Evidence of my professional practice.
As an educator my role is to guide, facilitate and extend children's development and learning. These observations highlight my pedagogical practices and how the children's learning is linked to the Early Years Frameworks.

The pre-school children had recently planted flower seeds in plastic cups that they had decorated.  As part of this activity they briefly discussed with staff what the plants would need to grow.  In order to extend on the children's understandings about plant growth and the natural environment I planned a group time discussion based on the knowledge they individually held and reflections of what they had recently done at pre-school.  To wrap up the session and to cement this new knowledge we would share a story picture book about a tiny seed's special journey.  
      

'The Tiny Seed' by Eric Carle describes the journey of a seed through the seasons and environments of the world.

I began the discussion by asking "Who can tell me about something special you did recently with Elise?" (another staff member).  Many children called out, and with encouragement, they excitedly took turns sharing their memories about planting the seeds.  

When they were finished I introduced the topic of the book and began to read it.  The children appeared interested and often called out "Theres the little seed!" and yelled out the answers to questions I posed regarding the tiny seed and environment depicted in the book.

After the story was finished the conversation continued with the children focusing on what the seeds needed and where they should keep them.  A wide range of vocabulary was used regarding size; huge, small, tall, enormous, tiny, little and gigantic were just a few.  Some children commented on the environmental factors; "I'm not putting my flowers in the garden - it's too cold!" and "My garden has a water sprayer for the flowers for a drink."  The conversation ended slowly as the children changed the topic.

Educator's role:  By facilitating and encouraging the children's own reflection on their learning I was able to help them form a concrete understanding of their experiences and a connection to nature in the form of nurturing and observing plant growth. 

Outcome 2:  Children are connected to and contribute to their world.  Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment through discussion, research and exploration.  Learning is encouraged by educators through the provision of seed planting experience, the children's knowledge and understanding of the natural world is extended through a shared storybook.   


J is 5.3 years old and I observed that he did not engage in any messy play experiences.  Upon speaking to the other pre-school staff I discovered that they had attempted to ecourage his participation numerous times without success.  Based on my observations of J and my understanding of his experiences of water as a drink, part of the natural world and its use for washing, I decided to include water play outside as part of the program.  This familiarity would enable J to engage with 'messy' materials that he already has an understanding  and experience of. 

To encourage this participation I  pointed out the water play to him throughout the week, mentioing that the weather was warm and the water was cool. so might feel nice on his hands. 

J had spent time throughout the week standing near the trough, watching his peers playing - often smiling and giggling at what they did.  These photos show J beginning to engage in water play on his final session of the week.    

As I moved around the yard I observed J tentatively taking the toys out of the trough whilst two other children played loudly with the squirty balls.  One child said something to J (it was inaudible to me) that made him laugh.  All three boys began squeezing the balls and laughed loudly as the water sprayed out.  J was splashing the water with his hands and eagerly hunting for a specific coloured ball in the trough so he could squeeze it.

J stayed at the trough for approximately ten minutes, he left the water play quickly when he saw his mother arrive in the yard.

Educator's role:  My role in the learning was to facilitate J's independence and exploration of sensory play by providing meaningful experiences for him which encouraged social participation.  The water play was already known to J and as it was accessible for a long period of time he was able to engage with and explore it and his peers in his own time.
 
Outcome 3:  Children have a strong sense of wellbeing.  Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing when they make choices and when staff value their personal decision-making.  

S is 5.3 years old, she has two older sisters and one younger brother.  I observed S using the painting easel numerous times during each kinder session.  I also noticed that she had learnt to write her full christian name and adds it to all of her artworks.

To extend S's creativity and interest in art I included a marble painting activity on a table for three children in my program plan.  The aim of this was to enhance S's enjoyment of art and to offer a new method of painting.  I also planned for a staff member to interact with children at this experience.

S noticed this table as soon as she arrived at the kinder and went straight over to have a look.  I was close by and asked what she thought she could do here; she shrugged her shoulders indicating she did not know - I explained the marble painting process.  S was soon smiling and eagerly moving the tray in different ways to make the marbles move through the paint. 

The whole morning passed (approximately 11/4 hours) with S engaged at the marble painting.  Many other children came and went, S interacted with them and often talked about what she was doing.     

As S painted we chatted, she commented on the paint on her fingers and asked if she could use her hands.  When I said she could and she plunged both hands into the tray.  She swirled her hands round and round talking and smiling to herself as she did so.  The paper started to stick and tear in the tray so I suggested she just play with the paint the tray.  

After a few minutes S began to write her name in the paint; she had to tried many times to get the size of the letters right in order to fit her whole name in.  When I noticed her frustration I suggested she try again but asked what was wrong with the letters, why wouldn't they fit?  S was then able to think for herself and look at what she was doing, she rubbed outthe first few letters and made them smaller.  She then proceeded to write her whole name.  When she was finished she seemed very proud of herself - she lifted the tray to show me and together we took a photo of her holding the tray up and suggested we take a print of her name.  The photo, written observation and a print of her name could be included in S's individual portfolio.

Due to it's popularity, not only with S, the marble painting experience was left out for three weeks.  To keep it fresh in that time we modified it by changing the colours of paper and paint offered and added glitter.  In future I would add glue to the paint and supply extra materials such as scraps of paper, sand and flowers.  

Educator's role:  My role was to stimulate S's exploration of art and to extend her enjoyment of it.  S's creativity was challenged at first by this new experience of marble painting, but she demonstrated curiosity and asked questions to explore the possibilities of her art.
 
Outcome 4:  Children are confident and involved learners.  Children follow and extend their own interests with enthusiasm, energy and concentration.  Sophie demonstrated a positive disposition for learning through the creativity, curiosity and commitment she displayed towards this activity.