Weekly Journal Reflections

For this semester I’ve returned to the same placement site as last semester. Most of the children remembered me right away and were very excited to see me which made my day. Seeing their smiles and excitement is what tells me that I’m doing something right in the way I impact the children’s learning experience. As I came into placement this week I had in mind some things I wanted to observe in the children and the classroom. There were two children who were struggling with following the class routines and had difficulties during transitions. I wanted to see if this had changed at all. I quickly realized they are much more independent in this area. One child would always leave their things thrown on the ground and refused to put them away especially during snack/ lunch. But they are now entering the class and going to their cubby and putting things away where they belong. At lunch the child would open their lunch bag to eat, but then run around the class touching everything and they didn't want to sit or put their lunch away when the period was over. But I was very surprised to see the child went to put their stuff away without even being told. When I see these moments that reflect progress, I feel very proud and happy for the children as we get to witness their progress in behaviour, independence and self regulation. As educators it shows us that our work with them is guiding them towards growth and development. I believe this connects to the competency of pedagogy. In the classroom the educators must support children’s learning with intentional practices, routines and healthy relationships because this allows them to first feel comfortable in the environment so that they can follow the routine, enjoy their time in the class while also learning! The way we teach children and set up the environment is crucial for the children and by having effective pedagogical approaches we can help children build self-regulation and confidence, just as I was able to witness in my placement this week.

This week at my placement I observed many moments where children engaged with each other in play, through conversation and decision making. One thing I’ve noticed in all my placements is that children start forming their friend groups very early on, and they usually spend time with the same classmates. However in their play I’ve seen that aside from this, the children also like to do different things with different classmates. In my placement I’ve observed and learnt who each child usually spends their time with but throughout the day there are some moments where children will stick with one person they don't usually play with and they won’t want to leave their side. And then after some time they will “move on” and play with someone else which is usually the same friends they are always with. With this observation I find it interesting and I admire the way children are able to easily play with another classmate they might've not played with before and how open they are to playing with new friends. I’ve observed that they have their “friend groups” but they aren't afraid to apart from them to go play with someone else. On Tuesday there were two children playing lego together and they were having a lot of fun together, but they've never really played together before because they usually stick to other friends. However they were both very happy to be trying something different with someone new. I think this is an important observation because as educators we can foster this skill and provide opportunities for children to try new things, engage in play and speak to someone new. I connect this to the skill 1.1 Making friends from Elect, 2014, as it reflects how children seek to play cooperatively with others while exchanging ideas, materials and new point of views. This skill is important in the early years but it’s just as important for the children’s future social skills and relationship building skills.

In my placement the children tend to form small groups with classmates they regularly play with. In one group, I’ve observed a child being excluded on multiple occasions. The child doesn’t express their feelings in these moments but they appear visibly upset and often walks around alone when they are left out. From my perspective, this child may struggle with self-advocacy and confidence when initiating interactions and maintaining peer interactions which may impact their ability to enter group play. After observing this I thought the child may benefit from support in developing social confidence and communication skills. When I saw the child looking sad I approached them and through a conversation I listened to their feelings and reinforced the idea that everyone in our class can play together instead of limiting ourselves to certain children. After this I offered to support the child in entering play with their classmates to help build confidence and prevent them from feeling left out in the future. After we spoke with the other children everyone was able to play together inclusively. I don’t think this was a complete solution, but with continuous support the child will be able to develop stronger social confidence and abilities. Something I’ve observed in the children's interactions is that conflict often stems from the differences in social and communication development. While some children can clearly express their thoughts or feelings, others may still be developing these abilities. This connects to the social justice competency, because children may be unintentionally excluding others who communicate or interact differently. These differences can make some children appear different which impacts how the other children include them. Some children may not understand that everyone has different levels of social development which can lead to the exclusion of others. However through intentional conversations about empathy we can teach them how to be inclusive and understanding of individual differences amongst each other.

Something I've been learning as I’ve been in my placement is that children truly appreciate being heard, valued and appreciated. In my work I like to observe children in their play and from their shared ideas or thoughts I allow them to be leaders of their own learning through freedom of exploration, imagination and social play. I don't interrupt the children's ideas to say what I believe is better but I follow their lead. In conversation I also allow them to express themselves while I listen and respond in ways to grow their curiosity but still give them the space to speak their mind. Children love to have conversations, and I love to engage in it with them. I’ve noticed that the children at my placement often come to me for anything, whether it's to resolve conflict, to share their ideas, to talk or to play and I greatly value this. I listen to their words, and I try to respond as intentionally as I can. I joke around with the kids and laugh and play with them. I believe this way of interacting with the children is what has created a positive relationship, because I speak to them like people, not as someone inferior to me. I personally am not a huge fan of the “expected” responses we are used to giving to children such as when they hit someone we say “we don't hit our friends”, instead I prefer to converse with them so they can understand, rather than hearing the same repeated phrases all the time. This is what allows the children to understand and it gives respect to the children to treat them as regular individuals. It's a form of respecting their identity, their thoughts, ideas and experiences. Rather than underestimating their understanding I open up and speak with them normally, in a developmentally appropriate way of course. This is what I’ve been learning through the relationships I form with the children. However I still keep boundaries and make sure they respect me just as I respect them because I am their teacher. Overall through the trusting relationship I’ve established with them, I use it as a way to guide my method of teaching them.

As I bring activities into my classroom, my mentor has told me to ensure every child participates. With 30 children and limited time, I often find it challenging to follow this expectation. While facilitating my invitation today I was supporting a small group of children at a time, but there were other children approaching me for assistance in other things. As I was trying to stay focused on my planned activity and ensure participation, I found it difficult to provide support to each child at once. Although I did not express my stress, I noticed that my responses towards the children were pretty brief and not as intentional. As I reflected on this I remembered a conversation I had with my mentor where she explained that previously kindergarten classes were allowed more flexibility to plan experiences based on the children's interests, abilities and needs. She said current expectations require educators to closely follow curriculum guidelines and meet the mandated outcomes. This made me connect my own feelings of pressure to the systemic reality teachers (specifically in Ontario) experience with pressure to meet the curriculum demands because there is a limit of flexibility and responsiveness to each child's needs especially because of the class sizes that make it hard for educators to support every child equitably. I personally find it incredible that there are kindergarten classrooms with 30 children and 2 educators. In this reflection I believe social justice plays a part because there are a lot of structural barriers in the education systems of Ontario that make it difficult and overwhelming for educators trying to balance everything. I find myself questioning whether the current structures truly support an educational environment that emphasizes teacher-well being while also ensuring children get the best education to support healthy development. This also makes me wonder if this is a field I would want to get into, especially because I hear about a lot of teachers who no longer want to continue in this field.

My mentor and I work well together, and we often support each other with ideas on what we can do in the classroom whether it's the materials/ activities we use for the children or if it's general support in the class. The past few placement days I have been struggling with my activities because my mentor gives me feedback which I use for my growth but it makes it hard for me to bring the ideas that I want because her feedback sometimes completely “shuts-down” my ideas. I usually speak with my mentor about my ideas ahead of time and last week I had expressed my idea to read the book “Alma’s Art” about a famous African American artist named Alma Thomas where the children would then create their own art work inspired by Alma’s use of colors and patterns in her work. Today I brought my materials and when I was setting my stuff up my mentor began telling me maybe we should do tear paper art instead of using paint with cotton swabs and sponges like I had originally planned, and she thought it might be better because the children did painting last week. I understood her reasoning but I felt bad because this was an idea I planned and I had my material ready, and I wasn’t even in the class on the day they painted. I was about to change it up but then I told my mentor I wanted to do the paint because it gives a little more creative freedom to the children and I thought they would enjoy it so that's what I did with the children. I felt hesitant to speak up because she was insisting on doing tear paper art but if I simply did everything my mentor wanted I would not be learning or even bringing in my ideas, it would just be my mentors. This made me reflect on how power dynamics operate in educational spaces and how it may be difficult to have our voices feel heard especially as the student in the class because at time the teachers may not appreciate our ideas as much as they would for others because we are “just the student”. However I know that sometimes this also may stem from insecurity as the student, rather then it being the result of the mentor's attitude. This is just my thought process as I navigate the feelings and thoughts that come up in different experiences throughout my placement.

This week, I was reflecting on the level of trust my mentor has begun having in me. In many situations, my mentor speaks to me as an equal educator, inviting me to take on responsibilities such as guiding children through transitions, supporting routines, and even “taking over” the classroom when they step out. Being trusted with these responsibilities has allowed me to build confidence in my decision-making and interactions with children. It has also challenged my initial assumption that as a placement student I should remain more passive. Having this trust from my mentor allows me to see myself as a capable and responsible educator who contributes meaningfully to the classroom environment. One moment that stood out to me was during outdoor play, where I was supporting different groups of children. While engaging with them, I was aware of how our time outside is not just play, but a relationship with the land we are on. The children play and use the outdoor environment as a part of their play. The trees and bushes are a “secret cave” in the eyes of the imaginative child. The land and nature we spend time in daily, plays a role for all of us, even the children. This caused me to reflect on my learning about the land. I began to think more intentionally about how educators and children interact with the outdoors, and participate together. As an educator I'm not just supervising, and observing but also encouraging exploration, respect and connection to the environment. Knowing my mentor trusts me as an educator, helps me feel more comfortable to take initiative as I bring my ideas to the class environment while reflecting on my actions and my impact on the children’s learning. My current placement experience has really taught me the role I want to take as a future educator. I want to continue building trust with who I work with, and with children as I focus on being intentional in how I support their experiences, particularly in outdoor environments. I aim to deepen my awareness of how land, relationships, and learning are interconnected, and how this shapes my emerging identity as an educator.

This week at placement, I had the opportunity to observe a parent-educator meeting that took place after school. The parent was concerned about their child as they noticed in recent weeks that they have been coming home from school very emotional, and sometimes crying for almost anything. The parent described their child as normally very engaged, playful and loving at home, but mentioned that in past weeks the child often says they are bored and misbehaves during church. So the parent wanted to know whether it's something at school, such as friendships that might be affecting the child’s behaviours. I connected this experience to the prompt around building relationships with families and understanding children within multiple contexts. Something that really stood out to me was the difference between the parents' perspective and the educator's observation. The educators shared with the parent that their child is highly engaged in class, participates consistently, and has formed strong friendships within two peer groups. I’m starting to understand that children express emotions differently across environments, depending on relationships, expectations, and comfort levels. This highlights the importance of communication with families. The educators acknowledged the parent’s concerns while offering reassurance based on their observations. This allowed me to see how trust and collaboration between both parties support a more holistic understanding of the child. I’ve been able to reflect on how I interpret and understand children’s behaviour. It’s easy to assume that certain behaviours are indicators of something bad going on, however we must reflect and acknowledge that children’s behaviours are more complex and can be linked to many things: transitions, fatigue, situations in class etc. I’m learning and working on strengthening my observation and communication skills and this meeting has shown me the importance of listening with understanding and considering multiple perspectives before drawing conclusions. This helps me to reflect on how I approach observation, interpretation and my responses to children.