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Julia Haglund

Professor Sharlie

FHS 2620

2 April 2019

Reflective Philosophy

Taking the FHS 2620 class has taught me the benefits of teaching children how important

it is to be creative. It also has taught me how important it is to have the children spend time

outside, and teach each child their ways of learning. Taking this class also has taught me to think

outside the box and become creative, and the children have definitely taught me how to be

creative and use my creativity skills.

In FHS 2620 we had to write eight lesson plans, which I thought was the hardest part

about this class because I have a hard time coming up with open ended activities for the children

to do. But each lesson plan I had to write up got a little easier for me to do. In the textbook

(Mayesky, 2015, p.17) it says, “I used to think that if children were having too much fun, they

couldn’t be learning. Now I understand how they are learning in a more effective way.” When I

first started working with the Eccles program, I thought it was weird that we couldn’t have the

children do the same artwork, and that it has to be opened ended artwork. After a few classes, it

made me realize how important it is for me to plan an art activity that is open ended so the

children can be creative. For my first two hour block for my artwork, I printed out a big circle

and brought toilet paper rolls for the children to use to apply paint. They would dip the rolls in
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paint and then dab around the circle, to make it look like flowers. The children started dipping

the toilet paper rolls and touch them randomly on their paper. I tried to correct them and told

them that they need to dab the paint around the circle. Then Katie reminded me that the project

should be open ended and it’s their art work, meaning they should do it however they wanted. So

ever since she told me that, I have been trying to plan art activities where the children can grow

with their creativity. I remember when you read us a story about this child who would was

excited to draw freely, but their teacher would tell them to draw a specific picture. Everytime the

teacher would tell them it was time to draw they would get excited, but then the teacher would

tell them to draw a specific thing. When he moved and went to a different school his teacher told

the class to draw something, the little boy was waiting for the teacher to tell him what to draw -

his creative reflexes had been stifled. When you read us that story it shows me how important it

is to help the children have creative thinking or be creative.

I have learned that children learn in so many different ways. Some of the children in

Head Start really love to do hands on, and some children learn better when they’re doing group

work. In Head Start we do a lot of hands on, and we do a lot of group activities. For teachers, it’s

important for them to know their children in their classroom, and how they learn and how they

behave to things. There are a lot of children in Head Start that speak spanish, and Hailey will

speak to them to translate for them, then they can feel like they’re part of the class. I think it’s

very important for the children to feel welcome and feel comfortable in the classrooms. So

knowing what the children like to do is important, then they can do something they like to do and

be involved in class. In the textbook (Mayesky, 2015, p.120) it says, “Some children need help in
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getting started. The fact that the activity is labeled “creative” does not necessarily make the child

ready to go. A child may be feeling restless or tired or may feel like doing something else.” After

we are done with group time, we explained to the children what types of activities we planned

for them to do for that day. On my first day of teaching for this class, I wasn’t really great at

remembering to explain to the children what I planned for them. I have noticed that Hailey has

all the children stand up by the dramatic play area and she shows the children everything she

brought them to play with. It was farming, so she explained each object and then let the children

play after she explained it. For this week for my two hour block, I have gotten better at

explaining to the children what I brought for them for dramatic play, but I should have had them

stand up by dramatic play, and showed them all the objects I brought them for them to play with.

Instead of doing that, they were just sitting down while I explained it to them. After I excused

them, I realized that the children were probably confused when I was trying to explain to them

about being a teacher for dramatic play. A lot of them know what teachers do, but showing them

the items helps them understand it more after you explain it to them.

Environment in teaching is very important for the children. Depending on the age of the

children, the furniture in the room should small for them to be able to use. In the textbook

(Mayesky, 2015, p.118) it says, “Chairs should be light enough for the children to handle and

move without too much noise. Because the chairs are used at tables for creative activities, the

kind without arms should be used.” Before I started taking FHS classes, I didn’t realize how

important it is to set up your classrooms and put toys for children to be able to reach them. If

they’re constantly asking you to take a toy down for them, then they won’t be as interested or

they won’t feel independent enough. In the textbook (Mayesky, 2015, p.129) it says,
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“Stimulating. Equipment should be the kind that allows children to do things that motivate them.

If adults must supervise children every minute they are using the equipment, this may hinder

creativity. Long explanations on how to use the equipment should not be necessary.” When you

explain the activities it’s good to keep it short and simple because the children don’t have a long

attention span. Having them go outside is also a very important habit to develop when they are

young, because of the impact it has on their creativity. One day we were playing outside on the

playground, and we had the bikes out and some of them were playing with each other. They were

pretending to ride their bikes to the ice cream store, and some were working at the ice cream

store. In the textbook (Mayesky, 2015, p.140) it says, “Imaginative play as one of the purest

forms of symbolic thought available to the young child.”

Having to teach eight lesson plans have taught me how important it is for teachers to plan

activities for the children to play with and not give them specific instructions, and just let them

use their creativity. I also increased my understanding of the importance of setting up the

classroom for the children so they are able to reach the toys or supplies they need.
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Citation

Mayesky, Mary.​ Creative Activities and Curriculum For Young Children.​ Cengage

Learning, 2015. print.