or her parents sitting in bed at night with their matching Kindles - as I do when I'm visiting. My sister's Kindle cover is worn out, probably because she never turns the TV on. She asked me recently, "Do you remember when we felt naked without a book?" As children we never went anywhere without one, just in case.<br />
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There's not a lot we can do to stop our rapidly changing world. There are so many demands on our attention, and the way that it is being scattered between tasks is affecting our ability to slow down and focus on things that require more time. Although I am constantly accessing new information, I have to be on holidays for a couple of weeks before being able to slow down enough to read an actual 'book'. The degree of importance that is placed on literacy is a matter of preference. It is our choice. Perhaps it won't even be needed as much in the future when everything is accessible auditorily and visually.<br />
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The main issue is that children don't suffer because of this. It is not their fault. They are not responsible for their fast-paced environments, for our priorities, and for our inability to slow down. They don't have to like reading - just because. Their abilities and speeds of learning will most likely be in proportion to how reading has been supported in their environments, particularly at home. Teachers are under a lot of pressure to meet outcomes, this pressure is being passed down to parents, and then onto children.<br />
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When we were children we sat around the table after dinner listening to my dad reading 'Danny, the Champion of the World'. I still remember those pheasants as clear as day. We didn't have a TV until I was seventeen. If we want children to be able to read well, we can't reprimand them for preferring to watch TV or run around outside. We need to show them that reading has a purpose, for discovering information, or for 'fun'. The only way to do this is to read in front of them, with them, and to them. We may even discover or rediscover a love of reading, or learn something new, or even learn to slow down a little. It's worth a try.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-75176134293615169772017-01-06T00:07:00.001-08:002017-01-06T00:07:22.080-08:00Beyond behaviour<b>I have never asked a child under six to talk about his or her feelings. </b><br />
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I just had an 'A-ha moment'! Now I don't expect that everyone will agree with what I'm saying, because it goes against what I've been taught too. In thirteen years of working with young children I have never asked a child to talk to me about his or her feelings because my instinct told me that it didn't feel right. There are so many things that I have never done in thirteen years for the same reason. I now understand this instinct to be a great gift, because when you work in a profession where the choices that you make have the potential to affect people's lives in profound ways, you don't want to look back and feel that you got it wrong.<br />
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A child who is displaying negative behavior is a child in pain, and I've never seen a child in pain and felt that he or she wanted to sit with me and talk about emotions. And this has nothing to do with my discomfort. Emotions are my specialty. I'm more than comfortable talking about them with adults, and singing about them, and (sometimes to my detriment) expressing them in public places.<br />
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And I'm not sure that we always want to talk about our feelings either, which is why I've never been to a counselor. Being analyzed by a dispassionate observer never felt like my cup of tea. Most young children certainly haven't developed the kind of vocabulary for this kind of activity. It's quite possible that in asking them to engage in it, we're adding to their stress rather than soothing it.<br />
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So what do we want if not to talk about our feelings? We want to be loved! Yes, I'm talking about the L word again. Yesterday I was listening to a TED Talk by Marisa Peer. She was talking about how she had helped so many people, saved their lives even, by teaching them this simple phrase, "I am enough". This is what was missing from their childhoods, "I am enough". Once they had trained their minds to accept this idea they were healed, mentally and physically.<br />
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This is what we need to give children. We need to see beyond behavior to the person in pain, the person who needs love and unconditional acceptance. We need to honour the core of the person that is not a bunch of 'feelings', but is a soul that longs for connection with others, that longs to be seen.<br />
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This could mean sitting together, playing together, reading together. It could mean hugs and cuddles. A child's body language will tell you if you've made the right choice. If they can see that they are valued recipients of our time and attention they will learn that they are enough. The wounds of childhood don't disappear unless as adults we learn to be loving, comforting, unconditionally accepting arms for ourselves. Easier said than done. Young children can't be expected to be able to do this alone. If we can help to provide this foundation for them, they may never need to.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-73677537829295230262016-11-18T18:17:00.000-08:002016-11-18T23:45:48.683-08:00Five year-old self<b>I've often thought that if you looked back at your five year-old self you would find all the answers that you're looking for.</b><br />
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A few years ago I taught a beautiful little boy for two years. He was quiet and not particularly social at three and a half. I have since come to understand that even quiet children become much more social between four and five, and so it is almost never necessary to be concerned about this before four years of age.<br />
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I was often advised to be concerned about this child because he was solitary, timid, and found it difficult to bond with adults at that time. I knew that his home life had been difficult. To me this was enough of a reason to justify his behaviours. I think it's so important to respond to emotional issues before looking for developmental ones.<br />
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I felt that this child was in desperate need of unconditional acceptance. I've never met a child I couldn't bond with so that was the easy part. His mum and I also bonded. She was in desperate need of unconditional acceptance too. She believed that her child was perfect and I believed that he was perfect, and that's how we approached everything.<br />
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I'm a big believer in physical contact with young children, but not all personalities like that or need that from you. Children's body language is clear on this, and should be respected. I bonded with this child by taking an interest in the things that he was interested in. When I had time I would sit on the a-frame next to him and he would tell me about the pick-up trucks, and the container trucks and the forklifts next door. To this day I wouldn't have known the difference between them if he hadn't explained it to me.<br />
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I often borrowed books from the library for the children. I would borrow books about trucks and tell him (on the quiet) that I borrowed them especially for him. Every child needs to feel that they have been picked out of the crowd, and I do my absolute best to find a way to do this for every child. Parents love to know that you've taken special care as well.<br />
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This little boy spent most of the second year constructing with Lego with his new best friend. The social motivation had come with age, and because by then he had learned to trust people. People questioned whether I should allow him to spend so much time on one interest and with one child. His constructions were impressive, and he was relaxed and happy. I went with my instinct and allowed him to make his own choices.<br />
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It's impossible (as an educator) not to question your decisions. You can never really know the end result. Fortunately, as his younger brother continued in care, I was able to follow up on his progress. His mum's feedback was consistent over the next couple of years. He was doing well at school, he was happy, and he had friends. I was so happy to hear this.<br />
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She also said that when he was not at school he would watch YouTube videos of complex Lego constructions and replicate them by himself. Imagine if we had stopped him from engaging with what he was most passionate about. How would this have affected his already fragile confidence? Imagine if we had not seen this child's uniqueness as strength. How much stress might this have caused his family? This stress would have rubbed off on him too.<br />
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I hope you will always look for the strengths in a person before you look any further. Unconditional acceptance can work wonders. I wonder what incredible things this little boy will grow up to accomplish. I wonder if he will look back at his five year-old self and find the answers. They were always there.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-72451036279009373692016-11-05T16:19:00.004-07:002016-11-05T17:18:13.081-07:00I have a dream<b>It feels like young children are being pushed, prodded and even <i>punished</i> based on their preschool experiences.</b><br />
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I didn't stand out as a brilliant student. I was above average but I always thought my sisters were smarter than me. I went through public schools all the way. I didn't always have the best teachers. I was never pushed or prodded. I spent most of my time outside of school hours doing whatever I wanted. I was asked to do my best and I did, because it came naturally to me to want to please people by doing as I was told. I averaged about fifteen minutes of homework per night during high-school.<br />
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I talked early because my parents talked to me and sang to me. Reading came easily because my parents read to me. The motivation to learn to read came from seeing my parents reading. Relationships and travel took priority over financial security. Through osmosis I learned how to think, rather than what to think.<br />
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Knowing that I could make decisions about my learning gave me the motivation to persist with the things that I felt were valuable. Nobody told me to continue to do piano exams to grade eight level, to do a Bachelor of Education in three and a half years instead of four, to do my masters while working full-time, my research project while working two jobs, or to spend the last two years working at being the best classical singer I could be. This comes from experiencing the value of learning, having confidence in yourself as a learner, understanding your own strengths and way of working, and realizing that persistence is more important than being perfect.<br />
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Language and literacy are the foundation of children's school-based education. Typically-developing children are capable of acquiring all the skills that they need as long as what we expect from them is in line with their developmental level. All the research is there and we know why children are struggling. This is not a judgement on families, but is a fact often spoken of by teachers and academics. There are parents who don't talk to their babies enough. That crucial first five years is when language develops. Children need to hear adults talk, and as much as possible. There are parents who don't read to their children. Children don't see their parents reading so they don't understand the value of reading, and so their motivation to learn to read suffers.<br />
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So what do we do with these children? We put them into prep and sit them beside children like, well..me. We give them group instruction and worksheets so that they can learn phonics and sight words. They fall behind, they get lost, and they lose their confidence in themselves as learners. My Dad works one-on-one with children who are still struggling with reading at ten years old. They never got it (like me with algebra). We failed to address the gap that came before. We rushed them rather than trusting that they were born learners. You only have to trawl through the early childhood forums to see that this is breaking the hearts of teachers and educators all over the country.<br />
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This is my dream. I dream that we will welcome children into prep without any expectations whatsoever. I dream that every bit of time that we expect children to focus and concentrate during prep will be used for reading. I dream that we will come together as a community to support our children, that schools will recruit all the parents, grandparents and volunteers that they can find so that children in prep can have the most one-on-one attention possible. I would have classrooms full of books that children could borrow and bring home to share with their families. I would have volunteers reading to children in small groups, on couches, on the floor, in the library, under trees, wherever they were happiest.<br />
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English is not a particularly phonetic language so children learn to recognize words mostly through memorizing them, as they do with spoken language. I would have the volunteers pointing to the words as they read and emphasising the sounds, as we do in kindergarten. I would not ask any child to read and I would not test any child on any aspect of literacy for the entire year. The aim would be to bridge the gap, build children's confidence, and develop in them the joy of escaping into the known and imaginary worlds that books can provide. I would aim to have all children hooked on books before they begin formal learning.<br />
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I would have the rest of the day consist of free and guided play. Children need this for well-being. Without physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being, children won't be able to successfully learn. I would have teachers available to answer questions, make suggestions, and act as examples of how to solve problems, make calculated decisions, how to wonder, how to hypothesise, how to think, and how to express their thinking (as we do in kindergarten).<br />
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Children are learning that education is difficult, a chore, something really hard that they look forward to escaping from. It doesn't have to be. This belief is likely to stand in their way of pursuing higher education. They will fear failure, they will fear being compared. Learning shouldn't be about fear. Learning is natural, it is part of why we are here on earth, it is the motivation that keeps us going throughout life. Most of it happens outside of the classroom, it is lifelong, it is an internally-driven process, it is a source of joy. Imagine how it would feel knowing that our children could experience this for themselves, with joy and without fear.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-64977417573214770712016-10-25T17:17:00.000-07:002016-10-26T15:26:25.567-07:00Don't give up, childcare needs you! <b>Have you ever worked as a kindergarten teacher in a childcare centre?</b><br />
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Mum and Dad were singing in their choir at a fete held by a childcare centre on the weekend. Because the centre has such a great reputation Dad talked me into coming and having a look. The director told us to go on in and spend as long as we wanted. I've spent the better part of the last twelve years working in childcare centres. It looked great, but it was nothing new to me. Mum was quite fascinated. I realized that she'd never been inside a childcare centre.<br />
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Until the year 2001 I had never been inside a childcare centre. The concept wasn't even in my consciousness. I certainly didn't predict that this would turn out to be my niche for twelve years. If you are a kindergarten teacher and you want to work full-time, childcare centres are your best choice. Kindergarten teachers in childcare insist that their programs are as good as those in sessional kindergartens, and they absolutely can be. With the government encouraging women back into the workforce, kindergarten programs in childcare centres are imperative, and must be the way of the future.<br />
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I've found that childcare directors can be wary of hiring teachers who have previously worked in sessional kindergartens because they struggle with the conditions and often don't last. Putting teachers in childcare probably seems like a great idea, but I'm not sure that much time was invested in thinking about how it would work. I know that many teachers feel isolated.<br />
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I have never known a kindergarten teacher who had any motive other than to do the best job that they could for the children and families in their care. This is a relatively low paid, high energy job. You have to try to keep children, families and your co-workers happy. You have to train staff, mentor students and collaborate with support staff. There is a very high turnover of educators in the industry, so you have to learn to work well with many different people. Conditions often restrict what you can do which means that you end up donating a lot of extra time in your efforts to do your best. For me this is normal and is just what I've come to expect work to be, but it's not for the fainthearted.<br />
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Overwhelmingly, my experience has been of being accepted as part of the team. Starting off at workplaces as a room leader before moving on to kindergarten teacher roles probably had a big part to play in this. Playing down my abilities and even pretending that I didn't have higher qualications helped too. This was due to my own lack of confidence and caused me a lot of distress. I have always felt underestimated and under appreciated. In other words, this tactic didn't really work well for anyone.<br />
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Earlier this year I heard Anthony Semann speak at a conference, and he said that he was shocked to realize that many of the women who work in the childcare industry are very low in confidence. I would say that the majority of women that I've met in my life are low in confidence. Some cover it up better than others. As a teacher in childcare you are already more qualified than everyone else, whereas this would never be an issue in a school. Less secure educators may worry that you're judging their practices. It pays to be aware of this so you don't take their behaviour personally.<br />
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Completing a degree takes discipline, drive and determination. It's easy to forget how hard it was and to take it for granted. I always do. For less secure people obtaining a degree could seem as impossible as flying to the moon. They may try to prove that your degree means little so that they can regain some control of the power dynamic. I've seen educators go out of their way to find fault with the kindergarten teacher and to take delight in sharing their views with everyone in the centre. Typically kindergarten teachers are not strong, tough, confident people. They are kind, nurturing, caring people. This kind of thing can be soul-destroying. I've seen it happen to my friends. I've seen it happen to myself.<br />
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There is a high likelihood that you will be more qualified than your boss. This is the structure of the workplace. There's nothing you can do about it. A great manager will see this as an asset. Unfortunately, many see it as a threat. I'm sure that anyone from any industry would be able to tell you why this workplace structure is not ideal. I have heard that less secure directors prefer to hire graduates for this reason, so your choices may become narrower the longer you stay in the industry. <br />
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I'm pretty sure that I've just about outlived my welcome in this industry. It's ironic that it's taken me until now to feel confident that I know enough to be able to fully stand behind the decisions that I make on behalf of children and families. Nothing is ever wasted, however. I have learned so much from working in a variety of positions, with lots of different people, in different states and countries, and within a variety of demographics.<br />
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Don't do it my way. It's been a trial by fire, and there have been far too many tears. Don't hold yourself back to fit in, trust your instincts, express yourself, don't be isolated. Network, network, network! Go to lots of professional development days on your own so that you can meet other kindergarten teachers who work in childcare. They are all in this less than ideal situation, and chances are they are experiencing similar challenges. At its best this job can be fun, creative and very rewarding. What you do can change someone's life forever.<br />
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This industry will take time to work out what to do with you. Studies around the world show that teacher quality is the highest indicator of educational outcomes for students. We are following the examples of the highest performing early learning centres around the world, the ones that are prioritizing teacher education and qualifications above all else. This industry needs you to pave the way for better practices and to show the government that young children's education is worth investing in. Don't give up.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-27459666546273574412016-10-07T19:05:00.004-07:002016-10-07T22:07:51.946-07:00What do you remember?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<b>Have you tapped into your memories of your early school years to help guide your practices as an educator? </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCCVG8zLo1VPajRFhjPneGLdEctuUZbmY2vberTrL_U3nkNt090Zyani4vLu4wjQByN1Y1Ro4g-3PM171dVouKGhGQoYlH05zlhwayMR7YXJGTDLzyn9CEUElRDkF_yWYWNf4nKkWEXmT/s1600/IMAG0546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCCVG8zLo1VPajRFhjPneGLdEctuUZbmY2vberTrL_U3nkNt090Zyani4vLu4wjQByN1Y1Ro4g-3PM171dVouKGhGQoYlH05zlhwayMR7YXJGTDLzyn9CEUElRDkF_yWYWNf4nKkWEXmT/s320/IMAG0546.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reception /Prep, South Australia</td></tr>
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I have very few memories of my early childhood, but most of them are from out of school. I have two memories of year one - two memories! One was a horrible memory of not knowing that I had to hand my worksheet to the teacher. I was made to stand facing the blackboard. I'm not sure for how long. I only remember standing there crying. I was as quiet as a mouse then. I never did anything wrong on purpose. I think it's very sad that that's my only memory of my year one teacher.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting my old classroom at Port Elliot </td></tr>
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My other memory was of the day I did my ballet exam. I felt so proud coming back to school with my hair still in a bun slicked down with gel. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ballet exam with my best friend Ella</td></tr>
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I started year two when we moved to Wyreema in 1988. I have so many memories of that year. We went to the fire station and the Weis factory, and lots of other places. I remember enormous slabs of lamington which were cut into chunks for us to eat, sitting looking over the range from our teacher's backyard. There were masses of plants in the room, big sugared Easter eggs, and personalized cards at the end of the year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year Two, Wyreema State School</td></tr>
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I remember absolutely nothing from year three - how sad. </div>
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This year our company decided to implement permanent excursion forms so that with the permission of families we could take the children out of the centre whenever we wanted, and with the same ratios as were allowed within the centre. We started with one adult to every two or three children. Pretty soon the three of us were taking twenty-five children to the wetlands and the park. We also took them to the train station and watched the train go past. </div>
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My coworkers were amazing. We took the children out eight times in the six months before I left Melbourne. We started a bush kinder in the wetlands. The children swung on trees, climbed fences, patted some huge but friendly dogs, and came back with their arms filled with sticks, their pockets filled with rocks and feathers, and their heads full of stories to tell their Mums and Dads.</div>
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On St. Patrick's Day I put a green top hat on and told stories about leprechauns while the children ate sandwiches under the trees in the playground. These are the things that I will remember. The joy and excitement that can't be contained within the confines of the four walls of a kindergarten room. </div>
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Routine bored me when I was a child. I would wish for something unexpected to happen - anything. Sometimes I would wish for a fire alarm, just to break the routine. </div>
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I only remember the teachers who noticed me, the ones who boosted my confidence by helping me to see who I was and what I could do. I barely remember the others, even through high school and uni. </div>
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Every child is different and has different needs. I'd love to hear about your experiences and how they inform what you do in (and out) of the classroom. </div>
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[This blog is completely non-commercial. I hope it's okay to include the above photos]</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-32324644096219424422016-08-27T19:06:00.000-07:002016-08-28T01:37:18.768-07:00Your reputation matters <b>A professional is a person who understands that learning your craft is an ongoing process and that there will always be more to learn. </b><br />
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I was home alone the other night and leafing through Mum's movie collection. I ended up watching 'Mona Lisa Smile', which strangely mirrored just what I had been feeling and thinking about. A teacher comes to a new school hoping to make a difference. She does with the students, but comes up against opposition all the way by the influential families who control the college curriculum from behind the scenes. This is frustrating and tiring, but she continues to do what she believes is right. In the end she moves on, but with her ideals intact. </div>
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I didn't come into this profession by an organized plan. I don't live life that way, which is why I'm constantly surprised by the way things turn out. Having always believed that my time as a teacher was temporary, it never occurred to me to be concerned about the legacy that my teaching practice was leaving behind me. Hindsight has shown me that temporary can be a lot longer than you think, and I don't regret that. I'm sure that was the direction my life was supposed to take up until now. There have been very few easy moments, but that's the nature of the game. <br />
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In 2009 the Early Years Learning Framework left lovely spaces free for innovation. They said "We're not done yet. You the educators will develop the rest of this document as you work with it, come to understand and share its language, talk to each other, test it out". That's what I was told in early 2010. A curriculum document is a political document, and politics blows around like the wind, influencing schools and parents, influenced mainly by economic priorities.<br />
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Remember, we're helping to prepare children for a world that doesn't yet exist. Technology and the political climate will probably be unrecognizable from how they are now. Children will need skills that are transferable, as job roles will be transient and evolving. Knowledge is not enough. They will need to be able to apply it in multiple contexts. This will be impossible for them if they believe that there is one right answer, if they are too unsettled by change, if they lose their confidence by not being allowed to explore and express themselves, and if they believe that they don't know how to think and create. <br />
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Families will come and go, opinions will vary, economic factors will influence educational settings. Your professional reputation will follow you wherever you go. It will live on in the lives of the children that you teach. People will trust and respect you if you are true to what you believe is right, and can back it up. If you bow to pressure to lower your standards to please the occasional parent, you will probably end up disappointing others, and yourself. That practice will become part of your professional legacy.<br />
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There is nothing like education, with its propensity to move with trends and times. Don't ever expect to feel comfortable, or completely sure of what you're doing. I'm too hard on myself. We should try not to be. Remember, its the nature of the game. A job that makes a difference. The children of the future need us to believe in ourselves, so that they can learn to. They matter, and what they will grow up to do matters. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-13832558131964806232016-08-06T15:19:00.001-07:002016-08-06T15:19:46.017-07:00Shyness<b>Why must we try to change children's personalities?</b><br />
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Have you ever heard people say that they must encourage 'push' children to talk, project their voices, be more social? I'm talking about little ones, younger than five. I heard it a couple of times the other day and it just didn't sit well with me. This is not one of my theories. This is personal.<br />
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I was that child. That child hated to be pushed. That child had a will of her own. She knew what she needed. Dismissing what she needed and drawing attention to her so called shortcomings made her feel misunderstood, undervalued and anxious. Social anxiety is something that you grow to overcome, in your own time, by your own will.<br />
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That child is observing. She is collecting information about people so that she can learn how to interact with them. As a result she may grow up with a deep understanding and appreciation of people. She may become a great listener and a wonderful friend.<br />
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I wasn't pushed but I did suffer as a child from being constantly labelled. I was shy. By the time I was a teenager I became 'quiet'. Until I was about seventeen that was pretty much the sum of my identity outside the family. I took this identity on and felt that I had the most boring personality in the world.<br />
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It's been a long journey since then. That child is still there. I'm particularly aware of her at the moment having just started a new job. Now I acknowledge her, breathe, and move on. No amount of pushing will teach a child to navigate life. It comes from inside.<br />
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I am constantly exceeding my own expectations. I find it amusing and surprising that I often find myself doing things that many extroverts would find challenging. I have sung before hundreds of people and spoken to groups of twenty-five parents. I acted in a play a few years ago.<br />
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The other day I turned up at a childcare centre unannounced and requested to speak to the owner. We sat down and had a long discussion, where I explained to him that I couldn't accept a permanent job there as I felt that the education system that they had chosen was so far removed from what I believe is best for children's learning. I alerted him to the poor practices that were happening there and implied that it was impossible that those in charge could not know what was going on. I walked out of there feeling quite weird, thinking "who are you and where did you come from?"<br />
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Leave these children alone. Let them create their own identities rather than imposing identities on them. Let them imagine all the possibilities for their lives and watch them exceed their own expectations. Never underestimate children's capabilities. Encourage their strengths instead. They will show you who they are.<br />
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(The hidden gifts of the introverted child, Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D., 2005)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-1437573375766796982016-08-06T03:56:00.000-07:002016-08-06T03:56:02.534-07:00Experience is the best teacher<b>Are we allowing children to experience life?</b><br />
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We had a couple of magical moments this week. The teacher was cutting some cellophane into strips for an activity when the cellophane caught the light and made a disco on the ceiling. The children were captivated and started to smile and dance. Some wanted to know how it happened. Witnessing these beautiful, natural moments of curiosity and delight is to me one of the best things about working with young children.<br />
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The next day we saw a bee on the slide. I allowed the children to look at it, but reminded them several times not to go too close. Their natural curiosity was too strong, however. One boy insisted that it was a hornet, not a bee. Another said he had never seen a bee and bent towards it to have a closer look. Somebody disturbed the bee and it flew off leaving the children shrieking with excitement.<br />
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A little girl grinned at me and said, several times, "it nearly stung us". The fact that the bee could have stung them but didn't seemed to be the greatest delight. The element of risk, of danger, of being more powerful than the danger, that was the joy that I saw in their eyes. It was a new observation for me.<br />
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Maybe experience is the best teacher. Formal learning has to link to reality, otherwise where is the meaning in it? Adults probably don't intend to curb children's opportunities to experience these spontaneous moments. We just don't notice them. The only way is to slow down and to start to look for them. We need to look through children's eyes if we want to see them.<br />
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They are there in the lights and the shadows, in the sound of the rain, in the ground where the insects live, and in the gardens where fairies hide. It's that feeling of flour on your hands and wind in your hair. It's seeing a rainbow, chasing bubbles, crouching in the dark and climbing the tallest tree.<br />
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To have the chance to experience the reality of what is there and to imagine what could be there, to enjoy the thrill of risk and the triumph over danger, to share these experiences with children and see them come alive through being permitted access to them, and to be paid to do this - what a privilege!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-9797200691689779762016-05-07T16:29:00.001-07:002016-05-07T17:06:52.412-07:00Compassion<b>Are we seeing the child, or are we seeing the behaviour?</b><br />
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I'm so glad that the terminology that we use has changed from 'behaviour management', to 'behaviour guidance', and now to 'relationships with children and families'. There's been a lot of discussion on this subject this week, and I've had some experiences that have made an impression on me. I'd like to reduce all the discussion down to just one word - compassion.<br />
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When a child shows behaviour that needs to be 'managed' the child is not being a problem to you, the child has a problem of his/her own. We have a little boy who is having trouble controlling his anger. This week he pushed his friend against the glass doors and sat on his head, pinning him to the ground. I steered him away and he sat down a couple of metres away and watched the other children go back to playing. I watched him for a few seconds, then sat down next to him. We sat for a few minutes while I patted his back, then I asked him "Are you okay?" A while later he asked me if he could go and play again. I said, "If you feel that you can play safely, you can play again". I stayed close by just in case, and sure enough a few minutes later I saw him holding two toys above his head, threatening another child with them. I steered him away and he dropped his arms down quietly. I could see that he was ashamed that he nearly 'lost it'.<br />
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This child knows what is right and wrong. He was doing his best. All children are doing their best with the knowledge and understanding that they have at the time, just as we are. There is no way that I always say and do the right things, and I know that others don't always agree with my decisions regarding my interactions with children. This child is experiencing something at home that any adult would struggle to deal with. I responded to his behaviour in the way that I felt was right. I can tell you dozens of similar stories. Compassion works, I've seen it time and time again.<br />
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Please don't say to a child, "You're making me sad". Children's behaviour is not about you, although the way they react to you is often a reflection of how you respond to them. Children don't learn about emotions and relationships through flash cards with facial expressions on them. They learn through the way that they are treated. They will respond to the tone of our voice, our touch, our genuine interest in them, and the genuine joy that we show when we are with them. If we can't always feel and show this they will understand. Children are almost infinitely forgiving, particularly if they have learned compassion from being with us.<br />
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Please see the child. Every one is special and has his/her own story. We should never forget that we have a hand in forming who they become. They will grow up to be people who have compassion, and people who have compassion will create a better world for all of us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-73786452983627431212016-04-24T20:27:00.001-07:002016-04-24T20:32:59.251-07:00What are the rules?<b>When I got back from the school holidays a coworker said to me, "Penny, I don't understand the rules". She was very frustrated, poor thing. </b><br />
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This has been going around in my head a bit since then. I was thinking, "Ooh, I've forgotten about rules. That's weird, I'd forgotten that I used to have rules". Okay, now you probably think I've really gone crazy. The thing is I hadn't realized how much my thinking had been shifting for a long time. Incrementally my language has been changing too. Now this is just as a result of learning and experimenting and thinking about what I consider to be best practice. Over the years people I work with have relaxed into my ways and are starting to understand them, so I don't feel as much pressure to compromise what I believe in to keep other people feeling comfortable.<br />
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<b>My rules are as follows: </b><br />
I want everyone to try to learn how to respect each other and the equipment in the environment.<br />
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Respecting means respecting each other's safety, each other's time and each other's feelings. It means considering others' perspectives in relation to sharing the space, materials, interactions, attention etc. I want respect to be equal between children, between educators, from educator to child, and from child to educator. I want us to function as a community in which everyone has a sense of belonging. To me that is clear and covers everything that may come up, and that's all I need to know. I feel sorry for my poor coworkers who have to try to decipher what that means in practice.<br />
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The idea is that children's decisions should come from inside them. They should build an understanding of why decisions are made so that they can make judgements that are right for them. I have stopped saying "Use your walking feet inside". Now I say "Be careful, I just mopped the floor". I don't say "Use your quiet voice inside", I say "Oh, that's really hurting my ears". Often children want to do things and ask if they can do things. These children are constantly asking to do things out of the box, so having no precedent for everything they want to do I can't have a rule about whether or not they can do it.<br />
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<b>I think about two things when a child asks if he/she can do something:</b><br />
Will it impact negatively on anyone in the room, including the other educators?<br />
Will they learn anything from doing it?<br />
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I am using the word 'learning' loosely and take it to mean anything that is in the Framework, including building confidence, talking calculated risks, 'being', and sharing humour and happiness. I want the children to have every possible opportunity to learn, but most of all I want them to develop 'dispositions for learning'. When they go to school I want them to think "I can make friends, I am a good friend, I am going to be okay". I want them to think "This reading looks challenging, but I'm not afraid to try challenging things, I am going to be okay". If they have the inner resources that they need they are going to be okay, whatever comes up in their lives, however this can't happen without trust and without very specific teaching. If people see a lack of structure or boundaries in this they are completely missing the point.<br />
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A quick smile at a child in passing is as important to me as teaching him/her letters, more important. I want children to know that they are valuable, that they are seen. A strong sense of worth will carry them much further that any knowledge that they may accumulate. It will help them to learn whatever they need to know (in the time that is right for them). This is what's frustrating me about our education system. There is not enough respect for 'the time that is right for them'. We are taught to honour it, but the school system doesn't. Many parents seem to fear this, so they try to push their children to be ready for the school system. Doesn't work. Of course we don't want children to be left behind, but lack of confidence will hold them back faster than lack of knowledge.<br />
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I rarely do anything at work without first thinking, "I wonder if a child would enjoy doing this instead of me?" If it will help them feel capable and competent (and trusted) I will encourage them to do it. I let them carry hot food, use the camera and get paint out of the cupboard for themselves. They've never dropped the food or the camera. Can't remember how many times I have. The other day the boys were giving an educator from the agency a really hard time. I took them outside with me so that she wouldn't stress but I was thinking, "Oh, I'd almost forgotten about behaviour. I barely think about it anymore". The children respect me. I adore them and they know it. On Friday I was at a training session and deliberately made myself vulnerable by asking the facilitator about her views on home toys. I totally regretted it. Nobody agreed with me. Too progressive?<br />
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And by the way I have plenty of rules for educators:<br />
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- No colouring-in<br />
- No worksheets<br />
- No templates<br />
- No stencils<br />
- No demonstrating drawing<br />
- No structured art activities<br />
- No raising your voice<br />
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Mmmmm....... :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-80555659672173742272016-02-13T21:42:00.002-08:002016-02-13T21:42:12.663-08:00Maths in the early years<b>Research is showing that children who don't attend childcare have higher levels of numeracy ability than children who do.</b><br />
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Umm, this is a problem obviously, and it's definitely something that we should be looking at. So, apparently the reason for this is that children who are cared for by parents are often involved in aspects of the parents' routines. This could be shopping, "Now we need to get buy three oranges. One, two, three" (Learning about numbers means learning one-to-one correspondence. Understanding the concept of numbers is much more important than learning to recite them). This could be cooking "Now, I'll measure this cup of flour and then you can stir it for me." This could be folding the washing. "I'll put all these shirts in a pile, and these towels over here." (Sorting and classifying). "Oh, it's nearly time to pick your brother up from school. Oops, 2.30." (Beginning to understand time). <br />
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So the common denominator is .......? Language. We need to talk more. Numeracy learning is part of life. It's one of the easiest things to incorporate into our programs. We need to remember to use language more, like a parent would. Children are engaging with maths concepts all the time. Much of our resouces are designed with this in mind - puzzles, sorting toys, stacking cups, scales, wooden blocks, water play etc. The most valuable thing that we can do is to model the use of mathematical language while children are engaging with these concepts with their hands. Learning should be concrete, and our job is to draw children's attention to the language that supports the concepts.<br />
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Songs and stories are full of numeracy and maths learning. The more of these that we can use in our program the better. <br />
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<i>So, language to use:</i><br />
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Lighter, heavier, full, empty, long, short, longer, shorter, wider, higher.<br />
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More than, less than, longer than, shorter than, emptier, fuller.<br />
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"I just need to count you before we go to Yoga. 1, 2, 3, 4," <br />
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"How many colours do you think we need?"<br />
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"Now let's pack up the blocks on this shelf and the Lego in this basket."<br />
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"I'll give you half a bowl of lunch and then if you want more you can have more."<br />
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"How about we share this sandwich evenly between you."<br />
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<br />See, numeracy language is everywhere. Just remember to talk!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-37008789662412253432016-02-13T21:21:00.001-08:002016-02-13T21:21:40.065-08:00Toys from home<b>I've done some Googling around and discovered that most kindergarten teachers have a 'Toys from home' policy. </b><br />
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I'm not 'most kindergarten teachers' and I like to be a bit different. I started a discussion group with the parents from my kinder because many had questions about whether children should bring toys from home. There were a variety of perspectives. This is mine:<br />
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If children have comfort items this means that they must need them. I believe that children should decide when to give up their comfort items, and that most do decide this at a young age. Children who need comfort items are not feeling completely secure. Taking aware their comfort items means taking away their security, and we don't want to do that. They won't learn unless they feel secure.<br />
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Toys from home reflect children's interests and home lives. To deny that children have a life away from kinder is to deny part of children's identity. Our aim should be to bridge the gap between home and kinder, to respect children for who they are and for what they love, and to try to identify with their world. Children will build strong relationships with adults who make an effort to enter their worlds. They will therefore be more responsive to the learning opportunities that we offer them. <br />
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During my past few years in kinder I have chosen to view home toys as I would any other toys in the service. I don't distinguish between them. I don't view home toys as bad and kinder toys as somehow more valuable. Toys are toys. It's how they are used that matters. <br />
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Between four and five children become much more socially motivated.
This becomes so clear during the kinder year. They come to kinder to see
their friends and they can't wait to show their friends their toys from
home. As one parent said, these toys become their social capital. Children combine the centre's equipment and toys with their toys from home to create imaginative play. Rather than becoming an object that the child plays with at home in isolation, the home toy becomes a common interest, a shared joy, a means of forging and maintaining relationships amongst peers. <br />
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I don't ask children to share their toys from home. These are their
belongings. I wouldn't ask them to share their water bottle or their
school bag. Children need to learn about ownership. If children are
reluctant to share their own toys it is usually because they are
protective of them. They understand their worth and they have value to
them. It is normal to want to protect your belongings if you are unsure
that others will be respectful of them. I would prefer that children
learn this, rather than that have a lack of understanding of value and
therefore waste or destroy property.<br />
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Maybe some children are allowed to bring more toys from home than others are. Maybe a child doesn't choose to share their toys from home, maybe somebody's toy from home is lost. Life is full of disappointments and these are tiny ones. This is part of children's learning. Without resilience happiness is difficult to obtain. Allowing children to learn to delay gratification is a precious gift that will change their life. Why do we see this as a bad thing? <br />
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As a side note, the thought of doing 'Show and Tell' with four year-olds makes me hyperventilate. Don't ask it of me. Life is too short! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-13969317072413208952015-04-19T00:12:00.000-07:002015-04-19T00:12:14.852-07:00Repair the worldI went to a training day last Monday and we were asked to discuss the answer to this question with the people sitting next to us.<br />
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<b>'How do we repair the world with children?' </b><br />
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The answers that came up at the end were as I expected. "We teach them self-help skills", "We teach them about diversity and inclusion". Three educators from my workplace were sitting with me. They didn't say anything but all turned to look at me, waiting for my answer. I said, "I love them". They all giggled, but didn't make any comments. I said "I'm not joking. It sounds simple but that's my answer".<br />
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I've learned something lately that I consider to be very important. I need to be less judgmental of other people's interactions with children. To see someone stand and watch a child crying puzzles me and hurts me because I can't stand to see people suffer. It seems that for some people there is a barrier between themselves and a person who is feeling pain and it is difficult to cross. Maybe this is because their childhood experience is of having their pain unacknowledged.<br />
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If this is so, then this is an even greater reason to push through this barrier. We can't repair the world if we have barriers between ourselves and others, if we are impaired in our ability to give and receive love, and if we are unable to show the care and comfort that we feel. We want to create children who are different. Self-help skills and teaching inclusion are not enough to build a world that is safe and whole if people are undernourished in their sense of self-worth.<br />
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Self-worth is difficult to acquire if we have not been unconditionally loved and accepted. Love and acceptance of others grows from being loved by others. We put up barriers to protect ourselves and if we know we are loved and accepted we don't need barriers. I believe so strongly that we can teach children many things, but that they learn social and emotional skills primarily through the way that they are treated. We need to show kindness if we want children to be kind. We need to show them care and comfort if we want them to care for and comfort others.<br />
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I wish we could be less clinical as educators, stop talking around in circles, stop quoting frameworks etc., and get right to the heart of what matters most. One of the speakers said that she's recently visited some Reggio centres in Italy and found that their focus is now centred on relationships. This is enough for me to remain strong in my belief that this is the best approach. Without love, acceptance, trust and a strong sense of self-worth children will struggle to build friendships, develop their strengths, and <b>learn</b>. Let's cross barriers and 'repair the world!'Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-7117856014216980082015-02-17T00:45:00.000-08:002015-02-17T00:52:16.133-08:00What the world needs now<b>"This is the place of love", one of my boys said as he walked past the art table where the children were making Valentine's Day cards.</b><br />
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This was what I was hoping to create in our kindergarten last week in honour of Valentine's Day. This year we've had more snatching, grabbing and hitting then I'm used to seeing. Gorgeous individual personalities, but many children who have been the only one for three or four years and who are finding sharing and compromising a bit challenging. I'm hoping they can start considering others a little more, and I know they will with guidance because I'm seeing it happening beautifully with last year's children. I see last year's children standing patiently in the line to scrape their bowls, saying nothing, while the younger children push in front of them to be the first in line.<br />
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Some of them seem to have arrived with a kind of 'famine' mentality, like they have to grab as much of everything as they can in case there is not enough to go around. I've always reminded the children that we have plenty of everything, so it would be nice if they would offer the tongs to someone else so that they can get their fruit first. Sometimes they do this, and I give them lots of positive acknowledgement for it. When they hurt each other I ask them to check to see if the other person is alright. I don't ask them to say sorry. I want them to stop and acknowledge that someone is hurt whether it was unintended or happened out of frustration.<br />
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As well as writing cards to their parents telling them that they loved them, we had some talks about how we can make other people happy. I kept saying that this week it's 'all about love' for Valentine's Day. We had a wonderful, romantic candlelit lunch on Friday. The children picked and arranged the flowers and set the tables. They made sure everybody understood how important it was to be safe around the candles. They were not perfect, there was still competition about the fruit, but they tried. On Friday afternoon, as she walked out with her Dad, I heard one of the girls say, "everybody loves". Well, I'm glad to know that they understood me in theory, if not yet in practice.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-10079668979103071592015-02-07T17:23:00.001-08:002016-04-24T20:45:27.419-07:00It's not just about art<strong>Children's art is about more than just their opportunity to be artists.</strong><br />
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Last year I went to see an exhibition of children's art at Gowrie Victoria. Gowrie has the name, the philosophy and the resources. Because of this I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the artworks that were exhibited were refreshingly normal. Paintings, drawings and collages made by the children using normal paints, brushes and pencils. Although it's lovely for the children to be able to immerse themselves into a wonderland of sensory experiences while making art, the thought processes, the messages that are conveyed, and the creativity that emerge are of equal importance. <br />
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Art is not just about children's opportunity to be artists. Art is one of the languages with which children communicate with the world. Art doesn't just display their knowledge, understanding and self-expression, it also enables children to work through the concepts that they're not yet completely understanding. Art should be allowed to be a solitary, uninterrupted experience in which children are able to fully engage with whichever tools they choose to use. Art is about thoughts, feelings and physical experiences. It's about technique, textures, colours, shapes, shadows and perspectives. <br />
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I found it fascinating that Gowrie had brought in an artist to work with the children. This was the foundation of the Reggio Emilia centres. Atelieristas (visual artists who were not teacher trained) were employed to work with the children in the Reggio ateliers. We bring in trained musicians for music and movement experiences to supplement educators' limited knowledge of music. The artistic knowledge of most early childhood educators is also limited, so think of the rich experiences for learning that would result from bringing in real artists. <br />
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I believe art materials should be available for children every day, but I don't think we need to push art on children. Painting and drawing are two of the languages that children use. Remember the 'hundred languages of children'. Children have so many languages that they use and not all children are drawn to visual art. If communication and meaning-making are the objectives then we need to allow children to choose the languages that fit their temperaments and interests. If art is available and children are drawn to it, they will engage in it. Let's also embrace the scientist, the mathematician, the storyteller, the musician and the athlete. Children will surprise us with their enthusiasm if we allow them to use their preferred languages, and how much fun is that to see?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-48428282112334048392015-02-07T17:07:00.002-08:002015-02-07T17:07:29.420-08:00Sensory involvement<b>All else could be an illusion.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Recently I heard the term 'sensual involvement' and was re-introduced to the concept that being involved with the world with our senses is essential to our day-to-day happiness. In early childhood we would call this 'sensory engagement'. As humans who are probably only tapping into our spiritual side ten percent of the time most of our life is physical and therefore is all about our senses. Children are spiritually open and so potentially even more spiritually connected than we are. Their mentality, however, is not yet fully developed in that way so they are even more sensuality involved than we are. Personally I have the potential to be far removed from my physical body, with thoughts concerned with future worries or dreams, or uncomfortable realities, and a propensity to forget to be grounded in the present. And of course the present is life. All else is an illusion I suppose.<br />
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The great thing about my job is that it forces me to be sensually involved. All of a sudden I'm joining the children in smelling something or tasting something or looking at something. I mean, I would never stop and observe the patterns on the skin of a wiggly worm if they weren't doing it. In my personal life I would never find myself with my hands full of silky, melting corn flour goop, or experience the sensual pleasure of watching white and blue paint meld together beneath my hands into a pot of marbled, sky blue goodness. For sure I would forget to notice a bird tweeting on the fence, or a bee buzzing on the lavender bush. But, no, "Penny, Penny, we saw a spider, come and look!" is exactly what I need to remind me of the incredible reality of the natural world, and which is, by the way, the world that it was naturally conceived that I should live in.<br />
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One of the great joys of spending time with children is that they have such enthusiasm for experiencing the world with their senses, so we can take every opportunity to provide sensory experiences for them to enjoy. The delight on their faces when they are sensuality involved blows me away every time. I don't remember feeling that kind of happiness. On one hand you feel like you've done so little, but the children are getting so much out of it. Seeing it makes me happy. So it's win-win. So let's get them outside, get them tasting, smelling, seeing and feeling. Let's expose them to beautiful images, objects and artworks. Let's play music and dance, and dress-up in costumes made of beautiful fabrics. Let's do cooking and experiments. Let's put our feet in the water and our hands in the mud. Let's go out and run in the rain. Sensory involvement is important for children and it's so great for us too.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-25579148286148641992015-01-09T01:06:00.003-08:002015-01-09T01:06:55.080-08:00Autonomy versus group consciousness<b>I think we need to value both when providing a learning environment for young children.</b><br />
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This is tricky though and it's one of the dilemmas that we face as educators. I would lean slightly towards promoting autonomy, but that's my bias. My goals tend to be more individualized and personal. Our aim in fostering group consciousness is to create people who are connected. Connection to the world and to other people leads to the individual feeling empathy, developing an understanding of the commonalities that exist between people, and beginning to feel that he or she wants to join others in working towards goals and projects that are for the good of the greater community. The idea of seeing ourselves as global citizens is a very important one to me.<br />
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We want people to see the similarities between themselves and others if we are to see a world without war and racism. The difficulty is how we go about promoting this in the classroom without impacting on children's views of themselves as individuals. It's not enough to feel a sense of connection to others and a group consciousness if you are still wondering how you fit into the group and what your contribution can be. A group that is working towards common goals can be stronger if the individuals within that group are able to contribute using their strengths and gifts.<br />
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So to me the answer is to provide an environment in which children can discover their own abilities and interests. Supporting children's involvement in group experiences enables them to become more aware of themselves in relation to others. It's not so much about encouraging competitiveness as it is about enabling children to find out what makes them special. We can build confidence by drawing children's attention to their strengths. We just have to make sure that we don't preconceive them based on what we are hoping they will be. Children are strong and resilient, but at the same time they are honest, accepting and open. One small influence could change a child's perception of himself/herself in an instant.<br />
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We don't want to create children who will walk in lines, we want to create children who will rock the world. If we can encourage autonomy we can create strong, independent creators. If we can create strong, independent creators who are connected, we can build a world where anything is possible. That is the world that I want to live in.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-16583694732967987612014-03-30T00:11:00.000-07:002014-03-30T00:11:55.977-07:00It's up to us<b>We are complicated creatures, aren't we?</b><br />
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Am I wrong to wish we weren't so complicated? I think some of us have a tendency to over-analyse and over-complicate, especially when we delve into the complexities of our past. I think we should remember when we're looking through children's eyes that possibly their thinking is a lot less complicated. Love, confidence and fun are three elements that contribute to happy children. Children are not born with the uneasy feeling that they don't have the right to take too much of any of these.<br />
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So if we know this we should take advantage of it and try to extend this feeling of freedom and embodiment of love, confidence and fun for as many years as possible. Maybe with an environment that supports these elements children can grow up to be adults who are still living this way. Adults like this do exist. This is the way to live. Life could be easy most of the time if we don't go looking for limits or disaster.<br />
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So what if we never told children that love has conditions? What if we didn't erode their confidence by comparing them, by holding them to unrealistic expectations, by misunderstanding their thought processes and relatively uncomplicated feelings? What if we didn't tell them that life is hard and fun is a luxury?<br />
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If we believed love had no conditions we would be giving and receiving it freely. If we had confidence we would believe we could do anything. We wouldn't stop before jumping, we would just jump. We would be secure in knowing and trusting our strengths and feelings. If we believed we were allowed to have fun we would let ourselves enjoy the moment.<br />
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We don't want children to be plagued by our limits or neuroses do we? We could make a little difference in their lives just by being more aware of what we're modelling, what we're saying and what we're thinking. Everything we do and say is contributing to who they will become. It's a huge responsibility, but it's a huge honour.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-18048748754028537962014-03-08T21:22:00.001-08:002014-03-08T21:26:19.479-08:00'Let me entertain you'<b>What exciting activities do you have planned for today?</b><br />
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I need to learn to be more patient when responding to this question because it immediately puts me offside and I have to struggle to be polite. It presupposes that my role as a teacher is to entertain children when in fact I'm trying to shift the culture in my room to one of listening to children.<br />
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How many times have we said that our aim is to create life-long learners? Learning is a self-motivated and internally driven process based on curiosity, enthusiasm and desire for the accumulation of knowledge and the building of understanding. Children who need to be entertained are not internally driven and if they grow used to a social environment in which they are constantly entertained they will likely remain unmotivated and looking to others to push and prod them so that they can endure the process of learning.<br />
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If your aim is to engage in education as a means to a successful future, endurance is not the best path to take. Endurance isn't the best path to anything. Life shouldn't be about preparing to be happy in the future. I know I'm just as guilty of this as the next person, but life (and if it includes learning) should be fun now. Learning should be something we enjoy doing and something we want to do. If we make it into a chore for children they may not see the fun in it.<br />
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If we provide an environment conducive to learning children will be itching to respond to it. It's only when we step back a bit that children will feel that they have the space to exercise their sense of agency. When we give them permission to have agency in their learning they will flourish. I've seen it. They come to life before your eyes. If we start listening we will uncover what they're interested in, what they want to learn, what they love, what they're driven by, possibly even what they were born to do.<br />
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If we tell them what they need to learn we won't see them light up from inside. We won't see them tackle a task with a level of determination and persistence that we didn't know they were capable of. We won't see them extend their attention span far past the point that we thought was possible. People who achieve great things in life don't worry about how many hours they work, how much they get paid or how challenging the obstacles are. They have a passion that surpasses these tedious elements of endurance. Passion provides energy and enables us to exceed our own expectations. This is what I would wish for any child.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-77588776880496697662014-03-01T22:10:00.000-08:002014-03-01T22:12:42.867-08:00Are we listening?<b>Are we even aware of whether we're actually really listening to children?</b><br />
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I can't help feeling disappointed when I see someone come and land themselves right in the middle of children's play, imposing their own agenda in place of child-centred learning. Aren't we supposed to be listening to children? No, listening means really listening. When you were thinking about how impressed your boss would be if you implemented some spectacular experience and told everyone in the centre to come and witness it, you didn't notice that a child was telling another how much they love The Wizard of Oz, did you?<br />
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Precious moments and opportunities for learning are happening every minute if we are only listening. Children's voices are being lost beneath all our own motivations and chatter about educational priorities. There's so much we don't know about the children we teach because we're too busy trying to manoeuvre them into aligning with our plans, which are often about providing an educational program that is visible to others (others being peers, colleagues, parents and VIPs of the early childhood world).<br />
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This is the problem I have with long-term project work, because often you find yourself trying to somehow extend an interest beyond the point of interest. The child has moved on. A passing comment is not necessarily an interest. Drawing a group of children into one child's world has some value, but many more pertinent moments are being missed in the process. You tell a parent that his/her child is interested in fish. "Oh, really?" he/she says. Someone was drawing a fish so the child decided to draw a fish too, and that's where it ends.<br />
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Come on please, our understanding of educational theory should be much deeper than this. A snapshot of children's learning that is integral to their interest in that time in that moment has value. It could be an end in itself or re-emerge at any time. It could hold potential for a long-term project or play interest. What I'm trying to say is whether it is one or the other is important and should be absolutely clear if we are sensitive, intuitive, present and listening (no, I mean really listening).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-76572224572242618212014-02-15T22:14:00.000-08:002014-02-15T22:19:15.648-08:00Being Connected<b>Are we remembering to prioritize children's physical development?</b><br />
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In making decisions on behalf of children, are we thinking about the potential benefits of a course of action, or only the drawbacks of another course of action? In putting so much emphasis on rushing young children to engage in formal learning are we neglecting their physical development, and therefore possibly affecting their ability to develop strong and healthy relationships with their bodies?<br />
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Many of us spent significant time in physical activities throughout our childhoods. The world was considered less dangerous, we were given more freedom and we spent more time outside. When we look at the incidence of personal issues such as obesity, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self-harming, and dissolution of relationships, do we ever consider the possible relationship between these concerns and a level of disconnect with our physical selves? If our generation is plagued by these problems, how might a generation that are often confined to apartments, desks and ipads fare?<br />
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The Framework gives consideration to the physical, emotional, social, cognitive and even the spiritual needs of children. I think we need to reflect further before placing value on any particular one above the other. Children begin life aware of little but their physical selves. To babies a happy body means happy emotions. Their entire wellbeing depends on their physical needs being met. As they become toddlers their priorities are testing their physical abilities, learning to trust their bodies in the physical space, becoming physically strong and confident, and learning that they can affect their own physical safety.<br />
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As preschoolers some children are still grappling with physical confidence, risk-taking, strength and coordination. Are we going to suddenly say, "Stop! That's enough playing. It's time to learn now. I want you to write your name / draw a cat / show me the yellow triangle"? We're worrying that children won't cope with the learning part of school. Think about the numerous benefits of having confidence in, and respect for your physical self. Why are we not concerned that children won't cope with this part of life?<br />
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Being in the present is considered one of the keys to happiness, and how can anything really be more important than being happy? Being connected to the natural, physical and social worlds through our senses is being truly alive and truly aware. We want our children to be truly aware and to be able to meet their lives with confidence. Awareness, health and physical functioning will surely lead to mental functioning. Being connected through their bodies to environments, objects and people will mean that children will be able to embrace their lives in balanced and fully-functional ways.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-81980473107402854122014-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:002014-01-11T19:55:53.880-08:00Does pitch matter?<b>A lot of the singing that children are being exposed to is from people who have limited skills. </b><br />
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What interests me most is looking at the potential long-term impacts of the education of young children and how we are setting them up for their futures in education and in life. For a long time I've been wondering about the impact of children's limited exposure to singing and particularly to skilled and on-pitch singing. I understand the emotional benefits of engaging with singing and music in any situation and from people of any level of ability, but what about the impacts on cognition and auditory perception? Could lack of exposure to skilled singing affect academic and language ability, and the ability to reach a high level of skill in playing musical instruments?<br />
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My parents didn't pull out all the stops to try to turn us into geniuses, but I remember my mum singing to us a lot - on pitch. I remember listening to lots and lots of nursery rhymes, lots of Slim Dusty (my mum won't want to take the credit for that, better credit my dad for that one) and songs from musical soundtracks. I heard hymns every week at church from (even before) birth. Unfortunately I don't have perfect pitch, but my sisters and I were all enthusiastic musical instrument learners and picked them up relatively easily. We can all sing on pitch. I had ten years of piano lessons and three amazing singing teachers, and I believe this has affected my ability to hear and reproduce sounds fairly accurately including pronunciations, accents and languages other than English. Academically I believe I'm doing okay.<br />
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I'm not sure how central music is to the lives of the current generation of young children. I only know about the children that I spend time with. Some spend a lot of their time in childcare and have to fit in time at home for TV, ipads etc. so probably music and singing has taken a back foot. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that their parents belong to a generation (my generation mostly) whose parents didn't provide them with this exposure. They therefore lack the skills and confidence in this area, and possibly don't place enough value on these skills.<br />
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I'm concerned that most of the exposure that these children have to singing is coming from well-intentioned early childhood educators who unfortunately can't sing on pitch, and sing at a pitch that is far too low for young children's immature voices. Do we need to have skilled professionals come in and do quality music programs? Studies have shown that having sung and been sung to as young children has the potential to improve children's abilities in maths, spatial skills, science and reading comprehension. Let's add auditory discrimination and its effects on pronunciation and sound reproduction, and the understanding of musical concepts in preparation for learning musical instruments. I think it's worth a thought.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-3325298853333565842013-12-23T20:45:00.000-08:002014-01-01T21:42:36.152-08:00Kids just wanna have fun<b>Apparently children love to help. </b><br />
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On the last day of work we were working like maniacs to clean every inch of our room, toys, furniture, walls, yard etc. There was no point feeling guilty about the lack of attention we were giving the children because there are only so many hours in a day and what has to be done, has to be done. In the process of cleaning we made a lot of mess, so the children were left to fend for themselves amongst a sprawling display of Duplo, instruments, and random plastic toys laid out on the floor. The Duplo was left because they insisted on us leaving it, the instruments because despite my loathing of noise they continue to bash away at them at all hours of the day, and the random toys because who knew what to do with them. It was easier to just tip them out onto the floor. </div>
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I asked the children if they'd like to wash some toys, thinking they'd love it. Water is involved, and when you don't want them to play with it (like in the middle of winter) they always find a way to sneak away and do it. We had small success with several children who managed to wash some toys for a matter of minutes, but most remained uninterested. "You can get wet!" I said, hoping the others would like to help. "You can get as wet as you want, it's hot!", I said to no avail. So we continued to clean like maniacs while they continued to play happily with the sprawling mess on the floor. </div>
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At one point I looked over and saw about eight children sitting in groups of twos or threes completely involved in constructing with Duplo. "Look how engaged they are!" I said to someone. It never ceases to amaze me how they can engage themselves with so little, so I'm constantly annoying people by mentioning it. Afterall children aren't supposed to be able to do that these days. And Duplo? I would have thought they'd be beyond that at four years old. With the exception of one particular helper who was washing toys for me at 5.30 that afternoon, most of the children continued to play, making as much mess as they could get away with until their parents took them home and left us to clean more. </div>
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Kids just wanna have fun, and who can blame them? They'll be working for the rest of their lives. And how cute are they when they're engaged in play and oblivious to everything around them? And who says they should be playing with something more complex then Duplo at four years old? Maybe they loved being able to play on the floor and not being told to keep the toys on the table. And what if they bash away at instruments with big grins on their faces when we want peace and quiet and get all wet in the middle of winter? We can only attempt to control their instincts to do whatever it is they want. Kids just wanna have fun, (and remember) it's only kindergarten. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119401012055992581.post-43238412206405820772013-12-07T16:20:00.000-08:002013-12-07T16:20:04.686-08:00Vive la difference<b>The world turns on the fact that we are all different. </b><br />
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So why are we trying to <i>fix</i> children? I understand the reason. We want to set our children up to meet every challenge and achieve every success in life. We want to make sure that every trait that could potentially hinder a child from sailing through life is stopped in its tracks, boosted, scaffolded, curbed, hidden or <i>fixed</i>. It puts us under a lot of pressure as educators. On a personal level having someone even suggest that the children I care for are anything less than beautiful and perfect exactly how they are affects me deeply. What's worse it places their parents in positions of self-doubt, worry and blame that are probably unnecessary and unfounded.<br />
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How do we know that these differences are liabilities? They are traits. They are what makes us who we are. Every trait exists on a continuum which I like to imagine as being a set of scales, with the positive benefits of a particular trait on one side and the potential liabilities on the other. An artist may be overly sensitive which may sometimes be a liability, but this same trait enables him to create art. An engineer may be seen as slightly lacking in empathy, but this same objectivity is vital to her job. The road to self improvement is paved with good intentions, but are we trying to improve ourselves into a society of clones?<br />
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Children develop at different rates in different areas. As long as they are developing within a range that is considered normal there shouldn't be cause for concern. We should be giving them all the love we can, the opportunities we can, and the experiences we can. We should be giving them the support, respect and boundaries that they need to feel secure, independent and strong, then we should be able to sit back and watch them flourish. They have been born with all the internal motivations, drives and tools that they need. Our job is to provide them with an environment that enables them to confidently access them.<br />
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Celebrate the difference! Happiness may not come from success, but may come from being able to be who we truly are, to be able to use our traits to fully express ourselves, to make our own choices, and to make a difference in people's lives. Every child is beautiful and perfect and shouldn't be under any pressure to compete with others or perfect themselves. Early childhood is a time for children to learn, explore, innocently express themselves without self-consciousness, and to give and receive love without limits. Let's let this happen.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17119447796892709291noreply@blogger.com0