Wednesday, March 16, 2016
A Couple of Hours With Jill Connell
Monday was a very busy day. We had a two hour session with Jill Connell. She was speaking about getting children school ready. She is the author of several books and educational resources including" A Moving Child is a Learning Child" , " Smart Steps", and "Get Ready for School."
In a nutshell, she believes there are six vital steps of getting ready for school. These are
Motor
She talked at length about the importance of children mastering fine and gross motor skills. Jill gae several examples of how these can help children take control of their bodies and in turn their brain. If a child has mastered a skill it will become automated and this will help children to be able to turn their attention to what they are learning the task at hand rather than needing to concentrate on sitting on a chair correctly etc.
There were several examples of activities that we can use easily in the classroom to help children refine these skills. A couple of these include getting children to come to the mat like a caterpillar on all fours, using a ball and getting the children to try and stop a ball using different body parts
Jill talked extensively about activities that encourage children to cross the mid line. ( Now I understand why it is so important for babies to learn to crawl!!!)
Memory
Several activities to encourage children to use their memories and increase their "spaces."
one idea I liked was using memory mats which are mats or card with different objects and the children have to follow instructions and touch on two or three different cards in the same order as they were given to them.
Language
This includes the language of things like days of the week, left and right etc
Visual
The importance of children strengthening their eye muscles. Activities to increase these include getting children to follow a torch on the roof. Following different objects etc. This is particularly important for things like tracking in reading etc.
Auditory
Listening and following instructions. Be aeare that several children suffer from glue ear so foten only ear part of what you say.
Social
Turn taking, asking for help, sharing, building friendships etc.
All of these important skills contribute to children being school ready.
A Day out of the Classroom
I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to have a day visiting the preschools in our area
(seven of them in total) on Monday (14th March).
It was a great opportunity to begin some networking with these centers and a chance to see what they do for their "transition to school" programme, explore their learning spaces, talk with other professionals and of course have the opportunity to meet some of the wee ones who will be starting at our school in the next few weeks or months.
Here are a few of my thoughts and observations from my time in these centers.
Forfar Street Preschool- this is a centre I have driven past a million times and I have heard so much about it so it was good to finally be popping in. The preschool is located in an old villa with big spaces and a fantastic outdoor space for the children to play. There is a very professional feel here and there appears to be a lot of staff. I was fortunate enough to be able to observe a part of their mat time. This consists of about a session lasting 30 or so minutes. I observed them sitting in a circle and doing a type of newsboard I guess. I watched then cross off the date on the calendar. They shared news and sang happy birthday to a child who is leaving the center to go to school. One of the things that struck me the most about this session was the behaviour of the children. They sat so quietly and listened intently.
I had the opportunity to look at the information available to parents about schools in the area and I will get them some information for them about us.
Mairehau Kidsfirst Kindegarten- Again, another center I have heard a lot about and this is probably one of the main feeders to our school in the area.
This center is very relaxed and doesn't appear to have nearly as many children as Forfar Street does.
These guys also have a wonderful outdoor space which they utilize so well. The thing that impressed me so much here was the work they have done with their garden, They have a teepee that in summer is completely covered with sweet peas. The photos were amazing and it is clear how proud of this they are.
St Albans Playcentre- This is a great facility which is tucked away and you wouldn't know it was there really, This place was a buzz of activity and there were a lot of adults involved with the children's play as this is a parent run facility. These children are fortunate to have a great (quite big) space both inside and out. There appears to be very little (if any) "structured" transition to school programme. Many of their children leave before they turn 4 and head to kindy.
It looked to be a really fun place to be and the children were fully involved and engaged in their learning through play.
Dudley Street Preschool. Here is another preschool I have heard lots about as I know the owner. This preschool had a very homely feel to it. It has a roll of about 25 apparently. The inside and outside space was quite small in comparison to the other centers I have visited but it was very calm and had a really lovely feel. One of the things that was very evident was their commitment to Te Reo. It was evident everywhere in the center. We were able to see a little bit of mat time where the children came together before lunch and had songs and stories. An interesting fact to note is that a preschool teacher attends the second school visit with te children and do a sort of handover. I thought that was a lovely touch,
St Albans Community Preschool. This was like coming home for me. My children used to attend this preschool and I was on the Board for a couple of years so I feel like I know it well. It is still a very tired building a small outdoor space but on the whole it has a lovely happy feel to it. it is play based learning and their mat times are short and sweet. This center use rolling kai for the children where they self manage their own eating for the day ( meaning they can eat when they like). The children have several rich learning experiences through play here.
Mairehau First Learners. This is a preschool I have driven passed a lot too and often wondered what it would be like inside, The building is quite tired looking in places but the spaces are big and the outdoor space is too. It has three different rooms according to age ie nursery, preschool and prep school. They put the children into groups to focus on specific learning outcomes and when a child turns 4 and a half, they begin to learn the alphabet etc so their getting ready for school programme is more structured than some of the others I visited. We are one of the two main schools they feed to.
Barnardoes I didn't even know that this preschool existed. It is easy to go to the wrong building initially as it is attached to a community hub. This preschool is decile 1 and they offer 30 free hours to try and capture the children that otherwise would not get to experience any early childhood education. They work the philosophy of living off the land so the children grow fruit and vegetables and together with the teachers, they bake their own morning and afternoon tea with the produce they have grown. The learning space is unique in the fact that they have a great big deck that is covered in when it is raining or cold.
This exercise of visiting the preschools was very valuable to me in the fact that I am also looking to move preschools for our youngest so I was looking at it through parents eyes also.
A couple of things for me to ponder were
Having a play based discovery first thing on a Monday morning to ease children back into the week ahead. I will visit Mairehau Primary to see what they do with a similar idea.
I will also get a social story out to the preschools I visited so children in the centers can read about what our school is all about. I will also finish drafting up a pamphlet to put for parent information about our new school.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed visiting the preschools and think if nothing else it was a successful networking exercise. To that end, I think I will try and initiate a gathering of the preschool teachers in the area to meet and see if we can get a termly meeting underway with purposeful sharing and social networking session. I will attempt to get this underway next term.
(seven of them in total) on Monday (14th March).
It was a great opportunity to begin some networking with these centers and a chance to see what they do for their "transition to school" programme, explore their learning spaces, talk with other professionals and of course have the opportunity to meet some of the wee ones who will be starting at our school in the next few weeks or months.
Here are a few of my thoughts and observations from my time in these centers.
Forfar Street Preschool- this is a centre I have driven past a million times and I have heard so much about it so it was good to finally be popping in. The preschool is located in an old villa with big spaces and a fantastic outdoor space for the children to play. There is a very professional feel here and there appears to be a lot of staff. I was fortunate enough to be able to observe a part of their mat time. This consists of about a session lasting 30 or so minutes. I observed them sitting in a circle and doing a type of newsboard I guess. I watched then cross off the date on the calendar. They shared news and sang happy birthday to a child who is leaving the center to go to school. One of the things that struck me the most about this session was the behaviour of the children. They sat so quietly and listened intently.
I had the opportunity to look at the information available to parents about schools in the area and I will get them some information for them about us.
Mairehau Kidsfirst Kindegarten- Again, another center I have heard a lot about and this is probably one of the main feeders to our school in the area.
This center is very relaxed and doesn't appear to have nearly as many children as Forfar Street does.
These guys also have a wonderful outdoor space which they utilize so well. The thing that impressed me so much here was the work they have done with their garden, They have a teepee that in summer is completely covered with sweet peas. The photos were amazing and it is clear how proud of this they are.
St Albans Playcentre- This is a great facility which is tucked away and you wouldn't know it was there really, This place was a buzz of activity and there were a lot of adults involved with the children's play as this is a parent run facility. These children are fortunate to have a great (quite big) space both inside and out. There appears to be very little (if any) "structured" transition to school programme. Many of their children leave before they turn 4 and head to kindy.
It looked to be a really fun place to be and the children were fully involved and engaged in their learning through play.
Dudley Street Preschool. Here is another preschool I have heard lots about as I know the owner. This preschool had a very homely feel to it. It has a roll of about 25 apparently. The inside and outside space was quite small in comparison to the other centers I have visited but it was very calm and had a really lovely feel. One of the things that was very evident was their commitment to Te Reo. It was evident everywhere in the center. We were able to see a little bit of mat time where the children came together before lunch and had songs and stories. An interesting fact to note is that a preschool teacher attends the second school visit with te children and do a sort of handover. I thought that was a lovely touch,
St Albans Community Preschool. This was like coming home for me. My children used to attend this preschool and I was on the Board for a couple of years so I feel like I know it well. It is still a very tired building a small outdoor space but on the whole it has a lovely happy feel to it. it is play based learning and their mat times are short and sweet. This center use rolling kai for the children where they self manage their own eating for the day ( meaning they can eat when they like). The children have several rich learning experiences through play here.
Mairehau First Learners. This is a preschool I have driven passed a lot too and often wondered what it would be like inside, The building is quite tired looking in places but the spaces are big and the outdoor space is too. It has three different rooms according to age ie nursery, preschool and prep school. They put the children into groups to focus on specific learning outcomes and when a child turns 4 and a half, they begin to learn the alphabet etc so their getting ready for school programme is more structured than some of the others I visited. We are one of the two main schools they feed to.
Barnardoes I didn't even know that this preschool existed. It is easy to go to the wrong building initially as it is attached to a community hub. This preschool is decile 1 and they offer 30 free hours to try and capture the children that otherwise would not get to experience any early childhood education. They work the philosophy of living off the land so the children grow fruit and vegetables and together with the teachers, they bake their own morning and afternoon tea with the produce they have grown. The learning space is unique in the fact that they have a great big deck that is covered in when it is raining or cold.
This exercise of visiting the preschools was very valuable to me in the fact that I am also looking to move preschools for our youngest so I was looking at it through parents eyes also.
A couple of things for me to ponder were
Having a play based discovery first thing on a Monday morning to ease children back into the week ahead. I will visit Mairehau Primary to see what they do with a similar idea.
I will also get a social story out to the preschools I visited so children in the centers can read about what our school is all about. I will also finish drafting up a pamphlet to put for parent information about our new school.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed visiting the preschools and think if nothing else it was a successful networking exercise. To that end, I think I will try and initiate a gathering of the preschool teachers in the area to meet and see if we can get a termly meeting underway with purposeful sharing and social networking session. I will attempt to get this underway next term.
Monday, March 14, 2016
PD with Lois Chrsitmas
We have had some PD with Lois Christmas this month. This has been around "DISC" which is a tool whereby we are provided with assessment data which provides us with information around our priorities in the work place. It then , in turn, helps us learn how to connect and communicate with our colleagues whose priorities and preferences differ from our own. I have found t really interesting to see the results of these tests and I have found myself becoming more aware of my reactions and traits and thinking more about other peoples.
The verdict is that I am an"SI" . Some of the traits of an "S" is even tempered, accommodating, patient, humble and tactful. The typical traits of an "I" are Outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, high spirited and lively. It is important to remember that this relates to the work place and when I answered the questions, I did it with work in mind as opposed to home( which potentially could be quite a different result I suspect.)
We did some work around the things in our profile that we agreed with and aspects we disagreed with. I found that an interesting exercise. It was also good to get together in our teams and do some work with the others on our profiles. It is also interesting to note that the vast majority of our team are in the "S" category too. I think one is an "I."
The verdict is that I am an"SI" . Some of the traits of an "S" is even tempered, accommodating, patient, humble and tactful. The typical traits of an "I" are Outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, high spirited and lively. It is important to remember that this relates to the work place and when I answered the questions, I did it with work in mind as opposed to home( which potentially could be quite a different result I suspect.)
We did some work around the things in our profile that we agreed with and aspects we disagreed with. I found that an interesting exercise. It was also good to get together in our teams and do some work with the others on our profiles. It is also interesting to note that the vast majority of our team are in the "S" category too. I think one is an "I."
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Collaboration
Today we had a very interesting PD session around Collaboration. We started off by filling out a form related to "what we bring." I found this to be quite thought provoking in parts because it challenged us to think about our teaching styles, our challenges and strengths in teaching as well as our concerns around collaboration. We then met together in our teams (syndicates I guess!) and discussed this with each other. It is always interesting to hear and consider others views and thoughts.
We then got into our PLG and we were required to "unpack" one of the different models of collaboration. These included Alternative Teaching, one teach/one observe, one teach/one support, parallel teaching, station teaching and team teaching.
We were given Station teaching so we discussed what this would look like in practice. This was a valuable thing to do and we researched some different models within this. It was incredible how different this one model could look depending on how it was administered. There were all sorts of options including every station using a teacher to run an activity to having students run their own activities.
We shared back to the wider group and discussed all the different via google docs.
Since then I have watched a couple of videos around collaboration which have been interesting. I watched one by Chris Bradbeer who is the associate Principal from Stonefields School in Auckland. He explained the ideas behind the learning spaces at his school. He talked about the language we use when describing these spaces and the shift in mindset we need to have to make this work The shift in ICT, building designs, and pedagogy has helped . He believes the environment is the third teacher and has a pedagogy of its own. It opens up a whole new world of opportunity including having input from several people to help make an OTJ for a child and incidental PD resulting from professional discussions and observations. HE acknowledges that teachers are being asked to work very closely together from the moment they walk in the door in the morning till the end of the working day and that this si something we are necessarily used to doing. He challenges us to take down the walls literally - both physically and metaphorically.
The second video I watched was about a school that from all appearances is an old 50's single cell but on the inside , its designed with a modern learning environment in mind. There is minimal furniture and if you were to walk into ta classroom you would find children working at all different heights and maybe even on all different subject areas. The need for quiet area is highlighted and the importance is placed on the mix of teachers and areas where learning takes place. This has certainly provided food for thought and I intend to watch more of these videos soon.
We then got into our PLG and we were required to "unpack" one of the different models of collaboration. These included Alternative Teaching, one teach/one observe, one teach/one support, parallel teaching, station teaching and team teaching.
We were given Station teaching so we discussed what this would look like in practice. This was a valuable thing to do and we researched some different models within this. It was incredible how different this one model could look depending on how it was administered. There were all sorts of options including every station using a teacher to run an activity to having students run their own activities.
We shared back to the wider group and discussed all the different via google docs.
Since then I have watched a couple of videos around collaboration which have been interesting. I watched one by Chris Bradbeer who is the associate Principal from Stonefields School in Auckland. He explained the ideas behind the learning spaces at his school. He talked about the language we use when describing these spaces and the shift in mindset we need to have to make this work The shift in ICT, building designs, and pedagogy has helped . He believes the environment is the third teacher and has a pedagogy of its own. It opens up a whole new world of opportunity including having input from several people to help make an OTJ for a child and incidental PD resulting from professional discussions and observations. HE acknowledges that teachers are being asked to work very closely together from the moment they walk in the door in the morning till the end of the working day and that this si something we are necessarily used to doing. He challenges us to take down the walls literally - both physically and metaphorically.
The second video I watched was about a school that from all appearances is an old 50's single cell but on the inside , its designed with a modern learning environment in mind. There is minimal furniture and if you were to walk into ta classroom you would find children working at all different heights and maybe even on all different subject areas. The need for quiet area is highlighted and the importance is placed on the mix of teachers and areas where learning takes place. This has certainly provided food for thought and I intend to watch more of these videos soon.
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