FIRE FIRE!

The story begins with E,T and B wanting to dress up as fireman. This prompted us to bring out our fireman’s, prop box along with our cardboard box fire engines that the children had helped make in an earlier fireman interest of play. Bits of old hose and bottle tops were used to constuct the fire engines. B was very creative and showed a disposition of resourcefulness when putting on her fire-engine while sitting on the bike. This prompted more interest from her play friends. So we followed up on their interest by painting a fire on the wall in the play ground and giving the children squirt bottles to put it out, the black writing at the top which did say fire station was soon turned into a mass of black smoke. Two of the children used the play phones to ring the fire department as they raced around on their bikes with their home made fire engines on top. This was a child initiated learning experience Helm and Katz (2001) state “Sometimes the topic emerges out of an event that provokes the children’s curiosity” (p.13) Smarti (1999) suggest that "Technology is also a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting the needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems or environments" (p.5).
We also put out a mixture of red, yellow and orange paint so the children could paint fiery pictures, which many of the children became evolved in. To extend on the children’s interest we will be incorporating a fire drill and will ask the children about what the fireman need to fight fires and talk about what we do when there is a fire, and then see where our conversations with the children leads. Helm and Katz (2001) suggest that “They build background knowledge, establish some basic vocabulary, and introduce some concepts of the topic. This provides a critical knowledge base for the very young investigator to draw on and is most important for the very young child” (p.20)
Te Whāriki learning outcome:
Children develop "knowledge about the role of the wider world of work, such as the hospital,the supermarket, or the fire service"(p.56).

The Technology In Nature Experience

B, S, H, B and P became quite excited when they came across a worm underneath one of the stepping stones in the garden area today. P suggested it was a mummy worm because it was quite big and we had noticed some baby worms. S suggested the worm had died because it wasn’t moving, but H said it was just sleeping. The finding of the worm sparked quite a conversation. Shonkoff & Phillips, (2000) suggested that “children need to connect new information to existing knowledge in order for it to have meaning and be stored for later retrieval” (p.41).
S wanted to hold the worm, he was very gentle. B said she would like to hold the worm as well, she was not sure about holding the worm but she gave it ago for a moment and then decided it really wasn’t for her, maybe she will try again next time. While we were examining the worms we took some photos with the camera and later down loaded them on to the lap top, B could see herself holding the worm. The children were also showing respect for living creatures and also respect for the technology equipment we used in the learning experience such as camera and laptop, as advocated by Te Whāriki learning outcome for children to develop: ”Respect and a developing sense of responsibility for the well-being of both the living and non-living environment” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.90).
We put the photos from the computer onto a memory stick. Later on in the day we went for a visit to the office to use the photo copier to print off the photos from the memory stick. This was a combination of learning experience about nature and technology combined. McHenry and Buerk, 2008 have suggested
“Learning through nature can provide children with hands on experiences, leading to greater understanding of our dependence on the earth’s physical environment. They will be able to carry these skills with them throughout their lifetime. Nature provides opportunities for children to grow in all areas of their development” (p.4). The child that assisted with the printing of the worm learning experience story showed that it was meaningful to her, wanting to save the story to show to her parents and did so with great enthusiasm when they arrived. Te Whāriki learning outcome: “The ability to represent their discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated with them” (Ministry of Education, 1996 p.88).
As the Technology and Young Children Interest forum Members conclude in their column in the young Children Journal (2008) suggest “Technological tools can support a learner-centred and play-orientated early childhood curriculum and promote relationship building among children, families and the wider community (p.50).

The Black Sand Encounter

We were lucky enough to be given some black sand, we poured the black sand into the lid of the water trough and added a variety of implements for the children to explore the sand, such as trucks, cars, rakes, spoons and Magnetic rods. Because the black sand is iron sand the children were fascinated how the sand clung to the rods and how it looked like a spiky hedgehog and how it dident drop off, even when you held it upside down. This reflects children gaining physical knowledge which is described by Gonzalez-Mena (2008) "Physical knowledge involves an understanding in concrete rather than abstract terms of how objects and materials behave in the physical world" (p.398).

B,P, W and T using the implements in their own individual way as they explore the sand.
The children also noticed the shadowing from their bodies as I showed them the shadow of my hand across the sand. as the sun shone behind us. S experimented with the magnetic rods using the sandpit sand and realised that this sand did not do the same thing as the black iron sand.
S, D, P, B, K, and J enjoy each other’s company making black sand pictures experimenting with the way they pour the sand onto their glued paper and realising the sand won’t stick without the glue. This is representative of a constructivist view of children’s learning that Gonzalez-Mena points out that with the help of adults children are able “to interact with the world the things and the people in it” As well as being “capable of attracting others to interact with them, they have the built in motivation to reach out and grasp, to poke and prod, to shake and bang, to pull things apart and discover how they work” (p.400).

This learning experience reflects divergent interests such as how some of the children would rather experiment with sand at the trough while others were more interested in the creative aspect or nature of meduim. Helm and Katz (2001), suggest that "Even though children may not contribute to the investigations , they are often interested in reports of the work others are doing and may learn much about the topic by observing"... (p.17).

Old Mac Donalds Farm visit

Old MacDonald’s Farm Came to Coastal Kids
A Reflection from a Social Science Perspective

The Visit from old MacDonald’s farm was not a planned visit by our room the “snapper room”, it was planned through the “sea horse room”, but we were lucky enough to be invited to include our children in the event. It could be said that it was a just by chance or spontaneous event. We had talked to the children about the upcoming event the day before it happened and sang old MacDonald’s farm song at mat-time. The day had arrived and we gathered the children around explaining what was going to happen and how we needed to walk sensibly out to the car park where old MacDonald’s mobile farm had parked the truck. The children were quite excited although I am sure they did not know quite what to expect. There were seventeen children in the group with four teachers, even this very small excursion out into the centre car park proved to be a slight challenge, as once out the gate the toddlers were keen to run in all directions, there was an urgent regrouping of the children. Once at the truck there was a ramp for people to climb aboard the truck, some of the children were as keen as mustered about it while others were quite apprehensive and needed a little bit of coxing about the whole idea. I was really pleased that I decided to stay for event as I was able to be fully informed about some of the childrens special interests in the visit and their interest in the animals Helm and Katz (2001) suggest having other adults on hand to help "carry additional cameras, camcorders, tape recorders to use for documenting the site visit experience" (p.35).

What really stood out for me was the reaction of some of the children, and the spontaneity of their individual reactions. One child that is usually very quiet and never shows much excitement about anything, totally uncharacteristically patted, feed and hugged the animals and shrieked with excitement, this was something I would have never anticipated. I have written some learning stories for some of the portfolios and parents have also been surprised by their children’s reactions. Although the toddlers were so excited, they displayed excellent social skills once inside the truck, considering it was in a fairly confined spaced.

There were two of the children from our group that were keen to ride on the little Shetland pony, one of course being the quiet and reserved child I have previously have spoke about who definitely came out of his shell in the presents of the farm animals. As Scholl, (2005), suggests “Nothing sparks children’s desire to learn more than investigating things that they already know and care about” (pg 1). I asked his mother whether he had been around farm animals before and she said no, they just had a little schnauzer dog at home, so I am presuming this child has a natural born disposition toward a love for animals. Mum replied to my comments by suggesting she hopes maybe then he will become a veterinarian, and I enthusiastically agreed. This reflective entry reflects how spontaneous and unplanned events can impact on children lives and children can be introduced to many different aspects to their life. It shows how children’s natural dispositions and interest can be realised and the opportunity for these interests to be built on can be recognised. Te Whāriki (1996) Exploration strand suggests that children develop “a relationship with the natural environment and knowledge of their own place in the environment” (p.90).

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog about people, places, things and events and the effects that these have on children. Hope you find my reflections interesting, please feel free to comment.