October 02, 2024
The boy noticed different colours of leaves and green tape on the floor. He turned and asked the educator, “Miss Youngmi, what is this?” The educator responded to him, “What do you think it is?” He replied, “I don’t know,” still staring at the floor. The educator showed him a broom and dustpan which is used in the classroom everyday, and he noticed it was the same shape as the dustpan on the floor. Then he focused back on the leaves around the floor, which made him excited and he asked the educator, “what are you doing?” The educator asked him back, “what do we do with a broom and a dustpan?” showing him a smaller sized broom. As soon as he saw the broom, he asked the educator, “Can I try?” He held the broom in both hands and started to sweep the floor.
Pushing the broom hard on the floor made the leaves scatter around the room. He would lift the broom up into the air and then try again to approach them using the broom at a different angle. Having the leaves scattered all around the classroom, the educator began to sweep the leaves into the outline of the dustpan. He looked at the green tape on the floor for a moment and changed his direction to sweep towards the dustpan.
Belonging: He noticed a change in the classroom and approached the educator to ask why there was green tape on the floor. He felt a sense of belonging when he communicated with the educator.
Engagement: The boy engaged in the activity by sweeping the leaves around the classroom. He grabbed the top of the broom and pushed the bottom of it to sweep up the leaves.
Expression: He used his verbal communication skills with his educator. He was able to ask what the objects on the ground were and let her know he wanted to try out the activity.
Well-Being: He tested out different theories on how he could sweep up the leaves. He took the time to solve different problems while using the broom. He was able to use gross motor skills as well as fine motor skills through the activity by moving around the classroom holding the broom to sweep.
Written by Youngmi Kang, RECE
September 3 2024
The boy came to the table as soon as he saw the educator preparing some play dough at the table. He said, “play dough!” and looked at the educator while pointing to the pile of playdough. The educator asked him, “do you want to play with the play dough?” He looked up at the educator and replied, “yes” while sitting down at the table. Once the educator placed the play dough on the plate with a fork, knife and spoon, he stared at the cutlery for a while. The educator asked him, “why don’t you cut the play dough in half and then you will have smaller pieces?” He responded, “Youngmi, help please.” He grabbed for the knife using his right hand and a fork in his left hand. Bringing it towards the play dough, he was able to cut the play dough in half with the educator’s help. He then shouted, “it’s yummy!” and pretended to eat a piece of it. After a while the boy then made a couple more attempts to cut the play dough into smaller pieces without the educator’s help.
Belonging : The boy felt a sense of belonging when he saw the educator preparing the activity and came to the table to engage. He interacted with the educator and felt comfortable to ask for help and eventually try on his own.
Engagement : He was engaged in using the utensils to cut the playdough first with the help from the educator then trying it out by himself. He used his imagination to pretend to eat the play dough, exclaiming that it was yummy.
Well-Being : He was able to use his fine motor skills to manipulate the knife when cutting the play dough into smaller pieces. The boy was also able to show off his prior knowledge of how to fold and poke the play dough and pretend it was food.
Expression : The boy interacted very well with the educator during the activity by showing his interest in the activity and asking for help.
By Youngmi Kang, RECE
August 2024
At the table, I placed syringes, silicone shapes and honey in dishes. The child sat down in the chair and leaned close to the bowl of honey. Taking in a big inhale, she smelled the contents. I said, “it’s honey. We are going to transfer the honey from here to the silicone trays.” Nodding her head as she made eye contact with me, she looked back down to the contents. Using her right hand, she picked up the syringe and took it over to the honey. Using her entire hand, she squeezed the syringe. Her eyes watched as the honey was slurped up. When her hand released the syringe, the honey slowly sank from the top of the syringe to the bottom. Looking at me, she said, “it’s not staying in. I need help.” Nodding my head, I checked to see why the syringe wasn’t working. Using my thumb and forefinger, I squeezed up the liquid. Slowly I held the syringe over the silicone and dripped the contents inside. The girl's eyes had widened and her mouth popped into the shape of an “o.” I said, “it seems to be working, you've got to hold the syringe tight and not release it until you are ready to spread the honey over the silicone.” Nodding her head, she took the syringe back. Following the directions of what I had said, she held tight to the syringe and slowly moved her hand to hover over the silicone. Relaxing her hand, her eyes followed the movements of the honey slowly dripping down into the silicone.
Belonging: By sitting down at the table and pulling out a chair, the child was able to show how comfortable she felt in the classroom.
Well-Being: She was able to gain confidence of using her fine motor skills by watching and following the instructions from the educator. She was able to use her language skills to communicate that she needed help from the educator.
Engagement: Throughout trial and error, the girl was able to practice how to use the syringe to soak up the honey. She was able to focus her attention on how the educator was able to drip honey onto the silicone trays.
Expression: Through her body language, the child had been able to make eye contact and nod her head in understanding to the educator. She was able to form a five to seven word sentence to ask for assistance from the educator.
Written By Jessica Martin, RECE
July 15, 2024
Sitting down at the table, the child looked into the three piece container holding various coloured transportation vehicles. She said, “I'm looking for a purple train.” Using her fingers, she brushed along the vehicles until she spotted the purple train. Using her thumb and forefinger, she pulled the purple train out. Her eyes looked over to the lines that had been placed along the table. Making eye contact with me, she said, “what do I do, Jessica?” I said, “you can choose a line and fill your cars up along the line.” Making eye contact with me, she said, “I want this one,” as she pointed to the zigzag line. Taking the purple train to the line, she turned the vehicle facing up the table. Going back to her pile of vehicles, she searched through the vehicles to find another purple vehicle. She lined this vehicle up with her purple train. The child continued to fill in the line until there was no space left. When the line was finished, she looked up to me and said, “I want to count the cars.” I said, “okay, do you need help?” She said, “no, I can do it.” Using her right index finger, she pointed to the start of the line before saying “one.” She would point and count out loud as she went. The girl had reached the number thirty when she reached the end of the line. She then said to me, “there were thirty cars. That's a lot.” Nodding my head, I said, “yes, you counted so well. I didn't know you could count up to thirty all by yourself. I'm proud of you.” Her lips tilted into a large smile as I lifted my right hand up to high five her for her accomplishment.
Belonging: Throughout this activity, the child had made eye contact, asked questions and shared her knowledge with the educator showing how comfortable and safe she had felt.
Well-Being: By telling the girl she could choose which line she wanted to place her vehicles onto, she was able to make the decisions of what line she would like to fill and what colours she wanted to start with. At the end of this activity, the girl had developed a sense of pride in herself when the educator complimented her abilities in counting up to thirty.
Expression: She had been able to communicate her thoughts through questioning and showing her understanding of early numeracy skills.
Engagement: By lining the cars up onto the line, the child had begun a new exploration of verbally counting to thirty. She had been able to communicate her thought process of wanting a purple train to start filling in her line.
Written By Jessica Martin, RECE
June 3, 2024
Sitting down at the table, the child looked into the bucket covered in black rice. He said, “What are we doing today, Jessica?” I held out a paint brush for him to grab, and he held the entire brush using his palmer grasp. Looking at the boy, I said, “underneath the black rice are letters hidden. You'll have to find the letter C for [his name].” Nodding his head, he took the bristle side of the paint brush into the rice. Going back and forth, he started to have the rice thrown up in the air and onto the table. Seeing the rice among the flat surface, he used his thumb and forefinger to pick up the material and drop it back into the bin. Trying again, the rice began to fly out of the clear container. Looking at me, he said, “Jessica, they keep coming out.” I said, “I think you are brushing too hard, I'll help you.” Going hand over hand, I showed him the slow movements of brushing the rice away. When he grew confident in his abilities, I let go for him to explore the rice on his own. Gently, he started to brush the rice away to uncover the letters hidden underneath, when he spotted his initial. Shouting and using his index finger to point at the letter, he said, “look, it’s my letter! It’s C.”
Belonging: By using hand over hand, the child and I were able to share the experience on how to brush the rice away gently. By verbally communicating with the educator, the boy had shown that he wanted to participate and engage in brushing away the rice.
Engagement: By realizing the rice kept falling out of the clear container, the boy had looked to the educator for guidance on how to keep the rice in the bin. He expressed his happiness on finding his initial by verbally shouting, “look, it's my letter! It's C.”
Expression: The child has started to visually recognize the letter that starts with his name, which will help him learn how to read. He was able to string three to five words together to form sentences to articulate his findings when he found his letter and when he needed help to keep the rice in the container.
Well-Being: The boy recognized that the rice kept falling along the top of the table. He continued to problem solve how to prevent this by making the decision to ask the educator for assistance. When he grew confident in his abilities on how to gently brush the rice away, he took full control of the object.
Written By Jessica Martin, RECE
May 6, 2024
At the table, I placed a paper towel onto the table in front of each child. Sitting down, I had a cutting board filled with different fruits such as mango, pear, orange and kiwi. Holding up a fruit, I asked, “does anyone know what kind of fruit this is?” The boy and his peers shouted, “it’s a kiwi!” Nodding my head, I said, “yes, it is a kiwi.” I then placed a kiwi in front of each child and said, “okay, taste the kiwi and let me know if it's sour or if it is sweet.” As his classmates nodded their heads, the boy used his right hand to pick up the kiwi. Holding the fruit up to his face, he licked the kiwi before saying, “this one is sour.” As we continued trying the various fruits, the boy looked at me and said, “Jessica?” I said, “yes, [child]?” He said, “do you like coffee, Jessica?” I said, “no, I like tea better.” He said, “really? I’m not allowed to have tea. It’s too hot. My mom drinks it.” I said, “yes, tea is very hot. Maybe when you are older you can have tea.”
Belonging: The boy participated through the activity of tasting the different fruits alongside his peers. He then extended the conversation into asking questions about tea and coffee. By asking questions to the educator, he was able to share his experience of how he wasn’t allowed to have tea because it’s too hot.
Engagement: By using his senses, the boy was able to indicate if the fruits were sweet or sour. He was able to communicate his own experiences of how he wasn’t allowed to have tea but his mom does.
Expression: Bringing up a topic of interest, the boy asked the educator if they had liked coffee and how he wasn’t allowed to have tea. He had made eye contact through his discussion with the educator to show his interest in conversing.
Well-Being: The child, along with his peers, had the opportunity to taste a variety of fruits. Through a discussion about taste, texture, and appearance, he had the opportunity to discover his likes and dislikes of different fruits, helping to create a sense of agency and a positive relationship with foods. During his discussions with his educator, the child was also able to talk about the rules he has and why, with the example he gave of not being able to have tea because it is too hot. This shows that he understands the safety precautions around hot liquids.
Jessica Martin, RECE
April 2, 2024
Pulling out a chair and sitting down, the girl looked down at the muffin tray with elastic bands covering it. Tilting her head down, her eyes looked up and down to see the hidden ducks inside. Using her hand, she tucked it under the elastic bands, and used her finger tips to grasp the duck into the palm of her hand. Grasping the duck fully, she pulled her hand out and dropped it into the metal bucket. As she looked into the bucket, she looked to a peer and said, “look, I got a duck.” Sticking her hand back underneath the elastic band, she made quick work of pulling each duck out and dropping them into a metal bucket. When her bucket was full, she looked back to the same peer and said, “lots of ducks. Look.” The peer looked into the bucket and said, “wow, that is a lot of ducks.”
Belonging: The child interacted with her peer, to state she had caught a lot of ducks and encouraged them to look into the metal bucket.
Engagement: By using her hand, she was able to manipulate the elastic band to stretch for her in order to grasp the ducks.
Expression: Using her vocabulary, the child started a conversation with her peer about how she caught a duck and at the end stated she caught a lot of ducks and for her peer to take a closer look.
Well-Being: Using a calm demeanor, she focused her attention on placing her hand underneath the elastic band to reach for the ducks that were stuck.
Jessica Martin, RECE
March 13, 2024
When Zeke was in the small cage, the children gathered around to see inside of it. The child pushed up onto her tiptoes to see in the cage, tilting her head. I said to her, “That's a bearded dragon. He’s come for a visit. We are going to pet him, feed him and bathe him.” When Zeke came out of the cage, Savannah had lifted him up into her arms. Bending down slightly, she asked, “who would like to pet Zeke?” The girl went beside her peers to be able to touch Zeke. As her turn approached, she outstretched her right hand and gently slid her fingers down his back.
We proceeded to give Zeke a bath. When that was finished, Savannah said, “would anyone like to hold him? You have to sit in a chair first.” Looking across the room, the girl spotted the chairs. Walking over, she used both hands to lift the chair and brought it over to the bearded dragon. Sitting down onto the chair, she looked amongst her peers to see who was sitting down with the lizard. When Zeke approached her, she pushed her body back against the chair then placed her arms onto opposite sides of the chair. Savannah noticed the hesitation and said, “do you still want to hold him?” Nodding her head slowly, she let Zeke approach once more but continued to leave her arms against the sides of the chair when Zeke was placed onto her.
Belonging: The child showed curiosity and eagerness to observe Zeke when he came into the classroom. By placing her hands down onto the opposite sides of the chair, she showed how comfortable she was being so close to Zeke.
Engagement: She gently touched Zeke’s back when it was offered that she could pet him. She observed how he was cared for and was willing to hold him. Through her body language of showing how nervous she was, the child persisted by remaining in the chair when Zeke had approached her.
Expression: By running over to grab a chair to hold Zeke, the child demonstrated her eagerness to try and hold Zeke. She then showed her timidness when pushing her body back against the chair when Zeke approached.
Well-Being: By using her senses of touch and sight, she was able to explore the texture of the scales and see what they looked like.
Jessica Martin, RECE
February 12, 2024
As I pushed up the table against the wall and laid out blankets on top of it, the children gathered around. Getting down low to the ground, I pointed a flashlight at the wall. Getting a red tab, I placed it in front of the flashlight. A child yelled, "I'm red, it’s all red.” Nodding my head, I said “You are red. What colour is this?” As I placed the yellow tab in front of the flashlight. She looked down at her body and shouted, “I’m yellow. It’s yellow. I want to be blue next.” Placing a coloured block in front of the flashlight, she watched as her body changed to the colour of blue. Crawling over to the coloured blocks, she picked out a green block. Holding it up in front of a flashlight, she said “I'm making myself green. I want to be red again.” She continued experimenting with the different colours, watching as she changed herself and the surrounding area that colour.
Belonging: Belonging was demonstrated through the shared exploration of colours and reflection between educator and child.
Engagement: The child investigated how the flashlight and tabs worked by placing the tabs up close against the flashlight. She expressed her thoughts and ideas of what the surrounding colors of the room were and what she wanted them to be next.
Expression: The child and educator conversed about the variety of colors that we had changed the surrounding areas into and her own body with. The child labeled the different colours and told the educator about her ideas as she experimented.
Well-Being: She was confident in her abilities of knowing each individual color that had been changed in the surrounding area and her own body. She continued to develope her sense of self by experimenting with the different colours and how it changed the look of her skin.
Jessica Martin, RECE
January 11, 2024
This morning I set out five activities on the table. A child chose the rocks with the animals on them. At first she lined them all up, labeling the names of each animal on the rocks. She said the animals names clearly and was able to tell me all the names. Next, without prompting, she pointed to each rock and counted saying the numbers out loud, starting with the number one. I then grabbed out a book that went along with the rocks and the animals' pictures on them. The book is called Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? When I read the book to the class, she would grab the rock with that exact animal and hold it up to the page of the book and say, “look they are the same”. She did this action through all the pages in the book. She showed that she was so proud of herself as she had a huge smile on her face!
Belonging: She demonstrated belonging when she took the rocks with the animals on them and held them up to the class to show how they matched the pictures in the book as Miss Amber read the book.
Engagement: She explored the rocks by lining them up and counting them.
Expression: She communicated to me what each animal was on the rocks and then counted each out loud.
Well-Being: She showed well-being by being confident in knowing what each animal was and being able to count all on her own.
By Amber Lockstein, RECE
