August 20, 2025
M was ready to investigate the sensory bin before we even added the shredded paper. The educator then dumped shredded paper into the bin. M bent right down, grabbed a handful and brought it right to his mouth. I said, “Oh M, it's not really for eating buddy”. He just stared at me, then tried to get the paper out of his mouth. Then he stood up and started to pull pieces of the paper apart between his fingers.
It did not take long before most of the paper was all over the place. M then sat right down in front of the bin and tried pulling it away. A peer then also pulled on the bin and ended up dumping the rest right out onto the floor. Some of it stayed behind, but most was on the floor. While his peer took care of the rest, M played with the pieces around him. Then he crawled through some of the paper and looked up to see a peer dropping paper onto another peer's head. He walked over to them and stood beside them watching what they were doing. As M moved around the room watching his peers and joining in, he had lots of smiles and made a lot of different vocal sounds. If he was not smiling, he was showing contentment on his face, focusing on what was happening as he manipulated the paper.
Belonging: M has shown a sense of belonging as he joins in his play along with his peers. He has shown more comfort and is easing better into transitions.
Engagement: M was able to observe his peers and show he is increasing focus. M is learning about cause and effect as he manipulates the paper, doing different things to the paper and watching what happens next.
Well-Being: We see M working on his fine and gross motor skills as he manipulates and tears the paper or when he moves around the room and bends down to pick up the pieces.
Expression: M shows expression as he smiles and makes different sounds as he plays with the paper pieces.
By Mandy Bertling Beres, RECE
July, 2025
This month we welcomed R along with two more infants to our classroom. Although R had a few tears at drop off, he seemed happy. He was calm most of the day, but would get upset when he heard one of the other new babies cry. He would still smile through his tears, as if to say he was trying to be happy, but the sound of the other crying made him sad.
R was able to explore the room on his own, getting right into play mode and exploring toys. He showed excitement when different activities were set up. He crawled his little body over to the table quite fast, pulling himself up to join in. He smiled and squealed and made all kinds of sounds when trying to help rescue the bugs that were taped to the table.
So far when we are outside he likes to spend most of his time in the sandbox exploring different materials. He uses his hands to scoop and pour sand, watching closely what happens when he tries different objects. The infants have shown us they are happy to have new friends join in by gathering around when someone new comes into the room. They are very inviting and show excitement, and even try to share toys by passing them to our new infants. One of the infants can even point to R's picture and say his name. We are excited to have R in our room and we look forward to watching him learn and grow and build relationships.
Belonging: R shows he is comfortable and able to explore and transition without any hesitation. He smiles at his teachers and peers, and moves around the room initiating his own play.
Engagement: R is able to join in play and activities on his own. He will keep focus and show determination when rescuing the bugs from tape. He stays engaged in his play when outside in the sandbox and is able to interact with and play beside his peers.
Well-Being: We see R working on many skills as he crawls to the table and pulls himself up to join the activities. He is working on his gross motor skills to get to the table. We see him grasp the whole insect with his hand and try to free it, then he switches to fine motor movements to free it even more.
Expression: Smiles, squeals and different sounds show us R is able to express how he is feeling. He shows sympathy and the beginnings of empathy when he cries hearing another infant crying. Smiling at his educators even though he is crying from the sound of a peer’s cries show us that R is learning about his own emotions.
By Mandy Bertling Beres, RECE
June 2025
This month we have enjoyed watching M play and learn. She has shown engagement with both her educators and peers. She showed us her most proud moment when she took her first steps at the centre. We cheered her on and clapped and she smiled with us and clapped her hands as well. We gave her lots of encouragement, and brought in the walker for her to walk with her peers down the hall and out to the playground. Mom and dad were both telling us for a couple of weeks that she had done some steps at home, but we had yet to see her take them here. We kept encouraging her every chance we got, then one day out of nowhere she stood up in our classroom and took a few steps. By the end of the week she was taking more and more. Then the last week of June she was walking everywhere more than she was crawling.
In M's first couple of weeks here she would mostly observe the children participating in activities or go and do her own thing with other toys in the room. Now M shows that she knows she is part of this classroom and feels a sense of belonging. She is eager to participate in activities we set up to do. She loves to be in the sandbox and to engage with her peers both on the playground and in the sanctuary to dance.
Belonging: M shows a sense of belonging, as she participates and engages with her peers and her educators. She shows she is comfortable and feels safe as she participates in ways that are comfortable for her. Offering M a walker allowed her to keep up with her peers as they walked from one area to another to play
Engagement: We see M participating and engaging with peers not only in her classroom, but in other areas of the daycare. She stays focused and is able to observe peers.
Well-Being: M shows she is physically active as she goes from crawling and cruising, to climbing, standing and now walking. She shows a sense of pride by clapping and smiling when she accomplishes the task of taking steps.
Expression: M is able to tell us how she feels. She lets us know she is proud when she smiles and claps after learning to take steps. She is able to let us know when she is tired, hungry or thirsty by her actions and the sounds of her cry. We also know when she is tired when she will rub at her ear and her eye.
.
Written by Mandy Bertling Beres, RECE
