pedagogical documentation

Children were listening to the Cirque Du Soleil Luzia soundtrack. Before the experience, I played the music and asked the children to tell me what they were thinking of while listening or what the music reminded them of. We had a brief discussion where the children shared their thoughts. They were then given the choice to draw while continuing to listen to the music. Some children did not wish to draw at all; some of the children finished their drawings and began to dance.

This child did not wish to participate in the drawing portion of the experience previously mentioned. Instead, he sat down and listened to the music with his eyes closed and his legs swaying back and forth.

A Senior Kindergarten student created a wordsearch for his friends after completing one in an activity book. He outlined rules for the game and told his classmates that it would be available for the rest of the afternoon. Several students took turns finding words. During afternoon play, the Early Childhood Educator and I read the words that had been found with the child and asked him how many words still needed to be found. He said there were hundreds.

A child built a tower that stood without falling for over five minutes. He asked if we could take a picture before it fell and then knocked it over. The child promptly began building a new tower.

Using materials that I prepared (ghosts, pumpkins, and black fences), several children created patterns. The children described their patterns as either pumpkin, ghost, pumpkin, ghost or a, b, a, b. Senior children made aa, bb patterns. The class was learning about different kinds of patterns that can be made as well as learning about Halloween.

This experience took place while the children were learning about measurments and ingredients after reading a story about baking bread. Senior Kindergarten children independently used measuring spoons and cups to mix the ingredients in plastic cups. Junior Kindergarten children independently held the measuring tools while I assisted them in pouring the cream, sugar, and vanilla needed for ice cream. All of the children then shook the ingredients in a bag and watched it form into a delicious treat.

Later, the class ate their ice cream together. The children found that the ice cream tasted a lot like vanilla and stayed solid for a longer period of time because they shook it vigorously and enthusiastically.

In a toddler room, I created a visual representation of the song, the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Children used the materials to act out the song, sang together, and used the props in other play experiences. This display was made in response to their growing interest in the song as well as their curiosity when spotting spiders in the outdoor playground. Some children were frightened of the spiders in the playground but later referred to them as "itsy bitsies" and called them friends.