February 2, 2024
A child approached me with a cup full of counting cubes. He asked, “Want some ice cream?” “Sure! What kind of ice cream do you have?” I replied. “What kind you want?” he asked. “How about chocolate?” I asked in response. He handed me the cup and said, “Here, it’s chocolate ice cream.” He then watched as I pretended to eat the ice cream. I handed it back and said, “Thank you, that was delicious.” He asked, “Want more?” I said, “Sure, what kind will you bring me this time?” He responded, “Nilla [Vanilla]” and offered me the cup again. This continued for a few minutes of him offering me different cups of ice cream. He then placed the cup down on the three way mirror and exclaimed, “Look! Lots more ice cream!” I looked into the mirror and said, “Yes, I see four ice creams in there!” and he pointed at each ice cream in the reflection. As he was looking at the mirror, his gaze when to the bottom mirror and he noted, “That one is upside down!” He moved the cup off the mirror and back on again, watching the reflection in the three different angled mirrors. He set the cup down again, then looked behind the mirror. “The ice cream isn’t there,” he said. Next, he put the cup behind the mirror. He looked into the mirror, tapped me on the arm, pointed to the mirror and said, “Where did the ice cream go?” I expressed shock at the disappearing ice cream, and asked, “Did it disappear?” He said, “Yeah!” then he looked in the mirror and said, “It’s just me.” He continued to look at his reflection for a short while, then he said, “Oh! Here it is,” and then retrieved the ice cream from behind the mirror, offering it to me to eat again.
Belonging: This child showed interest in interacting with me, although I am not a regular educator in his class. He was comfortable with approaching me to engage me in the activity that he had chosen.
Engagement: He was able to use the counting cubes to represent ice cream during his role playing. As he continued to play, he was experimenting with the reflections in the mirror, noting what he saw in the reflection and watching the reflection change as he moved the cup on and off, as well as behind.
Expression: He used his finger to point out the different ice cream reflections in the mirror. He was able to name different flavours of ice cream as he served them to me. He asked questions during our play and was able to make statements about what he was noticing.
Well-Being: He took initiative to engage me in his play. He was able to successfully lead his role play to play out as he wanted it. When he was offering me ice cream flavours he would offer me broccoli ice cream and then exclaim, “yuck!” to indicate that he knew what flavours of ice cream would not be appealing. He also took some time to look in the mirror and study his reflection, which helps him with identity formation and to build a sense of self.
By Savannah LeBlanc, RECE
January 16, 2024
A child was asked by a peer to play doctor with him. The other child laid down on the big pillow, allowing her to be the doctor first. She first examined inside her peer’s mouth, saying, “Oh no you have a cavity!” She pretended to do some work in his mouth before moving on to check his heart. While listening to his heart with the stethoscope she said, “ Oh no, you have a tummy ache.” Once she was done with her examination she said “(Friend) it's your turn to be the doctor.” They went back and forth taking turns examining each other until it was time to tidy up.
Belonging: Both children worked together cooperatively in turn taking. The child shows she is comfortable in her play and is able to socialize with her peer in their role playing.
Engagement: She shows us that she has some knowledge about what a doctor does. She is able to use tools from the classroom to take on the role of a dentist/doctor. She role plays using her tools to find out what is wrong with her patient so that she can decipher the illness, and decide what to do next.
Expression: She is showing a positive attitude and communication skills in her role play. She is able to express her ideas with her peer. You can hear her voice changing as she tells him he has a tummy ache, sounding sad and posing her lip in a pout. Once she helps him to be well, she is smiling.
Well-Being: She and her peer went back and forth between patient and doctor for quite some time. She was able to switch roles when asked, and vice versa with no trouble at all. This demonstrated skill in showing respect for one another’s turn taking in their role playing. She showed knowledge of care for others, drawing from experience and knowledge about the world around her.
Educator: Mandy Bertling Beres, RECE
