Ping Pong the gerbil and me- I like gerbils now!
The Duffy household has been a busy one lately. We've been treating all the pets for ring worm (and it seems to be gone now- thank God!). The rats have also had a cold so they've been on meds for the past little while but hopefully that will clear up soon, but little Sonnen the hamster's tail is almost all better. Things are starting to look up for our little animals! Please pray for us that sickness will stay away- there has been too much of it lately!
At the beginning of the month I began a new OJT which will be a month long. I'm working at a centre in a room with mixed ages between 2-4 years old. It feels wonderful to be back working with children. I enjoy class so much and if I were to describe how what I have learned just in this short amount of time has made such a big impact on how I look at children, this blog post would end up being far too long (like it usually is!), but the opportunity to practice what I've learned in real situations with children is crucial.
I'm being both inspired and challenged by the children. I find a big challenge for me that I've been working on is how to help children resolve conflict. Even through simple situations like both children wanting the same toy, I find things can get sticky fast. I like the High Scope Method with it's 6 steps for helping children solve conflicts, but it certainly does take practice and sometimes I feel that no matter how hard I try a resolution that both children are happy with doesn't get reached. But teaching children how to solve their own conflicts rather than needing a teacher to control the whole affair, is so important and I know that I must press on with that.
I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day. I work that evening so Josh and I will probably do something simple (which I don't mind at all), but it'll be especially nice to be at a day care to share in Valentines Day with the children. I love the reds and pinks, and I already bought my Winnie the Pooh valentines to give out to the children. I'm hoping we'll get to decorate cookies too!
In the meantime I'm planning some activities f or this upcoming week one of them being an 'invitation to play' with a 'woodland animal' kind of theme with my little fake Christmas tree and berries, pine cones, pieces of wood, little wooden bowls of spices, Beatrix Potter books and more. I'm totally creating something that I would have loved as a child to see if the children will also enjoy it. I love early childhood education!
At the beginning of the month I began a new OJT which will be a month long. I'm working at a centre in a room with mixed ages between 2-4 years old. It feels wonderful to be back working with children. I enjoy class so much and if I were to describe how what I have learned just in this short amount of time has made such a big impact on how I look at children, this blog post would end up being far too long (like it usually is!), but the opportunity to practice what I've learned in real situations with children is crucial.
I'm being both inspired and challenged by the children. I find a big challenge for me that I've been working on is how to help children resolve conflict. Even through simple situations like both children wanting the same toy, I find things can get sticky fast. I like the High Scope Method with it's 6 steps for helping children solve conflicts, but it certainly does take practice and sometimes I feel that no matter how hard I try a resolution that both children are happy with doesn't get reached. But teaching children how to solve their own conflicts rather than needing a teacher to control the whole affair, is so important and I know that I must press on with that.
I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day. I work that evening so Josh and I will probably do something simple (which I don't mind at all), but it'll be especially nice to be at a day care to share in Valentines Day with the children. I love the reds and pinks, and I already bought my Winnie the Pooh valentines to give out to the children. I'm hoping we'll get to decorate cookies too!
In the meantime I'm planning some activities f or this upcoming week one of them being an 'invitation to play' with a 'woodland animal' kind of theme with my little fake Christmas tree and berries, pine cones, pieces of wood, little wooden bowls of spices, Beatrix Potter books and more. I'm totally creating something that I would have loved as a child to see if the children will also enjoy it. I love early childhood education!
RSS Feed