March 11

I arrived at 8;30 this morning, and F wasn’t here today. The room was quiet but busy, with seemingly happy children. They were all in the bouncing room together. It was sunny today, with some chilly wind, but all of the children were engaged in play. It felt very peaceful outside this morning.

What am I thinking?/How am I feeling? I did a self check-in this morning. I was grumpy driving this morning, my stomach hurts, I have cramps, I’m tired, and extremely sensitive.

Challenge: I’m struggling to be present today, and it’s affecting my interactions with the children, which isn’t fair to them. I’ve decided to do a shorter day today and head home at 1:30, completing 5 hours today instead of 8.

March 8 *

What am I thinking?/How am I feeling? This morning was peaceful, as far as toddler rooms go. There were a lot of adults in the room, six at one point. We all did a pretty good job at keeping our bodies low and accessible to the children.F was mostly avoiding the adults in the room. I found her with a book in the dressing area. She seemed content in a quieter space alone. F was seemingly happy. I watched her wander the room, creating lots of sounds with her mouth. She entered into the jumping room where other children were playing, and began bouncing on a mat. I noticed lots of clapping, and seemingly happy noises today. We spent some time in the ECE room on the TRU side of the building. Utilizing the open space indoors on a colder morning makes mornings more manageable for all children.

Highlight: As we entered back into our classroom space, there was a (seemingly) very obvious moment of joy in F. She smiled, letting out a giggling sound as she headed toward the bouncing room again. She really loves that space. I think it’s because she can meet a lot of her own needs within that space. Her bed is on one side of the room, and the mats she uses for pressure are on the other side. It’s typically a dimly lit room, and the doors have the ability to block out most of the classroom noise.

Challenge: Melanie brought up a great point to the RS, that I listened in on. She gently reminded us to give F space. We don’t need to be following her around the room. When we follow her around, consistently trying to interact with her in some way, she walks away from the space or object she intends to explore. So my challenge today was to be more mindful. I don’t want to interfere with the learning that is going on for F in her daily routines.

Questions: I found myself wondering “What’s going on in her mind?” a lot today. F is very observant, but also very sensitive to noise. This makes her very alert, picking up on things in the space that other children may not notice.

It is cultural, so I don’t feel comfortable asking parents, but I’m curious if F having her hair in tight hairstyles sets her up for a more difficult day. Reflecting on myself, I know I get headaches with my hair up all day, so I cannot imagine the feelings that could be triggered by all of the tightly pulled elastics on her sensitive head.

March 6

Today, she was away, leaving us with 7 children this morning. Many parents stayed for a while to play with their children at drop off this morning. Next door was over numbers, so a couple children came over to play with us as well. For such a busy morning, full of transitions, I am surprised by how peaceful the space felt.

What am I thinking?/How am I feeling? I am feeling very content with today’s outcome. I was away from February 29-March 5, so coming back to a quiet, peaceful space was very refreshing.

Questions: I can’t help but wonder if the morning would have been less peaceful had F been here. Typically with busy mornings, F gets overwhelmed (?) and winds up seeking out an adult or somewhere quiet if she can. WOULD today have been very different if she had been here?

Learning: I was able to read most of the chapter that Deb gave me to read from Janet Gonzalez-Mena’s book, Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers. My main take away was the, Three R’s of Interaction:

  • Respectful: making sure the child can see you when approaching or speaking to them, and communicating intentions.
  • Responsive: waiting for the child to initiate connection first.
  • reciprocal: chain a responses between caregiver and child.

DON’T RUSH OR DISTRACT A CHILD WHEN COMPLETING A TASK

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