10:00-11:00
Free time: When I came into preschool, Meghan was working on a puzzle with one another girl. I went over and joined them. While working on this, she started to tell me how she could count. She counted to up to thirty for me! We finished the bug puzzle and then moved on to a block activity. We had different colored squares and had to make different patterns out them. Meghan seemed to have a very good grasp of this. She appears to be a spatial learner. While doing this, we talked about the shapes that we were making. One of the patterns was the message "hi". She was able to read this to me and make the letters.
After this, Meghan went over to blocks. She worked with a group of students, building a road and playing with little cars. She stayed here for quite a while. She then went to snack, where she spent the rest of free time.
Circle time: We started out circle time with a song. We had rhythm sticks, which we used along with the music. Meghan did a good job of keeping with the rhythm of the song. I couldn't tell if she enjoyed it or not, since she was very quiet during this. She usually does a good job of following along whenever we sing or do actions during circle time. I'm not sure if she's musically inclined, but she can definitely handle it.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Meghan- April 23rd
Who: Meghan
Where: St. Norbert College Children's Center
When: April 23rd 9:00-10:00
circle time:
Meghan sat still and payed attention as usual. She raised her hand two or three times and answered Ms. Bonnie's questions.
free time: Meghan went over to the computer right away. She played here for ten minutes. Then, we went to the writing table. She wrote her first, last, and middle name for me. We took some of the preschoolers names and worked on writing those. Meghan did very well at this. Her fine motor skills are well advanced and she seems to have a good grasp of her letters. After this, she went over to snack. She stayed here for a while, talking with her friends. Then, Meghan went to the reading area. Three other girls were sitting there. Two were pretending to be the teachers and were "reading" the books to the other girl. Meghan joined them and sat on the floor, listening. She stayed here for the rest of the time. All of the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a lot. Meghan was very attentive to the girl reading the book. She went along with the game and was very interested.
I can tell that she loves to be around her friends, just by looking at the centers that she chooses. She spends a lot of time at the blocks area, snack, or the writing table.
Where: St. Norbert College Children's Center
When: April 23rd 9:00-10:00
circle time:
Meghan sat still and payed attention as usual. She raised her hand two or three times and answered Ms. Bonnie's questions.
free time: Meghan went over to the computer right away. She played here for ten minutes. Then, we went to the writing table. She wrote her first, last, and middle name for me. We took some of the preschoolers names and worked on writing those. Meghan did very well at this. Her fine motor skills are well advanced and she seems to have a good grasp of her letters. After this, she went over to snack. She stayed here for a while, talking with her friends. Then, Meghan went to the reading area. Three other girls were sitting there. Two were pretending to be the teachers and were "reading" the books to the other girl. Meghan joined them and sat on the floor, listening. She stayed here for the rest of the time. All of the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a lot. Meghan was very attentive to the girl reading the book. She went along with the game and was very interested.
I can tell that she loves to be around her friends, just by looking at the centers that she chooses. She spends a lot of time at the blocks area, snack, or the writing table.
Meghan- April 20th
Who: Meghan
Where: St. Norbert College Children's Center
When: 10:00-11:00
During circle time Meghan was her usual, attentive self. She was very quiet and well behaved.
Once circle time was over she went over to the art table. She worked on the activity for a while, talking to her friends. I had her sample using a scissors for me, to test her fine motor skills. She did very well at this. After this, she went to snack. She stayed here for a while. I asked her about her trip to Georgia and she told all about the things that she did. I noticed that she did a very good job at communicating. She described specific stories and events.
After staying at snack for a while Meghan went over to blocks. There were already three boys there, each working on a separate thing. Meghan came and got them all to join together. Then, they all worked together to build one big bridge and road. I could see Meghan talking to her classmates and cooperating with them.
Where: St. Norbert College Children's Center
When: 10:00-11:00
During circle time Meghan was her usual, attentive self. She was very quiet and well behaved.
Once circle time was over she went over to the art table. She worked on the activity for a while, talking to her friends. I had her sample using a scissors for me, to test her fine motor skills. She did very well at this. After this, she went to snack. She stayed here for a while. I asked her about her trip to Georgia and she told all about the things that she did. I noticed that she did a very good job at communicating. She described specific stories and events.
After staying at snack for a while Meghan went over to blocks. There were already three boys there, each working on a separate thing. Meghan came and got them all to join together. Then, they all worked together to build one big bridge and road. I could see Meghan talking to her classmates and cooperating with them.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Miles 4/20/09
Who: Miles
Where:Saint Joseph School, Inc.
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 3:00-5:00
Inside: Gym
Miles wanted to make a paper airplane in the gym. He knew the first few steps and did the folding on his own. I helped him with the last few steps. I put the paper where it should be and he folded it. I was talking to a few of the children and we were talking about middle names. Miles knew what his was and he told me. Then he flew the paper airplane. He pinched it with his two fingers and his thumb and always threw the airplane in the direction he wanted it to go. As he flew, he made alterations to the plane to change the way it flies. He added staples to it, and he also added some folds. A few boys tried to create challenges and wanted Miles to join. He acknowledged the boys but then continued to fly the airplane on his own. Eventually he took turns flying the airplane and chasing it with the boys. He talked extensively with another boy about both of their airplanes. They both built different versions. After a while, he drew on his airplane to decorate it. I would say he played on his own 90% of the time we were in the gym.
Inside: Snack
During snack we went around and told stories again. Miles told a story about fog and how he woke up and saw fog and it scared him (he said this was a pretend story). His story eventually turned into snapping turtles and alligators that went into the pool at the hotel he stayed at over spring break (he said this was a real story). A few children asked him questions about his story and he answered them with believable answers for both stories. He initiated this topic because he was the first to tell the story. When other students were telling stories, he asked questions. Sometimes he would interrupt and tell his own story. One student telling the story said he wanted to ask a question. I asked him if he wanted to ask a question or tell a story and the student said ask a question. Miles said the student was going to ask himself a question. The student then told a story and Miles said that was a story not a question. Even though we were telling stories in a circle, Miles argued with another boy about who was going to tell the story first.
Inside: Project
During the project, Miles was asked to sit out for a while. When he came back, he painted his maracas with many different colors.
Inside: Free Play
Where:Saint Joseph School, Inc.
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 3:00-5:00
Inside: Gym
Miles wanted to make a paper airplane in the gym. He knew the first few steps and did the folding on his own. I helped him with the last few steps. I put the paper where it should be and he folded it. I was talking to a few of the children and we were talking about middle names. Miles knew what his was and he told me. Then he flew the paper airplane. He pinched it with his two fingers and his thumb and always threw the airplane in the direction he wanted it to go. As he flew, he made alterations to the plane to change the way it flies. He added staples to it, and he also added some folds. A few boys tried to create challenges and wanted Miles to join. He acknowledged the boys but then continued to fly the airplane on his own. Eventually he took turns flying the airplane and chasing it with the boys. He talked extensively with another boy about both of their airplanes. They both built different versions. After a while, he drew on his airplane to decorate it. I would say he played on his own 90% of the time we were in the gym.
Inside: Snack
During snack we went around and told stories again. Miles told a story about fog and how he woke up and saw fog and it scared him (he said this was a pretend story). His story eventually turned into snapping turtles and alligators that went into the pool at the hotel he stayed at over spring break (he said this was a real story). A few children asked him questions about his story and he answered them with believable answers for both stories. He initiated this topic because he was the first to tell the story. When other students were telling stories, he asked questions. Sometimes he would interrupt and tell his own story. One student telling the story said he wanted to ask a question. I asked him if he wanted to ask a question or tell a story and the student said ask a question. Miles said the student was going to ask himself a question. The student then told a story and Miles said that was a story not a question. Even though we were telling stories in a circle, Miles argued with another boy about who was going to tell the story first.
Inside: Project
During the project, Miles was asked to sit out for a while. When he came back, he painted his maracas with many different colors.
Inside: Free Play
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Who: Joey
Age: 5
Gender: Male
Where: SNC Children's Center
When: April 7 and April 10 (Inside), April 9 and 16 (Outside)
Circle Time:
Joey is usually a pretty good listener during circle time and large group activities. Sometimes, however, he is easily influenced by his peers and needs to move because he cannot help but talk to them. One thing with Joey that I have noticed is that he is very bright and has good questions, but if he can't ask them or talk when he wants to then he gets very upset, and that is when he begins to act out. I also noticed that Joey usually knows the answers to the questions that the teacher is asking, he just doesn't always share them. There have been several times where I have heard him say the answer under his breath, but he doesn't raise his hand. I often encourage him to raise his hand and share his answers with the class. Other times though Joey will just blurt the answer out and not show his teacher and peers proper respect.
Free Choice:
Joey is often quite the follower lately when it comes to free time. There is one child in particular that he is almost inseperable from. I noticed this a little bit last semester, but he was still content playing with me or other children, but it seems that this semester is has gotten worse and he almost refuses to go to an area without this other child. Joey is a big fan of the block area and is very good using them. He makes some very elaborate structures for a preschooler and he often surprises me. He also does a great job with patterning when using the blocks and can make his structures very symmetrical. I also noticed as I was observing that he is very aware of what blocks will balance where and when he uses the animals, he strategically places them on the blocks making sure that they aren't too heavy.
Joey is also very good when using the small manipulatives. He is able to make some very cool objects by connecting different small pieces into a much larger structure. I often see him making things and then his peers ask him to make them the same thing. He has a good understanding of which pieces will work together and he shows good hand eye coordination to be able to connect them and make them look like the final product that he is trying to create.
Outside Time:
Joey loves playing outside and running around with his friends! He often sticks to playing with the boys, but every once in a while they will chase some of the girls around the playground. He likes playing with the balls on the playground, sometimes this causes some rough behavior outside because they will tackle the person with the ball, trying to take it away from them. This at times needs to be broken up because it ends up being one child on the ground with about 4 other children piled up on top. He also enjoys racing around with the trucks on the playground. He likes to race other kids around the playground while each of them pushes a dump truck.
On top of using objects outside, he also uses his imagination to come up with games for him and his friends to play outside. They often play tag, or use the playground equiptment and some sort of large structure that only one person can be on and all the others want to get onto it. They also like to pretend that the woodchips are something else and that they can be stood on. They often laugh and me and tell me that it's not safe and I need to get to "safety." It amazes me how they can start something like that and it just takes off. It's like they can read eachother's minds because one child will come up with an idea and the others will just join in as though they came up with the idea themselves. I have noticed that Joey does tend to be a good leader when he isn't in one of his moods where he needs to follow the same child around. It seems to me that the others really enjoy Joey and he does a good child of using his imagination to create games for everyone.
Age: 5
Gender: Male
Where: SNC Children's Center
When: April 7 and April 10 (Inside), April 9 and 16 (Outside)
Circle Time:
Joey is usually a pretty good listener during circle time and large group activities. Sometimes, however, he is easily influenced by his peers and needs to move because he cannot help but talk to them. One thing with Joey that I have noticed is that he is very bright and has good questions, but if he can't ask them or talk when he wants to then he gets very upset, and that is when he begins to act out. I also noticed that Joey usually knows the answers to the questions that the teacher is asking, he just doesn't always share them. There have been several times where I have heard him say the answer under his breath, but he doesn't raise his hand. I often encourage him to raise his hand and share his answers with the class. Other times though Joey will just blurt the answer out and not show his teacher and peers proper respect.
Free Choice:
Joey is often quite the follower lately when it comes to free time. There is one child in particular that he is almost inseperable from. I noticed this a little bit last semester, but he was still content playing with me or other children, but it seems that this semester is has gotten worse and he almost refuses to go to an area without this other child. Joey is a big fan of the block area and is very good using them. He makes some very elaborate structures for a preschooler and he often surprises me. He also does a great job with patterning when using the blocks and can make his structures very symmetrical. I also noticed as I was observing that he is very aware of what blocks will balance where and when he uses the animals, he strategically places them on the blocks making sure that they aren't too heavy.
Joey is also very good when using the small manipulatives. He is able to make some very cool objects by connecting different small pieces into a much larger structure. I often see him making things and then his peers ask him to make them the same thing. He has a good understanding of which pieces will work together and he shows good hand eye coordination to be able to connect them and make them look like the final product that he is trying to create.
Outside Time:
Joey loves playing outside and running around with his friends! He often sticks to playing with the boys, but every once in a while they will chase some of the girls around the playground. He likes playing with the balls on the playground, sometimes this causes some rough behavior outside because they will tackle the person with the ball, trying to take it away from them. This at times needs to be broken up because it ends up being one child on the ground with about 4 other children piled up on top. He also enjoys racing around with the trucks on the playground. He likes to race other kids around the playground while each of them pushes a dump truck.
On top of using objects outside, he also uses his imagination to come up with games for him and his friends to play outside. They often play tag, or use the playground equiptment and some sort of large structure that only one person can be on and all the others want to get onto it. They also like to pretend that the woodchips are something else and that they can be stood on. They often laugh and me and tell me that it's not safe and I need to get to "safety." It amazes me how they can start something like that and it just takes off. It's like they can read eachother's minds because one child will come up with an idea and the others will just join in as though they came up with the idea themselves. I have noticed that Joey does tend to be a good leader when he isn't in one of his moods where he needs to follow the same child around. It seems to me that the others really enjoy Joey and he does a good child of using his imagination to create games for everyone.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Kavin
Who: Kavin
Date Observed: 4/20/09
Where:SNC Children's Center
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 1:00-3:00
Inside: Circle Time
It was very obvious that it was a rainy day today and the children had been stuck inside. During circle time, Kavin had a lot of difficulty knowing when it was his turn to talk and when it was time to listen to his friends or the teacher. He spoke out of turn a lot. He also had trouble sitting still. Although, whenever he did speak out, he had something important to say. He was always on task talking about the book, just was forgetting to raise his hand. Today we read the book ZOOM. It is actually quite an interesting book because it starts out really zoomed in on something and then as you turn the pages, you zoom out to see the bigger picture. They did an activity where the kids had the various pictures and had to put them in the correct order. Kavin was constantly helping his friends know when it was their turn. He could tell which picture came first and which one was a little more zoomed out. Kavin is a very observant child. He always notices even the smallest of details.
Inside: Free choice time
Kavin spent most of his time in the block area today. He was mainly playing by himself. He was creating different jumps with blocks that he would have some of the toy pigs jump off of. He also tested out the new sensory table. Since this week starts Earth week, the sensory table was full of dirt. Kavin would fill up some small pails with dirt, but he did not spend too much time there. I do not think he enjoyed getting dirty. Exactly why he did not participate in the art activity because the children were painting their hands and putting them on a picture of the Earth. When I asked if he wanted to make a dirt cup, his response was "ewww! I don't want that." I do not think he was able to realize that it was not real dirt.
Transition Time:
During transition time to go outside after preschool today, Kavin had trouble keeping his hands to himself. He did not like when other friends were touching him, but he was okay touching others. Today, we had a big reminder about keeping our body parts to ourselves.
Date Observed: 4/20/09
Where:SNC Children's Center
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 1:00-3:00
Inside: Circle Time
It was very obvious that it was a rainy day today and the children had been stuck inside. During circle time, Kavin had a lot of difficulty knowing when it was his turn to talk and when it was time to listen to his friends or the teacher. He spoke out of turn a lot. He also had trouble sitting still. Although, whenever he did speak out, he had something important to say. He was always on task talking about the book, just was forgetting to raise his hand. Today we read the book ZOOM. It is actually quite an interesting book because it starts out really zoomed in on something and then as you turn the pages, you zoom out to see the bigger picture. They did an activity where the kids had the various pictures and had to put them in the correct order. Kavin was constantly helping his friends know when it was their turn. He could tell which picture came first and which one was a little more zoomed out. Kavin is a very observant child. He always notices even the smallest of details.
Inside: Free choice time
Kavin spent most of his time in the block area today. He was mainly playing by himself. He was creating different jumps with blocks that he would have some of the toy pigs jump off of. He also tested out the new sensory table. Since this week starts Earth week, the sensory table was full of dirt. Kavin would fill up some small pails with dirt, but he did not spend too much time there. I do not think he enjoyed getting dirty. Exactly why he did not participate in the art activity because the children were painting their hands and putting them on a picture of the Earth. When I asked if he wanted to make a dirt cup, his response was "ewww! I don't want that." I do not think he was able to realize that it was not real dirt.
Transition Time:
During transition time to go outside after preschool today, Kavin had trouble keeping his hands to himself. He did not like when other friends were touching him, but he was okay touching others. Today, we had a big reminder about keeping our body parts to ourselves.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Kavin
Who: Kavin
Date Observed: 4/16/09
Where:SNC Children's Center
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 1:30-5
Inside: Circle Time
Kavin did a great job sitting during circle time today. He was very attentive and was able to answer the questions that were asked. Kavin always provides thoughtful feedback and asks very intelligent questions. I can tell that his mind is always going. Kavin did a great job remembering the 4 stages of a butterfly (lifecycle). When we first sat down during circle time, he was being very social with a few other boys. Kavin is becoming much better at interacting with his peers.
Inside: Free choice time
It was a surprise to me that today Kavin did not opt to play on the computer by himself. Instead, he enjoyed playing in dramatic play with Nicklas. Kavin and Nicklas made the mail truck into their house but ended up being too rough with the toys that dramatic play was closed. Kavin's next idea was to play what they were playing in the block area. He is just so creative and can make a game out of practically anything. There was also a center with a multi-layered butterfly puzzle. Kavin loves doing puzzles and he is usually very dedicated to working on them until he finishes. Today he was not very into it. I think his frustration got the best of him.
Outside: playground
Kavin was very social on the playground today, interacting with mainly the boys. They were running around. At times the play did get a bit too rough. I ended up having to break up a fight between him and another boy in which he was on top of the boy and punching him. Kavin said the other boy punched him so that's why he did it. Kavin needs work on using his words to solve his problems, as do many children his age. He was racing the dump trucks around the equipment. Then, I started a game where the equipment was my castle and there were all these different animals or hot lava or something at the bottoms of all the exits. Kavin and a few other children took the game and let their imaginations run. They were jumping into snake pits and surviving when I sprayed them with my magical potion. It was really fun to see!
Date Observed: 4/16/09
Where:SNC Children's Center
Age: 4 years old
Gender: Male
Time: 1:30-5
Inside: Circle Time
Kavin did a great job sitting during circle time today. He was very attentive and was able to answer the questions that were asked. Kavin always provides thoughtful feedback and asks very intelligent questions. I can tell that his mind is always going. Kavin did a great job remembering the 4 stages of a butterfly (lifecycle). When we first sat down during circle time, he was being very social with a few other boys. Kavin is becoming much better at interacting with his peers.
Inside: Free choice time
It was a surprise to me that today Kavin did not opt to play on the computer by himself. Instead, he enjoyed playing in dramatic play with Nicklas. Kavin and Nicklas made the mail truck into their house but ended up being too rough with the toys that dramatic play was closed. Kavin's next idea was to play what they were playing in the block area. He is just so creative and can make a game out of practically anything. There was also a center with a multi-layered butterfly puzzle. Kavin loves doing puzzles and he is usually very dedicated to working on them until he finishes. Today he was not very into it. I think his frustration got the best of him.
Outside: playground
Kavin was very social on the playground today, interacting with mainly the boys. They were running around. At times the play did get a bit too rough. I ended up having to break up a fight between him and another boy in which he was on top of the boy and punching him. Kavin said the other boy punched him so that's why he did it. Kavin needs work on using his words to solve his problems, as do many children his age. He was racing the dump trucks around the equipment. Then, I started a game where the equipment was my castle and there were all these different animals or hot lava or something at the bottoms of all the exits. Kavin and a few other children took the game and let their imaginations run. They were jumping into snake pits and surviving when I sprayed them with my magical potion. It was really fun to see!
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