Monday, 28 June 2010
Refreshed and Exhausted.
I have just come back from the best long weekend away. I've been to Centre Parcs and although it's only 30 mins down the road it felt like I could have been in the Caribbean as the weather was glorious- BLISS. Sitting at the computer to quickly delete all the spam I get is actually very hard and constructing sentences for this post has become quite challenging. After 3 days of bike riding, swimming, archery, zipwire, obstacle course up in the trees, table tennis, line dancing, hula-hoop-ercise and dog walking I believe I have done more exercise than I'd probably do in a year- lol, so its a good job that I have the rest of the week off work to recover and then I MAYBE back to normal?!?!?!
Friday, 18 June 2010
A Thank You
While I know that my colleague and myself work extremely hard to ensure that the children have a great day at nursery it is always nice to get that recognition from the parents that we are doing a great job- and that is what happened today.
While in the garden watering the plants this morning a child arrived with her mother and as she was first this gave me a little time to chat with mum about the transition to 'big school'. It was mentioned that we are going to really miss this child when she leaves, especially as she has only been with us for a short while and so we haven't spent as much time with this child as we would the others. Her mother expressed her sadness that they will be leaving us but due to circumstances this was her only choice. It was said that her child has been given the best start in life and that throughout her time at nursery it was evident that she has been truly loved by all that have taken care of her (this child has progressed through 3 rooms since birth).
What makes these comments even more touching and, for want of a better word, sincere is that this mother has worked in Child Protection for some years and so one can only imagine at some of the things she has seen/heard. To be able to say that you never worry or have concerns about the safety, well being and happiness of your child just gives me that little boost and a reminder that what we all do all day, everyday is worth it!!
SO next time someone thanks you for changing a nappy, attending to a wound, or spending an extra 10 minutes to comfort them when upset and you think to yourself 'its my job', just remember that to those parents , deep down it means so much more to them.
While in the garden watering the plants this morning a child arrived with her mother and as she was first this gave me a little time to chat with mum about the transition to 'big school'. It was mentioned that we are going to really miss this child when she leaves, especially as she has only been with us for a short while and so we haven't spent as much time with this child as we would the others. Her mother expressed her sadness that they will be leaving us but due to circumstances this was her only choice. It was said that her child has been given the best start in life and that throughout her time at nursery it was evident that she has been truly loved by all that have taken care of her (this child has progressed through 3 rooms since birth).
What makes these comments even more touching and, for want of a better word, sincere is that this mother has worked in Child Protection for some years and so one can only imagine at some of the things she has seen/heard. To be able to say that you never worry or have concerns about the safety, well being and happiness of your child just gives me that little boost and a reminder that what we all do all day, everyday is worth it!!
SO next time someone thanks you for changing a nappy, attending to a wound, or spending an extra 10 minutes to comfort them when upset and you think to yourself 'its my job', just remember that to those parents , deep down it means so much more to them.
Saturday, 12 June 2010
World Cup
Well it has finally started-
C'MON ENGLAND!!!!!!
While I am naturally behind my own country I am thinking of ways to use the World Cup to teach the children about the different nations taking part. Yesterday I put up an England flag on the wall ( I wanted to display it in the window but it took up too much light). The only other flag that I had was South Africa, which I also put up and it is quite appropriate as they are the hosting nation. As we have children from different countries I have and will be asking those parents if they can get hold of a flag to add to our collection.
So far the flags have been of great interest to the children and the parents, and have prompted lots of questions so I will be happy if all we get out of this is a knowledge of different flags and where those countries are situated (baby steps).
At this early stage of the tournament there are too many countries and too many matches on at the same time to be able to go into detail about them individually but when we get to the quarter finals it will be easier. There is also the fact that the majority of the children are not yet aware of football as a game so I think it will be a bit too much to take in especially with everything else that we will be doing in the next few weeks- charity walk, fathers day and me being away (woo hoo to hol).
All of the above will also depend on how England do- I mean will I still be wanting to talk about football if the worse happens???????????????????????
C'MON ENGLAND!!!!!!
While I am naturally behind my own country I am thinking of ways to use the World Cup to teach the children about the different nations taking part. Yesterday I put up an England flag on the wall ( I wanted to display it in the window but it took up too much light). The only other flag that I had was South Africa, which I also put up and it is quite appropriate as they are the hosting nation. As we have children from different countries I have and will be asking those parents if they can get hold of a flag to add to our collection.
So far the flags have been of great interest to the children and the parents, and have prompted lots of questions so I will be happy if all we get out of this is a knowledge of different flags and where those countries are situated (baby steps).
At this early stage of the tournament there are too many countries and too many matches on at the same time to be able to go into detail about them individually but when we get to the quarter finals it will be easier. There is also the fact that the majority of the children are not yet aware of football as a game so I think it will be a bit too much to take in especially with everything else that we will be doing in the next few weeks- charity walk, fathers day and me being away (woo hoo to hol).
All of the above will also depend on how England do- I mean will I still be wanting to talk about football if the worse happens???????????????????????
Monday, 7 June 2010
Next project??????
I know that I am probably not alone in this thought that there is always an area of the classroom that will need revision/ updating or a complete overhaul. I have two at the moment- the art area and the language shelves.
The art area is always a thorn in my side- I change it and then decide that I want it even better BUT what I want to change is out of my control so, I guess I should accept that and stop wishing for what can't be (for the time being anyway).
Now for the Language shelves. About a year ago I changed the way in which the language materials, in particular the Sand Paper Letters were presented to the children. When I took over the running of my classroom all of the letters were taught one after the other without any specific order. I don't know about the children but I found this exceptionally tedious and never felt like the children were getting anywhere. Then due to my training I was taught how to group the sounds for maximum learning and progression.
In 2007 the DFES introduced Letters and Sounds, which is resource used by Primary Schools to teach and develop children's speaking, listening and reading skills using phonics. Now, I know what you are thinking- if it was introduced in 2007, how come I am only changing things now? Well, I only heard about this resource from another teacher visiting my setting last year and she recommended having a look to see if there were any games that I could make use of. To be completely honest I didn't even look into it for quite some time as the method we were using worked beautifully for us and as they say- if it isn't broke, then why fix it?
Why have I changed my mind?
I want what is best for the children and what will give them the best chance of success when they leave for school. If they are going to be taught with this method in their Reception year and I can make use of it now then, in the long run they will be more successful. Thankfully it will not mean a great deal of change to how we do things at present, especially as being phonic based it works along the same principles as the Montessori Method.
What do I need to do?
There are a few things that I will need to do and some things that I would like to do.
1) The groups of letters will need to be rearranged into smaller groups.
2) There will need to be more more games both pre-language and phonic based.
3) I would like to find more objects to be used with games such as I spy and with the Large Moveable Alphabet.
4) To purchase a reading scheme that has the appropriate level of progression for the children. The ones we have at present are old, incomplete sets and don't really match with what the children are being taught.
There are probably more things that I would like to do as I start making changes but I think this is enough to get me started at the moment, especially as it all has to be done in my own time.
The art area is always a thorn in my side- I change it and then decide that I want it even better BUT what I want to change is out of my control so, I guess I should accept that and stop wishing for what can't be (for the time being anyway).
Now for the Language shelves. About a year ago I changed the way in which the language materials, in particular the Sand Paper Letters were presented to the children. When I took over the running of my classroom all of the letters were taught one after the other without any specific order. I don't know about the children but I found this exceptionally tedious and never felt like the children were getting anywhere. Then due to my training I was taught how to group the sounds for maximum learning and progression.
In 2007 the DFES introduced Letters and Sounds, which is resource used by Primary Schools to teach and develop children's speaking, listening and reading skills using phonics. Now, I know what you are thinking- if it was introduced in 2007, how come I am only changing things now? Well, I only heard about this resource from another teacher visiting my setting last year and she recommended having a look to see if there were any games that I could make use of. To be completely honest I didn't even look into it for quite some time as the method we were using worked beautifully for us and as they say- if it isn't broke, then why fix it?
Why have I changed my mind?
I want what is best for the children and what will give them the best chance of success when they leave for school. If they are going to be taught with this method in their Reception year and I can make use of it now then, in the long run they will be more successful. Thankfully it will not mean a great deal of change to how we do things at present, especially as being phonic based it works along the same principles as the Montessori Method.
What do I need to do?
There are a few things that I will need to do and some things that I would like to do.
1) The groups of letters will need to be rearranged into smaller groups.
2) There will need to be more more games both pre-language and phonic based.
3) I would like to find more objects to be used with games such as I spy and with the Large Moveable Alphabet.
4) To purchase a reading scheme that has the appropriate level of progression for the children. The ones we have at present are old, incomplete sets and don't really match with what the children are being taught.
There are probably more things that I would like to do as I start making changes but I think this is enough to get me started at the moment, especially as it all has to be done in my own time.
Success
SO far the new PL activities have been a great success- wooooo hoooooooo! Usually when I put out new activities the children are naturally curious and investigate what has been put onto the shelves, however probably 50-75% of them are accessed. NOT THIS TIME- all of the activities are being chosen and worked with (even a week later). As you can imagine I am very happy with this outcome.
There were also a few moments of complete silence in the room as everyone was working and completely focused upon their tasks- OK, so these moments only lasted a minute or so but during that time I was in heaven.
There were also a few moments of complete silence in the room as everyone was working and completely focused upon their tasks- OK, so these moments only lasted a minute or so but during that time I was in heaven.
Monday, 31 May 2010
New Practical Life Activities.
On Friday afternoon, while the children were outside enjoying the sunshine I decided that I would completly change the PL activites. Well 5 hours later and here are the results:
A view of the PL shelves
Water transferring using a sponge
Pouring water from one jug to the other (sponge to be added)
Spooning tiny fishes
Pouring coloured rice and spooning back
Sieving salt and chickpeas
Sorting objects (by colour or shape)
Sorting money
Sorting objects
Transferring using tongs
Transferring and sorting pompoms using tweezers
Medium threading
Opening and closing
Nuts and bolts
Transferring and counting skills
I am hoping that the children will come in from the long weekend and be keen to explore the new activities.
Arrgggghhhhh Practical Life!
As you can probably guess by the title, I am not a great lover of Practical Life. Don't get me wrong I understand the importance of this area and the skills it promotes within the classroom and for life. I also understand and appreciate the need for all children within the setting to be able to access materials that are age and developmentally appropriate- THAT'S MY PROBLEM!
Within my setting, as previously mentioned I have children from 2.5 to 5 yrs- nothing unusual about that I know, however we can have new intake every single month! This means that for every month we have new starters comes the introduction to the Montessori environment and the introduction to the early PL skills. SO, here comes the main issue that while having to provide early PL activities I feel that my older students are not always being challenged.
Another difficulty I have is finding new and exciting ideas to put onto the shelves that will engage the children and also myself and other staff. That was where you all came in! Over the past 8-10 months I have been reading many of the Montessori blogs out there and have been truly inspired and have been able to implement some of your ideas, which has been fantastic. I must just mention here that my first delve into this world of blogs and inspiration was Laura at http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/ so if you haven't visited this site then I would highly recommend it. This explosion of interest in PL even caused me and my colleague to declare that I was having a MF (Montessori Freak) moment whenever I would ramble on about the new activities I wanted to put out, which would happen quite a lot!!!!!
I can now honestly say that I am getting better at devising and putting together new PL activities but I do know that I still have a long way to go.
Within my setting, as previously mentioned I have children from 2.5 to 5 yrs- nothing unusual about that I know, however we can have new intake every single month! This means that for every month we have new starters comes the introduction to the Montessori environment and the introduction to the early PL skills. SO, here comes the main issue that while having to provide early PL activities I feel that my older students are not always being challenged.
Another difficulty I have is finding new and exciting ideas to put onto the shelves that will engage the children and also myself and other staff. That was where you all came in! Over the past 8-10 months I have been reading many of the Montessori blogs out there and have been truly inspired and have been able to implement some of your ideas, which has been fantastic. I must just mention here that my first delve into this world of blogs and inspiration was Laura at http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/ so if you haven't visited this site then I would highly recommend it. This explosion of interest in PL even caused me and my colleague to declare that I was having a MF (Montessori Freak) moment whenever I would ramble on about the new activities I wanted to put out, which would happen quite a lot!!!!!
I can now honestly say that I am getting better at devising and putting together new PL activities but I do know that I still have a long way to go.
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