Laura Ray

Journal 7 Core

Insights:

- Early childhood educators need to know what young children are like. They must understand
child development and use this understanding to create early childhood environments where all
children can thrive. Second, teachers need to know about the learning process as well as
teaching techniques that support learning.
To me this insight means that as an educator you need to understand everything about the
children you are working with. You need to understand how they think, how they develop, and
how they learn. This is important because if you are an educator and you do not know this
information how are you supposed to help the children put in your care the best? You need to
understand them so that you can teach at their ZPD and help them understand the material. I
hope to remember this in the future as I go on to teaching for all the children that are put into
my care. I hope to get to know each child and how they learn, what they like, and where they
are developmentally so that I can help them learn to their fullest potential.
- Emotions influence childrens emerging cognitive abilities in either a positive or negative
direction. Positive emotions such as affection, enthusiasm, and pleasure prompt children to be
more attentive and emotionally engaged in the learning process.
To me this insight means that as educators we need to be aware of the childrens emotions.
When a child is happy they are more willing to be engaged and learn, but when they are bored
or upset they have harder times focusing and will not learn. This is important because the
children are not always going to tell you that they are upset. So you need to be able to read
their cues and see if you need to talk to the children or change the lesson to make it better. I
hope to use this in the future because I know how important it is that the children are happy
and want to learn and if there are problems then I can change the lesson to more fit the
children.
- Young children learn best when they are stimulated and successful in acquiring new knowledge
and skills. They love the challenge of learning what they nearly understand but do not quite
grasp, and of trying to do what they can almost but not quite achieve immediately.
To me this insight means that children love to learn new things even if it is a little more difficult.
They love the challenge and love to be given new opportunities. This is important because if we
teach things that they have not had the opportunities to then we know they are learning new
things and they are given more opportunities to have them ask questions. The more they ask
questions the more they learn. I hope to do this in my classrooms in the future because the
more new opportunities I give them the more questions they ask. The more I know they are
interested in and the more I can give them more new opportunities that they will learn and love.
- All learning begins with perception: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Thus,
children learn best be using all their senses.
To me this insight means that
- Even though much of what children imitate is unplanned, teachers can enhance the
effectiveness of classroom activities when they deliberately use modeling to help children learn
new or appropriate behaviors.
Goals:

A) I will try to get a parent into the classroom this week. I will try to work on 3 childrens goals this
week. I will support the lead teachers.
B) I am struggling getting a parent into the classroom. I really need to up my focus and get a parent
to participate. I did not get the chance to talk to parents this week because Ari was still talking
to parents about information. So I will get a chance to be on the curb this next week and get
parents to come! I was able to work well with the lead teachers and help them with anything
they needed me to. I was able to work on 3 childrens goals. I worked with Eduarda and learning
more English words. I worked with Zadok and helping him get out of his little box and play with
other children. And I helped Annie name the letters of the alphabet in the literacy center.
C) I will get a parent into the classroom. I will try to get Riley playing with other children. And I will
not procrastinate my homework.

Support Teacher:

A) Wednesday I did snack. It was great to get to talk to every single child. That doesnt happen
on a regular day and it was nice to get to have a conversation with all the children. I asked
them questions about what they had been doing outside or what activities they liked inside
and why. I wish I knew what bagel, cream cheese, and juice were in Spanish so that I could
talk to my Spanish children about snack. I lead a small focus activity. The children didnt
need much help being engaged. They got to make their own rain sticks and the children
were busy the whole time decorating their tubes. I did ask each of them about their tubes
and what they were putting on them. If I could do it again I would have the sticker book
pages out of the binding so that more children could look at the stickers instead of one
holding the book at a time. I supported the teacher during gathering time. The children
didnt need much help with being engaged in the lesson. They all had their eyes glued to the
teacher. I was there to restate important words and do the actions with the children to
make it more fun. If I could do it differently I would have instruments that the children could
use themselves so that they could physically see the vibrations. They wanted to touch the
instruments so bad! Friday I was a runner. I really enjoyed seeing the childrens smiling faces
as they first arrived to school and getting to talk to them about what they think they might
learn today. I also helped with small focus. I was able to help the children stay engaged by
asking them questions and trying to get them thinking deeper into what the activity was. I
also was there for Knox as he struggled sitting with the group. I dont know if it wasnt
engaging for him or if it was an off day, but I helped to find things to keep him with the
group. This week I learned that teacher led lessons are so great and needed. If the children
are just able to free play the whole time there may not be any real learning or a purpose to
their learning to make them remember. But with teacher led lessons the children are more
likely to remember the main points and have more learning opportunities and ask
questions.
B) Wednesday, as a support teacher I differentiated gathering time for our buddy Knox. He was
not a fan of how loud it was and was having a little bit of trouble sitting and watching. I was
able to let him sit on my lab where I could help him get into the lesson and activities. I also
had him in my small group and he had a hard time putting the duct tape on the tubes and
you could tell that he was getting frustrated so I was there to help him with whatever he
 needed. I had planned how to help Jace when he was over stimulated and having a melt
down to let him go to a quiet place and sit on the ball during circle times and gather times
but he wasnt there. I had also planned to get Zadok in playing with other children and not
to be as quiet. And he did so well today! Friday I planned on using the same plan for Jace if
he showed up. I also planned for Riley. We have noticed that he plays by himself and wont
talk to you when you ask him questions. So I planned to get others to play with myself and
Riley so that he can get more comfortable in class. I also was able to help Eduarda speak
more English as whenever I was with her I tried to self-talk or parallel talk so that she would
hear more words and say more words.
C) I am concerned about Jace and how violent he is getting in the classroom with throwing
objects, hitting, scratching, and kicking teachers. The ball works well but I still wish I knew
how to help him more.

Log:

Reading assigned reading 100 minutes

Writing your insights 120 minutes

Writing and reporting goals 60 minutes

Writing reflections on lead or support teaching 60 minutes

Writing preplan 30 minutes

Writing a lesson plan 120 minutes

Laura Ray

Week 8 Journal

Insights:

- Adults design environments to promote childrens safety, active engagement, learning,

participation, and membership.
To me this insight means that there should be a purpose for every classroom environment. The
environment should be physically safe and should make the children feel safe, and it should
promote learning and kindness. This is important because our classroom may be the safe spot
for some children who have troubled homes. We need to make our classroom safe for every
child. We need to make it a happy place where the children want to learn and are kind to
others. In the future I hope to make my classroom safe for all children and that the children can
feel safe as they are there. I want my class to be the place where children want to be and thrive
to learn. I will remember this insight so that I can achieve what I want.
- Most toys and materials are accessible to children so that they can get them without adult
help, although some toys should be visible and require the child to as for an adult for access.
To me this insight means that throughout the classroom you should have the toys, books, and
materials at the childrens height so that they can learn independence and they can do things
for themselves. But there should be some things that are out of reach to the children. This is
 important because having things at the childrens height makes the room feel more inviting to
them. And having some things out of reach for them can teach them how to ask for things and
responsibility for what the teacher entrusts them with. In my future classrooms I hope to have
most things at the level for the children so that they can be independent and learn at their own
pace. But there will be some things they will need permission for. It is all about keeping the
children safe. If some things need to be up higher it is for their safety.
- Caregivers alert children to upcoming transitions by telling them what will happen or by using a
visual cue.
To me this insight means that letting children know when a transition is coming and what is
expected of them will help them to transition better since many of them dont know the
concepts of time yet. This is important because there will be some children in every class that I
have that struggles with transitions and letting them know when and what is going to happen
will help them with the struggle. I hope to use this in my future classrooms and have warnings
for transitions in my daily routine not just to help the children who struggle with transitions, but
for all children. They can all benefit from it.
- Adults regularly monitor and inspect their materials and environments for safety risks to
minimize the likelihood of harm and injury.
To me this insight means that as an educator we need to be always checking out classrooms for
safety hazards and making sure the children are feeling safe when they are there. This is
important because things change throughout the school year, things get moved in the
classroom, and you never know when a safety hazard is going to show. You should take care of
any safety hazard when it appears. This is important because children cannot learn if they dont
feel like they are welcome and safe. If the children dont feel safe in your classroom teaching
them will be hard and the atmosphere in the room will not feel well. In the future the children in
my classrooms safety will be my first priority. As an educator we are promising safety for the
children that are entrusted to us and we need to take that seriously.
- Adults model positive interactions by commenting on childrens behaviors, particularly sharing
with, helping, and listening to others.
To me this insight means that as the teacher the children are looking to you to see how to act in
their classroom. You are the ultimate role model and all eyes are on you. So you should be
modeling how you want them to act to others and in your classroom. This is important because
some children dont have good role models to look up to, and some children struggle with
interacting appropriately. But as the teacher you are always modeling for them how you would
like them to act. In my future classrooms I hope to be a great role model to my students and
show them how to include everyone, be kind to everyone, and how to be the best they can be.

Goals:

A) I will get a parent into the classroom. I will try to get Riley playing with other children. And I will
not procrastinate my homework.
B) I was able to get a parent to commit to be there for my lesson Monday! I was also able to get
Riley to be around other children, he may not have played with them, but he was able to be
around them. This week was harder for me to want to do my homework. I have been sick and
that is the last thing I want to do when I am sick.
 C) My goals for this next week are to be confident lead teaching. Support the leads with whatever
they need. Have a more positive attitude towards school.

Support Teacher:

A) I was a support teacher all week. Monday and Wednesday I was the inside check in/out person.
Monday I lead a small focus group. The children loved the opportunity to pour their own
ingredients for trail mix. I think for this activity it was good that they could eat their trail mix
while others were taking their turns. If they couldnt I feel that I would have lost the attention of
a couple of them. The books also helped while they were eating their snack and it helped with
conversation. Friday I was on the curb and was on Jace duty to help him when he needed it. All
three days I helped during gathering time and closing circle. I was able to get a parent volunteer
for my lesson on Monday! Finally! Jace was actually at class today. He did well the first half of
class but once the cleaning and coming inside transitions happened he struggled. It was also
loud in the class so I think that was hard for him. I was able to help him calm down multiple
times and come back to small group and closing circle.
B) I definitely helped differentiate for Jace this week. Every day we had the exercise ball and
weighted blanked out. He was gone Monday and Wednesday but Friday I was able to work with
him. When he had his melt downs we tried the exercise ball and he was not liking it. I also tried
stretching his skin and that didnt work much. I found that for Friday what worked was to let him
calm himself down and then he wanted to bring a toy back to the center or small focus group
and that was able to keep him there more. I also differentiated for Riley this week I was able to
let him be more comfortable with his surroundings and give him the space he needs. I would go
to interact with him and talk and if I could tell things were getting too overwhelming I would
back off and let him get back comfortable again.