Beginnings
– How I view my practice at the start of my current training –
This practitioner has not chosen to share this information at this time.
I am passionate about child’s development and I enjoy contributing to it. I enjoy watching children explore, grow and progress, gaining life skills and discovering new things around them every day.
Seeing children enjoying their experiences makes me smile and motivates me to become more tuned into their needs. I enjoy building relationships with children as I feel joy and gratitude seeing their growing trust and a bond with an adult.
I am a key worker to several children, working hands on in the playroom. I am involved in all daily routines to promote children’s development and to meet their various needs through meaningful relationships and child centred approach. I facilitate play opportunities, deliver activities based upon children’s interests. I monitor, record and report children’s learning through writing observations and reports. I take part in professional meetings regarding children under my care and regularly contribute to planning and evaluating my practice.
My practice is most child centred when I tune into their needs through one to one interactions. I recognise the importance of building a strong and positive rapport with a child to create trust and openness. I have noticed that giving children attention, sitting on their level and having a loving interaction,participating in their activities, promotes their learning and development. They come over to me eager to share their discoveries and feelings during play. They talk about it at home which promotes in parents a positive attitude towards the staff and the setting.
Child centred procedures: GIRFEC, Realising the Ambition, CfE, Birth to Three, ILP, Child’s Plan,
Child centred Environment: rooms set up to cater to children’s interests, responsive planning in place, constant provision of various resources, e.g. sensory, art, literacy, etc., free flow play
Resources are within the reach of children, accessible, age and stage appropriate
- observations and responsive planning: I promote children’s learning and play by extending their interests, e.g., trip to the train station as some children showed an ongoing interest in trains, providing resources that are of child’s interest
- gathering children’s voices and acting upon it, e.g., children choosing snack menu, shopping trips
-displaying children’s art work
- I interact, engage, play with and look after children making meaningful connections and strong bonds.
I’m trying to verify my own attitudes, e.g. encouraging independence in things I would be inclined to do for children in the past( putting jackets on),or resilience (I encourage children to get up by themselves if they have a minor fall). I certainly include lots of open ended resources which I provide as provocations- E.g., bringing pine cones, wild flowers and leaves which don’t grow in our gardens. I think more about interconnectedness of things and processes. I tend to use the proper names for blocks to promote new vocabulary amongst children. I’m striving to ignite a sense of responsibility in children- returning items when they finished playing with them. I engage in professional dialog with my colleagues about Froebel’s pedagogy.
In my role social justice is very important as I work with children from various backgrounds, often vulnerable ones. I have under my care children with different age, abilities on various developmental stages. As a key worker my role is promoting and protecting children’s rights and meeting their needs. I cooperate with outer agencies to support individuals, e.g., social work, educational psychologist, speech and language team, support for learning, health visitor.
At work I use my vigilant attitude, compassion and sensitivity to promote social justice and inclusion.
I am open to receive as I enter this course with curiosity so I don’t have specific expectations.
I certainly hope to deepen my knowledge and understanding of Froebel’s ideas and how to implement them better in my practice.
- cooperation from colleagues- willingness to help
- appreciation from my superiors and their support
-more likeminded people around, being on the same page
- time to prepare resources
- opportunities to take initiative and extend my skills
-access to resources