Terra - My mum says I am...

The teachers talked to the parents about a word they would use to describe their child and these were the words that were shared. On the display there is a large photograph of each child below the word. These are the words that these parents use to describe their child and the aspirations they hold for them.

This is a great opportunity to include these aspirations and visualisations in the documentation to 'speak into that space'. 

It is powerful to affirm these aspirations and parent observations by paying attention to them with the child for planning, observations and assessment.

There are lots of opportunities to notice, recognise and respond to what we observe with children and use that information to innovate and be creative with our teaching

Bringing these aspirations from parents, their voice being heard to inform the teaching and included in the documentation

 I thought this was a great way to make visible the image of the child each parent holds for their child and include this in planning and assessment - making these things visible alongside all the other valued learning outcomes.

Terra - What's in a name - visual arts with infants

The teachers plan sensory activities with the children and make anecdotal observations about the experiences. Children's names is an important part of the programme. As I went through to the other rooms at the centre, some of the projects were researching where the child's name came from and what it means both universally and personally to the family. 

This included things like if the child was named after someone and many of the parents have their child's name and for some their footprint tattooed somewhere on their body. It was a very interesting display in the room!! How many of us have tattoos that represent who we are and the people and places that are important to us.

Terra - Have you ever taken a closer look?

In the gymnasium where the children are able to play freely for gross motor play, there is a display for the parents. The display is made up of close up images of the babies physical features and the parents are asked to see if they know which photographs are of their child. Carol shared stories of parents closely observing the physical features of their children to pick the photos. Initial observations indicate the parents are very good at recognising the ears of their children...might have something to do with feeding time and when we are gazing down at the infant - it is an ear we see.

The teachers wanted to invite the parents to explore attachment further and engage with this in a practical way. Read below for the supporting information.

Linking to theory - practice based in evidence - I love it!! 

Add some emotion and who knows what can happen - controversy indeed. Did you know about these studies?

Below is the internet article about the claims for the parents to read

Further information about why attachment and bonding matters - this provides additional explanation about the way the programme is designed to compliment the secure attachment rather then disrupt the connection with the parent.

Humour with children

We saw this on the door of one of the rooms and I thought it was funny. These sorts of things bring humour to the team and interactions with families

Connections with families over time

This cabinet contains artefacts collected over time - some gifts from families.

A parent was recently in Afghanistan and bought back the camel

The book in the background is all about where Debra is from - a coastal area of Canada

Environment - University and Community Early Learning Centre

Neutral tones and baskets to present order in the space

Using light 

Funky frames with the child and their family around the classroom

Looking back down the classroom - quite like the green paint on the walls - catches the natural light really well

Of course I am drawn to this...weaving...felting...hmmmm...missing my studio right now

How amazing are these children and their teachers??

Town of Beaumont ELCC - And here is the little something beautiful

Check out my 'Seeds of Empathy' post to get the back story to this.

Thanks Jodie for taking the time in your crazy world to talk to the family about posting these photos - such a beautiful moment between brother and sister....this made me cry....not sure about my first impressions...crying after being there for half an hour!!

How connected is this!!!

Where's New Zealand?

While in the centre, I was talking to children about where I was from. Luckily one of the educators (teachers) Connie at the centre is from Australia and there has recently been a project about Australia and Olympics with the flags in another room. The children know where Australia is and it is pretty easy to point out NZ from there. It was interesting to share with children that even though I live in NZ, when they were asking me where home is I said Napier and then shared I lived in Palmerston North. Some of the children could relate to this.
Connie and I were sharing the Aussie VS Kiwi humour...we shared YouTube clips and joked about our 'isms' that only the two of us understood - it was as if we had our own language. We shared YouTube clips that we love that 'make fun' of the other country -

Connie likes this one about Kiwi accent (there is the S#*@ word in this one if you are a bit sensitive) from Australia...

and I love this one from NZ.

PS - you are welcome Connie....I love the card and the message...yes lets keep in touch. It has been my pleasure and privilege to spend time with you all.

Routes and Roots

While meeting with Margy yesterday the idea of roots (where I am from) and routes (where I have been and where I am going) came up. I have been reflecting on this a lot today, especially as I am returning to the land of my Great-Great-grandparents in South West Scotland while I am on this side of the planet.
Since arriving in Corby, I have heard of the rich Scottish connection and how many people came to Corby in the 40's and 50's to work here. People at the laundrette were really friendly and gave me a history lesson while my clothes washed and dried.
My family emigrated from Scotland to New Zealand in the late 1800's to find prosperity and make a new start - for much the same reasons people from Scotland came to Corby as I understand it. There is a Scottish connection that I find intriguing. For many years I have anticipated coming to Pen Green - it has been on my bucket list for a while (up there with Reggio Emilia) not realizing the strong connection to Scotland. This blows my mind!! Roots and Routes for sure!!

Meeting with Angela - The power of home visits

Angela hosted me for an hour and a half this afternoon - meeting with me to discuss the life of the centre. It felt very familiar....as far as I can tell, Angela is leader/manager of multiple spaces in the centre and has been there for 25 years (Margy told me that....yes...I had a coffee and chat with Dr Margy Whalley for a hour and a half:O). We started off with passing on some communication to the staff - to get a sense of how full on it is at this place, there was a Skype meeting with a group from USA at 4pm and the time had been changed. Then we got to sit together over a herbal tea to discuss the life of the centre according to Angela. There is so much going on here in amongst a lot of changes in the political agenda for education.

Home visits - a window into culture and identity
Home visits are an important feature of the activities of the teachers. The teachers visit to meet the child in their own space and to enable them to engage in conversations about things relating to the environment of the child when at the centre....the loop concept.
One idea was to take photographs of the doors of where the children live while visiting so there is an image to revisit. it also helps children explain to others where they live and opportunities for story telling and rich language experiences. There are two 'traveller' communities that have children attending so I was intrigued about how this works. It is important for teachers to 'be with children and families' in their spaces and to get a sense of the culture of the family through being in their home. 

This is a blast from the past for us - something we would do for all families in the 90's. Could this be a way to strengthen relationships? The teachers have half a day per week for professional time (AKA non contact) - and children are gone by 3.30pm - staff work until 4.30pm so visits are done in this time. 

Assessment
Teachers here have learning stories and have had numerous exchanges with Wendy Lee and Margaret Carr over the past 10-15 years (at least). The documentation on the walls had a very familiar feeling to NZ and even looked like what I see in many services. I want to explore a bit more the approaches to assessment and how decisions about planning for learning are made. I scratched the surface today and will research more tomorrow and Friday. I had better pace myself.
There are some crazy things happening in the education system over here. I don't want to rant about them here too much as I have only been introduced to the ideas and if my understandings are right - it is ridiculous!! Lets just say that the team at Pen Green have found ways to stay true to their approach and frameworks as well as accommodate the needs of the external evaluators. This is an important lesson for us all.