Thoughts on planning

Taken from Making Links by Stonehouse, A. and Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2004)

The best programs for children happen when practitioners get their ideas not only from their own expertise and experience but also from children's interests expressed and observed, parents' ideas, and events and issues in the community (p. 11).

If learning occurs when there is a good match between what is already known and something new, then the challenge is to make a match for every child. The solution is to provide variety and choices and let the child choose his or her own perfect match (p. 11).

We are interested in the degree to which children are learning how to learn and what strategies they use. We are less interested to know if they have reached specified milestones of development as shown on charts. What we want to know is what they can do that may be different from those milestones. How is a child unique? We want to understand the relationship of the child to the environment and others in it (p. 166).

The best plans happen in collaboration with others (p. 168).

What are the characteristics of a good planning format:

• It encourages practitioners to think about and plan not just for activities but rather all dimensions of the children’s experience: the environment, interactions and relationships, the organisation of time, the structure of the program, the indoor and outdoor environments, the daily living routines, provisions for play, as well as special experiences.
• It also includes planning for collaborative relationships with families.
• It supports planning both for individual children and groups, and encourages strong links between what is provided and what is known about each child.
• It supports practitioners to think about their aims and goals, and serves as a reminder to ask themselves “why am I doing this?” or “Why am I doing this in this way?”
• It invites ongoing comment, suggestions, critique and alterations to future plans.
• It includes blank spaces to allow for unexpected events and alterations.
• It is looked at critically on a regular basis and altered as a result of critique. (170)

Who is fit to teach?

Excerpts from an editorial by Mary R. Jalongo

On a Monday, shortly before 10 p.m., my telephone rang. It was an undergraduate student from Texas named Alta who was completing a class assignment in which each student was required to investigate one contemporary and one historical early childhood educator. Alta’s questions were thought-provoking and carefully prepared. One question was, “What attracted you to teaching young children?” In response, I mentioned children’s imagination, spontaneity, candor, surprising uses of language, and seeing things from a newcomer’s perspective.

It is a common misconception that the sole qualification of early childhood educators is that they “love little children,” but, important as that is, it is not nearly enough. Those who do exemplary work with the very young have to be caring, yes, but also sufficiently strong willed to resist constant pressure to fall into habit, routine, and mediocrity. It takes courage to withstand man pressures to conform and follow the book. It also takes a lifetime of trying to become a better teacher. The authority of a master teacher emanates not from status and salary but from reflections on experience that lead to wisdom about young children. That wisdom never becomes arrogance because we know that there will always be a student and a situation that send us scrambling for information, advice, and an appropriate response. The learning does not stop.

Alta’s questions set me to thinking about the larger issue of who should enter the early childhood field. What about content mastery? Most initiatives to improve teaching focus on subject matter competence simply because it is easier to measure. Presumably, if a teacher can provide evidence of program completion and pass a competency examination in early childhood, she or he possesses what is minimally necessary to teach young children. But there is a huge gap between knowing about and knowing how. Consider two prospective early childhood educators. The first candidate possesses all of the positive personal traits mentioned previously, yet has little knowledge of child development or pedagogy. The second candidate is a person with high test scores on a national teaching examination in the area of early childhood education; however, he or she does not demonstrate evidence of such things as a commitment to equity or a genuine care and concern for all students. Personally, I would choose the first candidate every time.

Twenty-four years in teacher education have convinced me that the content is quite teachable while those human characteristics are exceedingly difficult to inculcate when they are not present at some moderate levels from the start.

This, then, is the great myth of who can become an outstanding teacher of young children. It is not a mere matter of liking little children or of scoring well on a test. Nor is it, as many new teachers apparently believe,purely a matter of on-the-job training in “real” educational settings. If logging hours in schools were sufficient to produce good teachers, then every teacher with extensive experience would be outstanding, and clearly,this is not the case.

When we think about early childhood educators who are highly regarded by colleagues and fondly remembered by grateful students and their families, it becomes clear that it is not enough to meet the minimum content standards set by various states or nations, nor is it sufficient to find applicants who seek and enjoy the company of small children. The prime directive for any teacher is to model, facilitate, and further learning in every student without doing harm to any student. Whether we work with children or adults, accomplishing this worthy goal begins with ourselves. We must be model learners, capable not only of sustaining a passion for learning throughout a lifetime, but also capable of igniting and productively channeling that enthusiasm for learning in our students. We must be skilled enough to reach and teach every student. And perhaps, most important of all, we must have integrity and compassion in addition to skill so that families would entrust us with the care and education of their children.

Jalongo, M. R. (2002). Editorial: On behalf of children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(3), 141.

Negotiating the curriculum

Surman et al (2005) uses the term "negotiating the curriculum" (p. 178) when talking about teaching children in school. In my mind a curriculum has never been something very negotiable-there are things children need to learn and there are specific ways of teaching them. Apparently it doesn't have to be like that at all.

It makes so much more sense to have children, teachers and families the co-constructors of a curriculum as opposed to the teachers deciding everything. Children have so many different ways of learning and thinking, why not let them be involved in showing us which way they prefer to learn or what topic they are interested in at the time.

When did learning become so regimented? As adults we learn best when it is something we are interested in, what makes us think children are any different? Children are trying to communicate with us; to tell us what they are capable of and what they want to learn about. We are so busy trying to plan their academic learning and grow them up that we completely miss the point.

As a parent I am guilty of this; as a teacher I hope to have a second chance.

Respect for the child as an individual is a key to building an effective curriculum. I am beginning to see children in a different way. I am beginning to understand the importance of working together with them, collaborating and sharing knowledge. I wonder why I never realized these things before?

Surely teachers in schools and childcare centres know these things though. Why then is it that so many schools and centres are still so academically oriented? Of course there are requirements, but there are so many different ways of teaching something, it doesn't have to be so regimented. Most centres have the same pictures hung up around the room and tick off each child's name as they complete it. What prevents using a child-directed curriuculm and greater creativity? Is it a lack of financial backing or is it just easier to do things how it's always been done?

I can't criticize because I haven't been in that position, but the way I think about teaching and planning has certainly changed.

Reference Used:
Surman et al. (2005). Program planning: Negotiating the curriculum in Fleer, et al (2006) Early childhood learning communities

Drawing with children

The following is taken from a book called Rapunzel's Supermarket, by Ursula Kolbe, who has written extensively about the arts and young children. I found her thoughts on drawing with young children fascinating, which is why I'm posting this. However, that being said, everyone has different opinions on things and some may not agree with this. It is not a "proven theory" on how children learn, just something I happen to agree with.

Should I draw for my child?

While I love drawing - and many children know that I do - I don't draw for them. When children ask you to draw a particular object, it's usually because they lack confidence in their own ability to draw it. Although it's tempting to draw on request, I caution against it. Why?

Young children don't approach drawing the way adults do. They use a different 'system'. When children ask me to draw a dog, say, I have no idea what sort of image they want. If I draw a dog in an adult fashion, they can't use this information to make their own drawings (although they may find watching me entertaining). If I draw in a simple cartoon-like manner, I'd be giving them a formula. This is likely to set them up for failure because it's difficult to remember a formula invented by another. And a formula does not help children teach themselves to draw.

As already mentioned, 'I don't know how to draw it' often means 'I don't know how to start'. Talking things through with children can be a great help. Older children benefit from opportunities to draw objects in front of them. For instance, when Jake had difficulties drawing a bicycle from memory, we set up a bicycle in front of him.

While talking things through with children takes time, it is well worth it. Your reward? Seeing their immense pride and joy when they realize they have taught themselves another drawing strategy, mastered another step in exploring and representing their world.

Colouring-in books: should we buy them?

Here's my view. Most colouring-in books are a bit like junk food - harmless in moderation but definitely not recommended for a regular diet. Why? Because they don't assist children in 'learning to see' or draw. They may keep hands busy, but they rarely provide food for the imagination.

That said, it's true that many children like colouring-in books, and for short periods seem to find the task of colouring-in a calming experience.

It is sad, however, when programs provide children with pre-drawn colouring-in activities in the belief that these are 'educational'. Some claim that learning to colour within outlines helps children develop fine-muscle control, and so assists them in gaining 'pre-writing' skills. That may be so, but why give children pre-drawn outlines to fill in?

When children are pleased with their own drawings, they usually take great care in colouring them. Pride in their drawings comes from the confidence of knowing that they can draw. And confidence comes from having had many opportunities to draw. If colouring-in activities are offered too frequently, children miss opportunities to learn to draw. Less confident children may even lose faith in their drawing abilities.

Excerpts taken from:
Kolbe, U. (2001). Rapunzel's supermarket. Sydney: Peppinot Press. Other Matters. pp. 117-119

Fine motor skills

Development of Fine Motor Skills:

0-4 months:
Grasp reflex - hand closes when something is placed in hand
Whole hand grasps objects when placed in hand
Eye-hand coordination - swats at objects, may miss

4-8 months:
Whole-hand grasp, fingers against thumb
Uses thumb and finger to pick up; passes objects from hand to hand; grasps and deliberately releases.
Uses objects to pick up, drop, shake, clap, bang

8-12 months:
Uses thumb and forefinger and/or two fingers to pick up; fingers used to poke and pinch
Carries objects in hand, claps and bangs
Imitates actions, uses writing tools to create marks, strokes textured objects
Takes clothes off, undoes large buttons, snaps, zippers

12-18 months:
Thumb used with all fingers
Points to objects, pictures
May start to show hand preference
Carries objects around room, throws objects, rolls and catches rolled objects
Reaches accurately
Scribbles
Starts to dress self

Toddler:
Throw at target
Twists, turns objects
Pick up items to put into something else - spoons, shovels, scoops

Preschool:
Increased finger movement
Learn to coordinate movements
Starts to cut with scissors
Dresses self
More control of wrist action
Change from palmar grasp to tripod grasp
Decrease in whole-arm movement to draw, write, paint

School-aged:
Increased dexterity - peak improvement between four and eight
Advanced skills - play musical instrument, draw, paint, cut, learn to print, write
Greater integration of fine and large motor skills

Taken from Creating Effective Learning Environments (Crowther, 2003, p. 222)

Block play

Excerpts from Creating Effective Learning Environments (Crowther, 2003, pp 114-138)

Blocks are a wonderful medium to develop social skills, language skills and pre-measurement skills. Blocks are a wonderful medium to experiment with in order to create patterns, pretend settings, and structures using various types of blocks. Blocks are a wonderful medium to provide opportunities to practice building, see the results of one's actions and observe cause and effect relationships.

Levels of block play:
Stage 1 - Carrying and stacking: Before children start to build with blocks they tend to carry blocks around with them. This stage usually occurs before the children are two years old. Children learn about the texture and weight of the blocks, how many they can carry at once and how best to carry them.
Stage 2 - Rows and towers: Children at this stage will start to either stack blocks vertically or build rows horiontally. Stacking blocks vertically is often accompanied by the pleasure of knocking these blocks down, only to build them up again. The child learns spatial terms such as next to, beside, on and on top of. The child learns to position blocks more precisely.
Stage 3 - Walls and bridges: Children start to create structures that could be duplications of structures that they have seen, and may represent roadways or tracks. Accessories may be used, such ass vehicles, or various materials.
Stage 4 - Enclosures and patterns: Enclosures have definite shapes and are often used as part of dramatic (pretend) play. Children may build enclosures for a specific purpose and become skilled in creating stable structures.
Stage 5 - Representations and reproductions: At this stage, children use all of their skills from previous levels to create structures that represent real structures. Children name the structures they have created.

Value of block play:
Children learn to problem solve
Develop an awareness of spatial terminology and perception of space - under, over, on, beside
Develop concepts of size - large, small, long, short, tall
Match and sort according to size, shape, colour, weight, and type
Use language associated with block play
Socialize and learn to cooperate with peers

Role of the teacher:
Always step in when the play becomes harmful either to the child or other children, destructive of the materials or equipment, when the children ask for help, exhibit signs of stress, arguments errupt or children interfere with each other's creativity.
Use open-ended questions to discuss the play.
Provide dialogue to encourage spatial awareness and increased awareness of size. Use new vocabulary and model appropriate language.
Provide materials that allow for matching and sorting. Provide a variety of materials to extend learning.
Provide opportunities for socialization and for children to play cooperatively with others.

Types of blocks and their use:
Foam blocks - can be purchased in sets containing a variety of shape, size and colour. They are excellent for infant/toddler as they are easy to grasp. Easy to stack, surfaces are less sticky. Useful for patterning skills.
Cardboard blocks - easy to handle, light, relatively safe to build in height.
Cubes - excellent to develop skill in patterning, comparison, creating sets of equal, more etc., counting, charting.
Hollow blocks - useful for building stable structures. Use blocks as props, sturdy enough for children to sit/stand on. They encourage cooperation as blocks may need more than one person to build.
Unit blocks - Skills in pre-measurement, ordering, comparison, counting, balancing, sequencing, patterning, matching, sorting.
Boxes - liquor boxes are particularly good as the dividers for the bottles make them much stronger. Skills in carrying, transporting. Excellent for creating relatively safe, high structures.
Brick city blocks - detailed for building windows, doors etc.
Paper rolls - skill in using cylindrical shapes to build with.
Large carpet rolls - excellent accessory to use as tunnels, to drive or roll materials down or through

Addtionally, items such as structure sticks, branches, coloured blocks, building boards, and a lot of other material can be added to block play to enhance creativity.

Critical periods of prenatal development

There are several periods of prenatal development that are critical or sensitive periods of development. Below is a figure which shows some critical periods for specific body parts, with the dark section being the higher period of sensitivity.

(Taken from: Siegler, DeLoache and Eisenberg: How Children Develop, Second Edition Copyright © 2006 by Worth Publishers)

Highest Risk For Major Structural Abnormalities:
Brain Damage 3 to 6 wk
Heart defects 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 wk
Arm deformities 4 1/2 to 7 wk
Leg deformities 3 1/2 to 7 wk
Eyes/blindness 3 1/2 to 7 1/2 wk
Ears/deafness 3 to 8 1/2 wk
Teeth problems 6 to 8 wk
Cleft palate 5 1/2 to 8 wk

Environmental Hazards to Fetus or Newborn:
(Not a comprehensive list)
Drugs: alcohol, birth control pills, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methadone, tobacco
Environmental Pollutants: lead, mercury, PCB's
Maternal Disease: AIDS, chicken pox, chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, gonorrhea, herpes, influenza, mumps, rubella, syphilis, toxoplasmosis

Literacy-rich Classrooms

To support the literacy learning of all students, excellent teachers create classroom environments in which literacy is not only taught, but also practiced in ways that convey to children that reading and writing are activities that are valued both for learning and recreation and pleasure.

How teachers arrange furniture and materials in classrooms influences the way children use and share what they read and write. The ways in which a teacher arranges her classroom speak volumes to children about the teachers’ beliefs regarding reading and writing and her expectations of how her students will use reading and writing in the course of their daily activities. Having desks arranged so that students can easily share and interact is important. Positioning the desks in clusters promotes conversation, collaboration and interaction among the students – all characteristics of student behaviours in classrooms in which children excel in reading and writing.

Excellent teachers use wall space for meaningful displays of information that help children learn. The room arrangements should not be simply decorative. Rather, by their very nature, the arrangements should invite children to read, think, write and talk. Excellent teachers display books in spaces throughout their classrooms. Excellent teachers know that although early literacy classrooms need to be places where print is abundant, accessible and meaningful, they also need to provide students with predictable routines that increase their exposure to print and promote sustained practice in literacy.

-Paratore, J. R., & McCormack, R. L. (2005). Teaching literacy in second grade. New York: The Guilford Press.

***

Drawing from research, we argue that literacy-rich classrooms have seven characteristics:
1. An abundance of children’s literature and other high-quality literacy materials
2. Physical arrangement that encourage a wide range of reading and writing
3. Daily literacy routines, including read alouds, independent reading and writing, and sharing
4. A culturally sensitive curriculum, which integrates the language arts and content study
5. Continuous assessment, which guides instruction
6. A variety of instructional practices; and
7. A variety of grouping patterns.

Children who have access to quality literature will be highly motivated readers and discerning writers. A good book inspires wonder, curiosity, deep thinking, emotional involvement, and aesthetic pleasure as well as provides models of memorable language. Experts recommend that the number of books in a high-quality classroom collection should be 8-10 times the number of children.

All literacy rich classrooms include a library, a writing center, and a computer center. Teachers arrange these spaces so that materials are organized and easily accessible. Research shows that introducing computers into the classroom allows children to develop literacy concepts through play. Computers increase social interaction among children as they share ideas and compose jointly and children learn that constructing meaning involves manipulation of not just alphabet letters, but also a variety of other symbols.

Teachers in literacy rich classrooms read aloud or tell stories daily and set aside time for children to read and write independently. Children have frequent opportunities to share their writing and engage in activities that extend their responses to literature. Sharing experiences about reading and writing is also a critical component of supporting literacy development. Children who talk together about a book, write responses to literature and share writing with classmates construct interpretations of literature, use higher levels of thinking, and write better quality compositions.

-McGee, L. M., & Richgels, D. J. (2000). Literacy’s beginnings: Supporting young readers and Writers (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Literacy at school

No research has ever proved that there is one best way for children to learn to read and write. When schooled in large groups, children need to receive a 'balanced' literacy program, drawing on a range of learning opportunities that emphasize different aspects of spoken, written and visual language. Obviously, working out this balance for each class of children each day and each week is a task that requires teachers to draw on a strong professional knowledge base.
-Literacies in Childhood (2007) by Makin, Diaz and McLachlan, p. 44

***

All children bring resources in their schoolbags (like languages, experiences, skills) that they have acquired at home and in their communities, but only some children get to oopen their bags and take out waht they bring in ways that count at school. Other children do not need to open their bags at all because what they bring is not considered useful or relevant in the school context. Still other children are constructed as having problematic backgrounds, which teachers may prefer they left at the gate.
-Literacies in Early Childhood (2002) by Makin and Jones Diaz, p. 20

***

Children learn to read not only letters, but also the ways in which they are to be students in school: they learn situated ways of doing literacy. There is nothing natural about these practices. These are institutionalise versions of language and literacy, which could be done differently, but become part of particular early childhood pedagogical routines.
-Literacies in Early Childhood (2002) by Makin and Jones Diaz, p. 24

From Scribbles to Stories

Click here for an example of a child's writing development from 18 months to third grade.