Classroom Reflection Paper

I thrive on core knowledge base from within our field and evaluate our effectiveness. It gives us a framework within which to work and serves as springboard for improvement. I believe that as Early Childhood Educators we must be able to understand child development and demonstrate the implication of this knowledge in practice; provide an environment that is safe, healthy and nurturing and is trustworthy, consistent and secure for all. We must also plan, implement and evaluate developmentally appropriate curriculum to enhance all areas of children’s learning and development including physical, intellectual, creative, and language, emotional and social. As a Teacher Educator, we are guides for student-teachers , who in turn guides our children and should model and facilitate supportive relationships by utilizing developmentally appropriate techniques. As early childhood educators it is indicative that we support the development of individual children, recognizing that children are best understood in the context of family, culture and

Early childhood educators plan and lead activities that lead and build on children 's ability and curiosity and aid in developing skills and characteristics that help them grow. (“Preschool Teachers” 106) Keeping in mind that not all children learn and develop in same way, early childhood educators must develop a flexible learning schedule that incorporates different aspects for children that have varying learning techniques. Early childhood educators plan activities that encourage children to develop skills appropriate to their developmental needs. For example, the activities a preschool teacher may plan consisting of different motor skills and reasoning abilities of a three-year old child differs from a child of five years of age. (“Preschool Teachers” 108) Also, early childhood educators need to

Teaching early childhood children is not a job that should be taken lightly. At this age, you are building the foundation of learning and setting the precedence of what they see school as. It is my role as an educator to take responsibility for every child’s educational development. Each day in an early childhood classroom is full of challenges, but it is also full of laughs, smiles, and enthusiasm to learn. I firmly believe that every child is capable of learning, however, every child learns in their own pace and in their own way. Children need to feel that their teacher cares for them and is enthusiastic about their learning. This will help motivate them and maximize their learning. From there, the sky is the limit in the classroom! As an educator, I need to be conscious of learning and social development in order to reach every child and make sure they succeed. It is my job to see that every student is growing both academically and socially.

My experiences working with children officially began in 2012 when I started working for One of A Kind Progressive Early Education. I worked with children of all ages, primarily toddlers and preschoolers. While working at One of A Kind, I assisted the lead teachers as much as possible. I helped develop daily routines of activities, lesson plans, nap, and toilet-training times that seemed most effective for the students. I worked with parents during pick up and drop off times to make sure they were happy with the schedule and care their child was receiving. I was in charge of maintaining a safe environment for the students at One of A Kind.

I hope that my learning will develop through extensive reading about developmental norms, the theories of learning and play, as well as curricula documents in evaluating the child’s overall holistic development. I am intrigued to learn how to assess a child’s development by carrying out observations and evaluations during my placements. I hope that I will learn how to organize and implement activities with young children and learn how to demonstrate the understanding of how a child acquires language, along with developing the strategies to support the child’s development. I have never had the opportunity to work with babies in a day care setting, and I’m really looking forward to finding out how this differs to my own previous experience in a primary school.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) refers to those teaching practices that ensure that young children learn and develop to their fullest potential. As most early childhood educators know, however, developing practices that promote optimal learning and development for all children can be an elusive goal. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs (Copple&Bredekamp, 2009) makes clear, “whether or not what actually happens in the classroom is, in practice, developmentally appropriate is the result of myriad decisions at all levels by policy makers, administrators, teachers, and families about the care and education of young children. In order for educators and families to make the best decisions possible for the children and families they serve, it is critical that they have the support and resources of a proven curriculum model one that has research-based evidence of effectiveness.

when planning lessons and activities for the children/young people the teacher will also need to adapt certain methods to use within these to suit the needs of individual children making sure they can reach the targets and can develop from the work set as all children learn at different stages and some may struggle more than others in doing so, the learning objectives may be modified for certain children, teachers tactics may be adjusted and activities may be adapted to suit each individual need. By doing this the teacher is identifying the individual needs of the children within their class towards their learning and education and making a record of it to be able to review their progress which can then be used to update the children themselves or the parents, carers of the child or young person on their development and areas they are achieving in or may be struggling in that need to be developed and how this can be

Paula’s Head Start class promotes high expectations for learning success. To promote high expectations for learning success, Mrs. Paula focuses on the students social and emotional goals, language and literacy goals, cognition and general knowledge goal and physical well-being and motor development goals. For social and emotional goals, Mrs. Paula expects that students will learn how to engage and maintain an appropriate adult-child relationship and peer relationships. In addition, Mrs. Paula looks forward to building the child's confidence in their abilities and developing the child sense of self. When referring to the students language and literacy goal, the student will build and use complex vocabulary and identify the sounds in words. Next, students are expected to count, identify patterns, problem solve, make predictions and develop a hypothesis when Mrs. Pau.la focuses on cognition and general knowledge goals. Lastly, Mrs. Paula promotes high expectation for learning success through physical well-being and motor skills. Students are expected to demonstrate control of their large and small muscle movement like balance, writing, building, self-care and manipulation. Overall, Mrs. Paula looks for new and innovating ways to push her students to strive for greatness and explore the

I have worked with infants and toddlers for four years now. Working with infants and toddlers has been fascinating. It has been fascinating witnessing how much these young individual can do, besides eat and sleep. When infants first start the program it seems like that is all they do, eat and sleep, but in reality they are learning to recognize the environment, voices, and faces. Working with this age group is a combination of care and education. As their primary caregiver, it is my responsibility to care for them and meet their individual needs. I plan individualized activities to help them enhance their skills and expand their curiosity. I learned that I am more patient than what I thought. It is important to stay calm when working

They may observe that “the plant died because we forgot to water it,” or caution a friend “don’t stand so close or it will knock over my blocks.” They can begin to base their actions on an expected outcome “I am walking careful so I don’t spill my milk.” Preschooler can transfer what they know to new experiences. They learn that sand will pour from one container to another in a steady stream and they can pour small gravel in the same way. They know how to respond to the “listen” signal from their teacher and can respond to a similar signal from another adult in the classroom. Preschoolers can also use what they know about objects and people to determine how to act in new situations. For example, they will use information about circle time in their classroom to help them know how to sit for story time at the library. They will eagerly use new writing materials or manipulatives in appropriate ways. This why it is important for child care teachers to provide opportunities for preschoolers to transfer known information to new situation. Preschoolers can also use their prior knowledge to help them solve problems. They are aware that they may need to try several strategies before coming to a solution. They are able to use familiar strategies and are willing to try new

The early years learning environment is dominated by a play- orientated pedagogy. That is, a child’s learning is enhanced in an environment where there is an equal balance between child and adult initiated activities. The role of the practitioner is to create this balance while planning for the activities to incorporate the statutory framework.

Discuss the role of the early years practitioner in planning provision to meet the needs of the child.

In this term paper I will explore infant and toddler curriculum. I will discuss: the developmental themes in infancy, infant toddler curriculum, and the differences between preschool curriculum and appropriate infant toddler curriculum. In conclusion I will share some of my personal feelings about infant and toddler curriculum, including the challenges and rewards.

It is really amazing how excited students get with the possiblity of using the computer in the classroom to assist them with their lesson. The teacher added that she uses it as a reward system, stating how affective it is in maintaining order and control in the classroom. Students knew how to navigate, go to various websites that were related to the lesson and create a folder in which to put their assignments in.

Walking into the first two weeks of the EDU program I desired to experience what it would be like to be a future educator and have a grasp of how to help the molding of our youth and giving them the possibility to become future leaders. Doctor dresser was able to bring in a Concordia alumni who had just begun to experience his professional education, career and is teaching multiple different grade levels as a young teacher. When he first walked into the classroom my first impressions were that unfortunately he looked very inexperienced and unsure of what was to be expected of the lecture I thought to myself in the position of a younger student in his classroom this is a person I would not take seriously. He then proceeded to communicate