Daycare story: Helping (2yo)

I love this story from daycare about you offering to help your teachers! Makes me so proud to see you demonstrate the values of sharing and helpfulness. When I see you with other children, I always notice how quickly you offer your toys to them, without me even asking you. You're so mature for your age.

Daycare story in May 2015

One Friday morning when I, Anna, noticed that there were no tissues left in the tissue box outside, Laleeta (the Preschool educator) volunteered to retrieve some from the storage cupboard located in the Laundry Room.

“Thank you, Laleeta!” I called out after her.
“No problem.” Laleeta replied, who began to make her way over.
Lucas, who was standing next to me, began to follow after Laleeta.
“Laleeta, I think Lucas wants to ask you something.” I said, just loud enough so Laleeta could hear me.
“Oh, yeah?” Laleeta said, turning around. She knelt down to where Lucas was standing to meet his eye level.
“What’s up, Lucas? Would you like to help me?” Laleeta asked.
“Yeah?” Lucas said, nodding his head.
“C’mon, let’s go!” Laleeta said, gesturing for Lucas to follow her towards the Laundry Room.
Laleeta propped the door to the Laundry Room open using a door stopper, and passed some light-weight objects over to Lucas.
Several minutes later, Laleeta and Lucas emerged, both carrying a handful of items.
“Wow, what a great helper!” I exclaimed.
Lucas proceeded to walk over to where I was and handed to me, one by one, the objects in his hands.
“Here…here.” Lucas said, as he handed each item to me.
“Thank you so much, Lucas.” I said with appreciation.

Another Toddler who happened to witness this verbal exchange, came over to get a better look.
“Me too!” the girl said.
"Meee tooo, I want to help!" another Toddler said excitedly.

It seemed Lucas’s helpful act had inspired other Toddlers to join in and offer assistance. What followed was a trip to the Laundry Room as a small group so more necessary items could be retrieved.

As educators, we regularly scaffold experiences for children to co-operate and work collaboratively with others. It was therefore wonderful to witness how Lucas’s act of kindness, of his own accord, ignited a spark and encouraged other children to join in. In other words, Lucas’s offering of help evolved into a collaborative offering of help. Such group experiences are wonderful because they help children in their development of a positive sense of identity and strengthens their interests and skills in being and becoming active contributors to their world. We are very proud of the helpful young man Lucas is becoming.

Daycare story: Shapes

Daycare report - 17th June 2015

Lucas had a great time playing the hide and seek game that extend on our circle shape learning experience. “One, two, three, four, five.” He covered his eyes while he started to count. “Can you find circle shape?” the Toddler educator asked him. Lucas immediately started to look for the circle shape in the yard. “Here, red circle.,” he said as he waved the big circle that he had found under the beam. “Well done Lucas!” said his educator and his friends, giving him big clap and cheer. “Again, again,” Lucas asked his educator. We continued playing this game until lunchtime. Through this experience Lucas developed his learning, social skills and interaction skills with his peers.

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.

July report - music time

I love reading your monthly report from school, we find out so many fascinating things about you! It makes sense now why we have noticed you dancing around at home and doing some actions to nursery rhymes because you've been picking these skills up at daycare. It also explains why you love cars, trucks and anything that has a siren because you've been learning about them at school. I found the story about you pretending to be a fireman putting out fires so cute and funny!

July report - Music time

This month Lucas has shown an increase in his independence, particularly as he has begun to walk independently. Lucas’ new-found sense of independence has contributed greatly to his confidence in small group experiences and over the month he has engaged in a variety of experiences with his peers.

In recent weeks Lucas has become really interested in musical play and as such we have been implementing many music and movement experiences for Lucas to enjoy. We have sung many of Nursery 1’s favourite songs such as Wheels on the Bus, Incy Wincy Spider and Rock-A-Bye Your Bear. Lucas has really enjoyed the actions aspect of these songs, loving to get his body wriggling and hands clapping along with the music. He frequently requests an encore by clapping excitedly when the song is over and has begun to recognise specific words and phrases from songs, hearing them and then immediately becoming excited, anticipating the rest of the song to follow. Extending upon this interest, we incorporated shakers and drums into our singing sessions and discovered that Lucas has a very curious disposition towards musical instruments and has been very eager to engage with them, picking them up experimentally before giving it a very enthusiastic go.

Although Lucas has really enjoyed engaging in music play with his class, we have noticed that he is a little reluctant to participate in the class’s weekly music lesson. This is perfectly understandable as it can be quite an overwhelming experience with all of his exuberant peers and sounds. However as a result of this we have been making a sustained effort to assist Lucas in feeling both secure and confident during these classes, seating Lucas on an educator’s lap to offer comfort and support. Once seated in an educator’s lap, Lucas is more than happy to participate from afar, clapping along to the music and playing the instruments on offer. He particularly enjoys shaking the eggs to the music and swaying scarves, responding positively to his music teacher’s attempts to engage with him and smiling across the room. The music class has been a great opportunity for Lucas to become familiar with different musical instruments and has served as a fantastic introduction to the concepts of beat, tempo, volume and direction. As he continues to participate in music class he is becoming more and more confident, gradually displaying signs of feeling secure within that space – once he gets started he doesn’t want to stop!

Continuing with Lucas’s interests in sound, Dee engaged him in a sensory experience in which they used information technology to listen to the sound of emergency vehicles. Lucas really enjoyed this
experience, responding to the different vehicles with wonder and a little caution as he seemed unsure about their piercing wails. Dee explained the meaning behind each sound, naming the vehicle it belonged to and finding its image within a book. Lucas spent quite a bit of time tracing the pictures of the vehicles with his fingers, seeming fascinated by the pictures. He revisited this book throughout the next few days, indicating a growing interest in the cars found within the pages.

Further extending upon this interest, one morning educator Jenna engaged Lucas and a small group of his peers in an imaginative experience after reading the book Pepper Pig and the Fire Engine. The purpose of this experience was to help Lucas become more familiar with the traffic sounds that he had heard and to further expand upon his emerging interest in vehicles. They used some recycled material to make fire hoses as per the campus’ sustainability philosophy, utilising red and blue cellophane for the fire and water. Lucas and his peers put on their hard hats and we sounded the siren. At first Lucas seemed a little daunted, unsure about the fire hat and the purpose of the experience – however once his friends began running about laughing delightedly, Lucas quickly chimed in, aiming his ‘hose’ at the fire in order to put it out. This went on for some time, with Lucas and his peers returning to put out more fires, grinning at each other as they pretended to sound the siren, mimicking its distinctive nee-nar noise as they moved about the room. Lucas had an absolute blast with this experience, especially enjoying recreating the siren with his peers.
Recognising that both music and vehicles remain an interest for Lucas, we have been implementing a range of learning experiences to support Lucas’ understanding of both concepts, intertwined whenever possible.

Analysis of Learning / Where to Next: Lucas has been displaying a growing interest in social play, participating in both planned and spontaneous shared play experiences and as such as is beginning to form relationships with some of his peers. He is noticeably more involved in music class, becoming more and more outspoken and keen with each passing week. As educators, we encourage children to participate in experiences knowing their interests however acknowledge that sometimes they need a little comfort when engaged in experiences with unfamiliar educators. This has been relevant in relation to music classes as Lucas has required comfort and encouragement, but with this support has made strides. Lucas continues to demonstrate a strong interest in music, pulling out the instruments whenever possible and educators will continue to support this by introducing Lucas to the many different kinds of musical instruments available, thus introducing him to unique sounds as well as continuing to engage Lucas in nursery rhymes and action songs. They will also continue to scaffold Lucas’ understanding of emergency vehicles, linking to his emerging interest in this topic.

June daycare photos

Here are some photos from your month at daycare. I didn't see a June report from daycare unfortunately.

School report: May 2014 - An abundance of curiosity

This school report really made me and your Dad laugh when your carer described how you don't like to get your hands dirty and how you cried out for more during storytime and stayed on while all the other kids came and went. You sound very mature being able to sit and concentrate for 20 minutes at the sandpit and 30 minutes during storytime. I'm so proud of you. Funnily enough, we didn't even know you could say 'book'! So 'more' and 'book' are your first words (not mummy or daddy...!)

School report: May 2014 - An abundance of curiosity

We are continuing to see Lucas begin to feel more at ease in the Nursery, and as a result we have seen his curious side emerge. Lucas now explores all aspects of the program, and is beginning to learn the routines, being able to predict when exciting events are about to occur. With his interest in these experiences increasing, educators have been planning for him to participate in a wide range of literacy, music and investigative experiences he hasn’t previously shown an interest in, exposing him to a range of new ideas and concepts.

One of these experiences is ‘What’s In The Box?’ Educators bring out a white box, and it is a game of surprise and intrigue as the children wait in anticipation to see what is in the box. Sometimes its books, sometimes resources, sometimes felt pieces; the list is endless. Lucas has grown to love this experience. When he sees the box, his eyes light up and he quickly follows whoever is holding the box, eager to join in. Books are a favourite for Lucas and on one occasion when we finished reading the stories that were in the box, he repeatedly cried out more. We kept replenishing the books in the box, and Lucas enjoyed a half hour story reading session. Children came and went during this time, however Lucas stayed, eager to hear every story, and study every picture in the book.

As we have engaged Lucas in a broader range of experiences, we have noticed he has an interest in sensory experiences, and have thus been sure to include him each time. Lucas loves the sandpit, and sits for up to twenty minutes, filling containers with sand, tipping it out, back and forwards, feeling the sensation of the sand trickle through his fingers. He is a little more hesitant about messy experiences such as painting, goop and dough. He does show interest, however sometimes may only use one or two fingers to explore, other times just preferring to watch. As the month has gone on, we have noticed that the wet messy play isn’t as favourable to him as the dry sensory experiences. When the children were helping to prepare the goop, Lucas was eager to place his hands in the dry cornflour, but once the water was added there was some hesitation. He did place his hands in, and move them through the gooey substance; however it took a few minutes of watching the other children enjoying the experience and encouragement from his educators before he did so. Interestingly, he is now able to tell the difference between the dry and wet substances purely from observation, not needing to feel it first.

Through all these experiences we have continued to model language for Lucas, in an attempt to further develop his vocabulary. This is still a work in progress, with ‘book’ and ‘more’ being his favourite words thus far.

Analysis of Learning: Lucas is beginning to demonstrate curiosity in his surroundings and is enjoying exploring a greater range of experiences and resources. He demonstrates a keen interest in books and stories, and can concentrate on these for extended periods of time. Lucas is also showing enjoyment of sensory tactile experiences, and as he participates he is beginning to learn more about his world, for example now being able to distinguish between wet and dry substances without needing to touch them. We are continuing to work on language development with him, and encouraging him to learn new vocabulary.

Where to Next: We will continue to work with Lucas on further developing his vocabulary, using books to discuss pictures and identify familiar objects. We will also continue to engage Lucas in sensory experiences, and use these as a way to further develop his understanding of concepts such as mass, and volume, by providing a range of containers and scoops of various sizes that allow for open ended explorations.

School report: April 2013 Engaging in small experiences

Your report for April. I am not surprised at how much you enjoy storytime. I didn't know you could say, "more, more"!

School report: April 2013 - Engaging in small experiences

Lucas has begun to settle in really well over the last few weeks. There are still some tears in the morning after he is dropped off however he is able to settle himself quite quickly as he begins crawling around the room exploring what is on offer for the day.

As a result, Lucas has begun to show a greater interest in participating in planned experiences alongside the other children. Previously he preferred not to join in these experiences, however now he shows interest in what is happening around the room, as soon as he sees an Educator sitting down with books or other resources, he makes a beeline straight to them to see what is happening.

As a result Lucas has been participating in a large range of experiences over the last few weeks. He has enjoyed engaging in music time, where he waits his turn for an instrument and then enthusiastically joins his peers, shaking the maracas wildly with a big smile on his face. Lucas has also enjoyed story time, participating in a range of interactive stories including lift-the-flap books, touch-and-feel books, books with buttons that need pressing.

Since Lucas is showing such interest in joining in these experiences, we have been encouraging him to participate more, inviting him over by name, and closely observing what experiences he particularly shows interest in, thus giving us more information we can use in planning meaningful experiences for him. A definite favourite of Lucas’ is giving us more information we can use in planning meaningful experiences for him. A definite favourite of Lucas’ is the interactive stories, and we have organised a story time each morning not long after he arrives, to help ease any separation anxiety he may be feeling. This often helps Lucas to settle and he often bounces up and down in excitement as we begin to read. He takes delight in watching his peers engage with the stories as well as having a turn himself, and upon finishing a story he points to where books are stored and babbles “more, more”.

Analysis of Learning/Where to Next: Lucas is continuing to develop skills in self regulating his emotions, and this is further supported by the curiosity he has developed about his learning environment. Lucas quite enjoys music experiences, but shows more of an interest in story time. As he participates in these experiences, Lucas is enjoying the company of his peers and beginning to appreciate the benefits of shared learning experiences. Over the coming weeks we will be continuing to plan regular story reading experiences, inviting Lucas to join in. Props such as felt pieces, puppets and resources relating to the story will be added, and we will be encouraging Lucas to further develop his vocabulary, modelling key words for him to say as we read the stories and talk about the pictures.

School report: March 2014 - Gross motor development

This was your school report from daycare a few months ago in March 2014. It's fascinating reading about your interests and likes and how you interact with your carers.

March 2014: Gross motor development
Throughout March we have noticed that Lucas is developing more confidence in moving through his environment and has begun experimenting with standing alongside furniture. Lucas usually starts the day feeling upset, however once he has had an opportunity to crawl around the room on his own, and visit all the familiar areas, he settles and chooses an area to play.

Lately his favourite thing to do is to try and pull himself up into a standing position alongside the bridge. The day we first noticed this he had been crawling around the room after having cuddles, and had only stopped calling out to us in a tone that let us know he was sad. We suddenly heard this excited “oooh ooh!” and looked around, wondering who it was. There was Lucas, in a half standing position alongside the bridge, his eyes open wide in surprise and a smile beginning to form on his face. “Yay Lucas!” Everyone made a big deal of this, and the smile on his face broadened. He sat down tentatively and then stood up again, repeating “ooh ooh!” in excitement. Once again we all clapped and cheered him on. Lucas obviously enjoyed the attention he was getting from this as he continued on for another 5 minutes, calling out to get our attention to see him standing by the bridge, and smiling in response to our cheers.

We have been working hard with Lucas to help him settle easier in the mornings, trying a range of experiences that would help to distract him and calm him. At this stage we hadn’t found one that worked regularly, and were still trying a range of options. Recognising this was a game he was enjoying, we continued to use this as a means to settle him. Lucas is still quite upset in the mornings, but once we encourage him to engage in a game of Peek- A-Boo, using the bridge to support him standing up and sitting down to hide from us, he has begun to show signs of settling quicker. He has also enjoyed this throughout the day. Extending on this we have engaged Lucas in small group games of Peek-A-Boo, using the colourful scarves to hide behind. Again, this has been successful sometimes, but other times not so, but knowing Lucas enjoys the game we are continuing to play this with him.

As the month has gone on, Lucas has become more and more confident standing beside the bridge, and has also begun to experiment with pulling himself up alongside other pieces of furniture. There have been times we have even noticed him experimenting with letting go, and holding on with one hand. He does this very precariously, slowly lifting one hand and holding it out beside him before quickly returning it.

Analysis of Learning: Lucas is still developing a sense of security within the Nursery environment, however is now finding ways in which to distract himself, demonstrating that he is beginning to learn to regulate his own emotions. Lucas shows enthusiasm for participating in physical play; this is a recent development for Lucas and it was great to see him enjoying a game out of his attempts to stand alongside furniture. As Lucas experiments with his ability to stand he demonstrates a sense of achievement, calling out to educators to let them know as well.

14 & 15 months: daycare photos

Here are some snapshots taken at daycare in the last month.