March 14
Today I was able to partake in serving morning snack. It went really well. I felt it ran very smoothly, especially given the personalities I had in my group.
“You came to snack more prepared than I would.”ERIN
When the children finished snack, Erin then took them into the bathroom to be freshened up. Once all children were freshened, we all went to the back of the room to get dressed for outside. Overall, the dressing part went well, although one child didn’t want to get ready inside. Once the other children in the group were dressed and waiting, Erin said to the child, “We are going to get ready outside now.” Here, if a child refuses to get dressed for the weather, we take them outside to put on their gear.
I quite like this idea. It saves the other children from losing valuable time outside, and gives the child a natural consequence to their actions. I haven’t seen this strategy done much in my past experiences, so it is a nice tool to add to my belt in future practices.
Challenge: The one child who refused to listen. Sometimes children are stubborn, and that’s okay. We just do what we have to in the most respectful way possible.
Highlight: This morning when I entered the bouncing room, N wanted to play with me. We ran around in circles as she exclaimed: “Chase me! Chase me!” We continued to run around in circles for a while, I got dizzy so I stopped and she said, “Get my toes.” I laughed and asked, “You want me to get your toes?” I grabbed her toes before another child joined in again and asked the same. We played this chasing game for 20+minutes this morning. there was so much laughter. This child asked me to play again when we were outside in the yard. This is a noticeable connection because this child doesn’t always enjoy interacting with me. I often see her climbing or playing on her own.
How am I feeling?/What am I thinking? I am feeling very positive about this week. It’s gone really smoothly, and I feel like I’m making valuable connections with the children. It’s going to be sad to leave Wednesday next week.
March 13 *
Highlights: So many amazing things were happening this morning for F. To me, she was happy, full of beans, and well regulated. Bouncing, singing, smiling and making what sounded like happy sounds. We sang The Wheels on the Bus, and I watched her rolling her arms, while making a “rrrr,” sound. I sang the part about babies crying, and very clearly heard her say, “wah, wah, wah,” while mimicking the crying action. F also made the grandma shark hand movements while I sang the song with another child.
I watched as F (very obviously) used the sign for “stop.” The Room Support had been using the sign while singing, “Hop Little Bunnies.”
Challenges: There were no notable challenges today. I came in this morning ready to play and interact with whoever felt like connecting with me.
I made another connection with a child today. We played outside, singing “zoom zoom zoom, were going to the moon.” This child is typically very independent, but came over to m to ask for help with her mittens when her hands got cold.
What am I thinking?/How am I feeling? I am curious, F had tight braids again today, but seemed way happier that the previous day she wore them. I am also curious if she understands what the sign “stop,” actually means, or if she was just mimicking what the RS was doing. Just like anything, a child must do it 50,000 times before they fully grasp the idea, concept or word.
March 12 *
I was told, drop off this morning went really well. F seemed happy to be at daycare. Joycy mentioned that her parents are starting to come inside the room in the morning instead of just rushing her through the door. Allowing her more time to process that they are leaving. When I arrived at 8:30, there were 7/8 children here already. It was busy, but everyone was seemingly happy.
F was circling through some new toys, testing them out and observing the other children interacting with them. I noticed that she kept returning back to the fish tank, where we have an art piece located. She made her way over to the kitchen area, and looked to be trying to engage with the other children. She seemed very concentrated on what they were doing.
Highlight: F typically communicated non-verbally. Today, I witnessed some speech sounds today. It was a pleasant sound, kind of like singing, but I am unsure. Outside it was the sounds, “yah,” and “ah.” Outside \i held her hand as she made her way around a circle of tree stumps. She was balancing and pulling my hand in the direction she was choosing to go. We had lots of hugs and cuddles today. It was nice to hear her in such a seemingly great mood today.
What am I thing?/How am I feeling? I am feeling pretty good today overall. I am thinking I should start singing more songs with visuals. After seeing the RS bring in The Wheels on the Bus visuals for the song, I think that a device like this would be beneficial for this group of children.
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