Daycare story: The egg experiment

Daycare report (27th April 2015):

With his increased confidence as a result of settling more into the Toddler Room, Lucas has recently expressed greater interest in participating in group experiences. He thoroughly enjoyed the egg experiment we recently conducted as a class exploring the role salt has on an object and its density in water. When I (Anna) invited the children to come join me at the round table to begin the experiment, Lucas was one of the first to express interest. He curiously came over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Oh?” he said with surprise upon seeing the different objects on the table. There was a transparent measuring cup, a bag of salt, an egg, and a spoon.
“Egg!” he said with excitement.
“Yes, that’s right Lucas. It is an egg”. I said, smiling.

I explained to Lucas and the rest of the children what each object was and its purpose in the experiment. The children were encouraged to feel each object and communicate any interesting points about it.

“Ooh funny. Like sand” one toddler commented upon dipping his finger in the bag of salt.
 
Like the other children, Lucas was encouraged to hold the egg in a cupped hand. With the emphasis on ‘gentle hands’, Lucas tried his best not to apply too much pressure around the delicate object. The concentration was visible on his face as he took on the job with a sense of responsibility. I decided to go one step further and designated Lucas with the role of holding the egg while I filled the measuring cup with plain water.

The children were quiet as they watched the measuring cup get filled until it reached the three-quarter level. I asked Lucas to gently drop the egg into the water. He looked at me as I said this, glanced at the egg, and then returned to look at me. With his left hand gripped around the handle of the measuring cup, he slowly released the egg into the water with his right.

“Oh?” Lucas said, pointing to the bottom of the measuring where the egg was now sitting.
“Where’s the egg? It’s at the bottom of the cup, isn’t it?” I asked the children.
“Yeahh..” some of the Toddlers answered.
Lucas hunched his shoulders as he tried to get a closer look at the cup.
“This is our control in the experiment” I explained to the children. “Next, we’re going to add the salt.”

I dipped my hand into the measuring cup, scooped it out, and passed the egg back to Lucas.

Not a sound could be heard as the children watched me intently as I poured approximately half a cup of salt pour into the water. Using a spoon, I stirred the salt until it completely mixed through.
“Lucas, can you please drop the egg into the cup again” I requested.

With the same degree of care as before, Lucas slowly released the egg into the water. This time, the egg behaved differently. I decided to stay quiet until the children noticed for themselves the effect added salt had on the egg in the water.
“Ohhh! Look!” one of the Toddlers said in shock.
“Annnna, egg!” Lucas said, surprised.

The egg that had previously drifted to the bottom of the egg in the plain water was bobbing up and down now in the salt water. It then floated to the surface where half of it was submerged, and the other half was exposed.

Lucas was clearly fascinated by the egg’s behaviour, and he attempted to push it back down by using his index finger.
“Up! Up!” Lucas commented.
As educators we always encourage children in their development of dispositions for learning such as curiosity, persistence, and confidence. It was wonderful to see Lucas confidently following through with his educator’s instructions. Lucas increasingly appears to enjoy being assigned a task and the sense of responsibility that comes with it. When Lucas demonstrated that he understood the importance in being gentle when handling the egg, I chose to give extend his role in the experiment. 

Daycare story: Sharing

Report from daycare (26th May 2015) - Sharing
 
On Thursday, one of our newer classmates spent her second day in the Toddler Room. She was somewhat anxious, and would often follow me (Anna) around as I moved. I encouraged her to explore the many resources in the room, as there were many fun things she could be engaged in. It was not until she observed Lucas playing by the construction mat, that she really expressed interest. Curiously she came over to where Lucas was, and watched in amusement as Lucas wheeled the wooden car up and down a ramp.

"Round and round, round and round" Lucas sang.

"What you saying?" the new Toddler asked, smiling.

Lucas looked at her and then continued riding his car around the hill and through the tunnel. The new Toddler picked up a wooden car similar to the one in Lucas's hand and she too began driving it around the top shelf of the construction unit. Lucas did not seem to mind that she too was using the play space, and at one point even offered her some other vehicles such as green cars, and towing trucks to try driving. What great sharing, Lucas!

Daycare story: People watching

Report from daycare (19th May 2015)

On Friday, Lucas was observed standing by the window in awe of something he could see outside. "Look, Anna!" he said, pointing to a group of people down below in the café. "Ahh, I see the people, Lucas. What are they doing?" I asked him. Lucas thought about my question for a moment, turning to look at me. "Mmmm?" he murmed.

"Are they sitting down or standing up?" I quizzed. Lucas immediately answered "Sit down!" with enthusiasm. The conversation between Lucas and I attracted the attention of some of the other Toddlers, who gathered around to join in. Ivy, one of our newest Toddler classmates came by to join Lucas in our people-spotting game. "They're eating lunch!" Ivy said, much to the delight of Lucas.

Daycare story: Pack away

Report from daycare (7th May 2015):

It has been several weeks since Lucas joined us in the toddler room fulltime. Although Lucas is sometimes upset during the morning drop-off, he is taking progressively less time to settle into his new environment. During the month of February, we have observed Lucas making great effort to verbally communicate with his educators and peers. When asked where his mother has gone to whilst Lucas is at day care, Lucas has confidently stated “Mummy….work!”

At this point in time, we are placing emphasis on helping Lucas build secure attachments with his educators and peers so he feels safe, secure, and supported in his new room. Consistently throughout the day we gently inform Lucas of the next stage in the toddler routine we are about to enter. For example, just prior to morning tea, we will tell Lucas “We will wash our hands now for some morning tea”. In the afternoon, we will encourage Lucas to source his hat from his bag and locate his shoes for a play out on the outdoor deck area. “Let’s put our hats and shoes on!” we educators will say with enthusiasm. By doing so, we give Lucas the opportunity to sense and response to a feeling of belong, thereby helping to create a smoother transition.

Lucas enjoys engaging in play experiences and will readily seek resources independently. Recently we have observed Lucas, most likely out of excitement, tipping the entire contents of a basket holding Lego, building blocks, or connector toy pieces onto the table or floor. When something else has captured his interest, Lucas will walk away to engage in that activity. As educators, we always encourage children to pack their toys away once they have finished playing with them. This assists in the development of children’s sense of belonging to groups and communities. As we guide and assist Lucas to pack away his toys, we help him to develop an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. That is, we pack away because we respect our play environments, and because we want to return it in its original state for the next user. Lucas is gaining a better understanding of the need to pack away, and this was demonstrated during one Thursday afternoon in the toddler room.

“Lucas, let’s pack away!” the educator said with enthusiasm.

Some of the children began singing the ‘pack-away song’, a tune often sung in the nursery rooms to encourage children to return their toys to their right locations.

2 years + 3 months: an update

Your vocabulary has improved so much these past couple months! You're at such a cute age right now. Here is an update of your likes, dislikes and funny stories:


Favourite toys:
- You've expanded your interests beyond Thomas and are now crazy about all things from the Disney Pixar Cars movie. You especially love the purple car, Holley Shiftwell.

Actually, you love anything purple!

Of course, you also like the main characters Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Gordon is still a favourite and because Gordon has the number 4 on his train, you also point out number 4 whenever you see it, especially when you see a car license plate with the number 4 on it!

Favourite activities:
You love to play with cars and trains. You love going to the park. Here's a video I took on Mother's Day this year.

Funny sayings:
- You have the cutest way of introducing yourself to people.
Lucas: "Hello friend! My is Lucas". Check out the video below when I caught this exchange!

- You also like to say bye to everything! Bye house! Bye car! Bye shopping centre! Bye bus!
- When you say "See you tomorrow" you also like to shake the other person's hand.  Such a polite boy!
- You have an incredible sense of direction. You recognise the way to the 2 shopping malls and also the 2 routes back home. You're always directing us: "Shopping centre this way!"

Favourite foods:
- Tempura
- Teriyaki
- Miso soup
- Anything Japanese!
- Yakult
- Yoghurt, as long as it has Lightning McQueen on it. You call it "car yoghurt".
- Milk
- Ice cream! You're always opening the fridge and asking us to get you ice cream, even for breakfast!

Your dislikes:
- Bath time. As soon as you hear the water running, you run to close the living room door.
- Childcare - you're still crying in the mornings when we drop you off. Though we're told you stop after a couple of minutes and you have fun the rest of the day.

Favourite songs:
- Wheels on the bus
- Ten in the bed
- Baa baa black sheep

Here's a video I took of you on the baby monitor. You woke up from a nap and was amusing yourself by pulling all the books from the bookshelf and reading/singing for ages.

You can now count to 20. You know so many colours, you can even distinguish between the colour brown and tan!

You're such a cheeky monkey and so much fun to be around!