Fleming

College Early Childhood Education

Learning Experience Reflection Form

Student Name: Drew Gregory Date: march 9th 2016

Context: Circle/Highlight what fits:

Age Group(s) of children observed: Infants, Toddlers, Preschool/Kindergarten, School-
age
Context: indoor or outdoor, Child Initiated or Adult Initiated
Social Context: alone, pair, small group, large group
Adult Support: none, minimal, some, much

Observation: Anecdotal description of an ordinary moment observed with a child or
children.
On my second day of placement, I observed a pair of children, a little girl and a little boy.
They pulled out the dinosaurs that were on the shelf. They were pretend playing next to
one another making dinosaur noises. I observed the little boy say put the leaves away,
dinosaurs eat meat then they were pretending to get the dinosaurs to eat other
animals. They moved onto observing how many legs the dinosaurs have, what their feet
look like and showing each other how the think they the dinosaurs would walk. They
continued playing for 5 to 10 minutes before having to move on to putting their
snowsuits on to go outside and play.

Reflections and Interpretations (What does this observation suggest to you about the
child/childrens thinking?)
I believe from this observation that the children already had background knowledge on
dinosaurs. I thought this due to what the little boy said Put the leaves away, dinosaurs
eat meat. They had an understanding about the facts of dinosaurs already. The children
seem very interested in the play dinosaurs, every time there is free play the dinosaurs
seem to be out. Near the end I noticed the focus turned towards the dinosaurs feet.
The children played together for a couple of minutes and seemed to be excited
someone was sharing the same interests as them. This observation suggested to me
that the child may also be thinking about what was similar and what was different about
the dinosaur feet to human feet, by the one child observing what the dinosaur foot
looked like then looking at her own foot.


List 3 goals for the experience you are planning. Your goals must support the
childrens play interest and your interpretation of their thinking.

1. Children using language to describe what they are doing in their artwork and
 describing the creation they are using.
2. The children using their cognitive skills and compare the animal foot prints to their
own, and pick out the differences and the similarities of them.
3. Being creative and using their own individualized interpretations of what they believe
to be true about animal feet and human feet then creating their own unique canvases.

Describe what you are planning to do. Do they support your goals?
Based on my interpretation of the observation I thought it might be a neat idea to make
prints of different animals feet including dinosaur feet. I would make the prints out of
sponge or foam paper, so the children could dip them in different colours of paint and
make an imprint on a canvas of paper. I will encourage children to stick their own hands
in the paint, or feet and make an imprint of human hands/ feet, then compare them to
an animals footprint they made with the stamps provided. Children will also have
paintbrushes available to them will, this will allow them to have opportunities to paint
other things if they wish, such as the animals themselves. The children will also be
supplied with their own blank canvas so they can make whatever creation they would
like, creating endless opportunities for creativity and imagination to happen.
I will make sure I make labels for every stamp so the children know what print they are
using to compare their own to.

Picture taken by: Drew Gregory, Monday March 14th 2016

Link your experience plan to OELF (Age range, Briefly explain how your experience will foster these domains and
Domain & Skill, and Indicator of Skill) skills
(2.5- 6 years) Preschool- Kindergarten, Social 1.6 Co- In my activity, it will be necessary that children share the
operating. Exchanging ideas and materials during play. materials that are available. Every child needs a turn will all the
Taking part in setting and following rules in play. different animal feet in order to compare their own to the
(Pg.38) animals foot print. Once the rules are made and explained to the
children, it will be necessary children follow these rules when
using the paint.
(2.5- 6 years) Preschool- Kindergarten, Cognition 4.3 The children participating in this activity previously showed
Representation. Connecting artwork to their past interest in the dinosaurs and were focusing on their feet. They
experiences. Using a variety of materials to build with now can connect their artwork to there past play experience, of
to express ideas. (Pg. 46) when they were curious about the dinosaur feet. The children
will also have the different stamps and paintbrushes available
to them to express their ideas about dinosaurs and different
animals.

(2.5- 6 years) Preschool- Kindergarten, Cognition 4.11 The open ended questions I will be asking the children will
seriating. Describing relationships such as smaller encourage them to think about the similarities and differences
than, bigger than, different than. (Pg. 49) of their own feet or hands to the animals. This will then
encourage them to use language that talk about smaller than,
bigger than, different than or the same.

If my activity goes as planned, I believe it will support my goals. The children will be
required to share the materials that I am bringing in with each other so they can all have
a turn. I will ask open ended questions about the similarities and differences as the
children are paining, this will get them to use their cognitive skills to think about what is
different, and what is the same between animal feet and humans (the shape, claws, fur,
etc.). By giving children paintbrushes to add whatever they would like to their canvases,
this will create opportunities for individual creativity. The children should all have
unique canvases when they are done painting.


What is the Area of Learning (Curriculum) that will be explored in the experience you
are planning? Choose one.
Circle/Highlight the one that stands out the most.

Math Science and Language Health The Music Sensory
Technology and Arts/Creative
Physical Expression
Activity

Pick other concepts or ideas that could be explored to connect and extend the learning?
Explain
Math
Science and Technology
Language The children could learn new language by educators
talking about the different footprints. They could
potentially learn about a dinosaur they have never heard
of before.
Health and Physical Activity
The Arts/Creative
Expression
Music
Sensory Children are using their senses during this activity. They
could use their sight to see the different colours, touch
because they will be sticking their hands/ feet in the paint
and maybe even smelling the different colours of paint.

(Interpretation reflects the childrens play. I like how you were able to be specific (the
focus turning to feet) with what you were observing)

THE PLAN

Give your planned experience a name: The Animal Stamp Stomp!

Context: Circle/Highlight what fits:

Context: indoor or outdoor, Child Initiated or Adult Initiated
Social Context: alone, pair, small group, large group
Adult Support: none, minimal, some, much



Materials or equipment required: (List all materials/equipment needed to
complete this learning opportunity with children making sure that another educator
could replicate this experience)
Paint
Paper plates to put the paint on
Paint brushes
Foam paper
Cardboard
Blank canvases
Wipes for after they are done using their hands in the paint OR washing hands in a sink
if it is close enough to the activity



PROCEDURE:

Beginning:
How will you introduce this experience? How will you present this experience or set it
up to make it inviting? Describe the invitation to the play. Build an image for your
host and evaluator of what they could expect to see.
I would like my activity to be set up ahead of time so the children can initially see it and
jump right in. I believe the best way for me to set the activity up is for the children that
do not go for nap (the older preschool-kindergarten age) this way it is a smaller group
and they are a little older. I would set the activity up downstairs where the children go
while the others are napping. I will display all the animal print stamps out on the table
with a label of what they are and a picture of the animal on top so they know what they
are using. I will set the dinosaurs and different plastic animals around the table as well
so they have a chance to look at that as well while painting. I will have all the materials
scattered and a paint on plates available for every child so the dont have to worry
about mixing colours. Each child will have a clean white canvas to paint on for their own
individual creation.

Picture taken by: Drew Gregory, Monday March 14th 2016

Be prepared to Expand Childrens Thinking.
Provide 3 possible and MEANINGFUL OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS that could be used to
expand children thinking. Avoid pop questions as they have no real purpose in the
growth of the interest or topic. Be curious, wonder with the children- stretch the
interest or idea.
1. Why do you think dinosaurs are extinct (do not live on earth anymore)?

2. Why do you think the animals feet are different than human feet?

3. Why do you think it is important to have feet?

4. Why do you think animals have four feet/ paws and no hands like humans?
Middle
Reflect on the possible responses and inquiries that may result from your open ended
questions and answer the following questions. What words will I use to increase
vocabulary with this age group? What potential procedures will need to be provided,
explained or coached as the experience unfolds? What will you be doing? What will
you be prepared to add or omit in this experience?
I will talk about and encourage the children to pick out the similarities and differences
between the different feet, I will provide different pictures for the children so they can
visually see what animal print belongs to each animal. In my activity the adults may
need to assist in the washing of hands, due to not wanting paint all over the place, but
other than that it is pretty well child initiated. The materials will be available to the
children and they may do what they wish, there is not a sample painting or direction to
their artwork. I am prepared to assist children in their paining if they need it, such as
helping them get paint on their hands to make their own handprint. I am also prepared
for when the children are finished the experience to have animal books out and ready
for the children to read individually or I could read the book to them.


End:
What might you do or say to the child or children to conclude the experience? Will
there be time provided later if tasks are incomplete? If not, what are some possible
solutions to this?
To conclude this activity the children will simply decide when they are done painting. There
should be lots of time for the painting to take place. Once the children are done their painting
we will put their names on the canvases and wait for them to dry so later on they can take them
home. After everyone is finished if the children are still interested in animals I may get some
animal books out and read aloud. This way children will be engaged in the books, and connect
the learning that happened in the patenting to the books.
At free time, there is an art table with crafts available for the children to create whatever they
would like. Children would be able to come back to their activity of painting at a later time if
they wish.

Extensions:
As you reflect on the learning that has happened, what are some possible play extensions that
would further take the
CHILD/CHILDRENS ideas and their learning to a different level?
Some things I could add to this activity to extend the learning could be dinosaur sounds and
movements. After then children are done painting I could have brought out pictures of different
animals and ask them to act out what they think that particular animal sounds like, that way
they will be thinking back in their memory to the previous knowledge they already have on
different animals, and there are possibilities for new learning to happen. Some children may not
be sure of all the different noises the animals could make but by doing the activity together as a
group they could learn. I could also encourage the children to act out what a particular animal
looks like (Example: a dinosaur would stand tall with claw like hands and stomping feet). The
children would then learn the different actions of animals along with using both their gross and
fine motor skills.



Evidence of Research (REFERENCES): INCLUDING Excerpts from the Elect is not
optional (CITED PROPERLY)
Consider researching Web Sites, blogs, Pinterest (actual web site not just the Pinterest url),
research books, articles, and collaboration with others.

Experts from ELECT:
Early learning for every child today: A framework for Ontario early childhood
settings ([Rev.] ed., p.38, 46, 49). (2007). Toronto: Ministry of Children and
Youth Services.

Collaboration:
-Collaboration between Early Childhood Educators in the Trent Daycare center.

Dinosaur footprints:
Bishop, K. (2007, November 19). Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images
& Photos - iStock. Retrieved March 14, 2016, from
http://www.istockphoto.com/vector/dinosaur-skeleton-amp-footprints-
gm165488090-4679306


STUDENT EVALUATION AND REFLECTION:
Did you feel this experience was a success? Why or why not?
I do believe the children enjoyed the experience, but it did not turn out as well as I
wanted it to. I set out all the materials and the children were very excited to start. The
stamps did work, but a lot of the children smudged the stamps all over the page so it did
not make a clear print. By the end of that activity most pages were covered in different
colours of paints instead of footprints but the children did know what footprint
belonged to what animal. I did set out a visual of each animal so they could relate back
to it if they had forgotten what print went with what animal. I believe if I had of been
working with older children it may have worked a little better, but it was a good
experience for everyone, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. I was proud of all
the creative artwork that came out of this experience.



Address the following questions:

Explain what was new for the children in this learning experience?
I believe this was the fist time children have used homemade stamps in the daycare (I
could be mistaken) so I showed them how to properly use them before we started the
activity, to dip the whole thing in pain, bring it out of the paint and place it flat on their
paper.
It could have been a new experience that children comparing their own hands to
dinosaur or different animals hands as well.


How did your planned experience support the childrens interests and ideas from your
initial reflection and interpretation? Explain.
The planned experience supported my theory of the children comparing their feet and
hands to the dinosaur feet. The observations of the children observing the different
animals feet and making them walk was supported by placing the different stamps on
the paper to visually see the differences in the animals feet to human hands.


Were you successful in supporting the goals, the domains and skills, and the areas of
learning? Explain.

I believe I was successful in supporting my goals, the children worked great together
with sharing all the material that were available and there were lots to go around. There
were not two canvases that looked the same by the end of the activity, everyone had
created their own individualized canvas and I also believe we started to see the
similarities and differences of the feet. I would have liked to go a little more in depth
with this topic but one little girl did notice that the elephant had four toes. Once she
started that fact an educator asked Is that how many toes you have? (Nicole) and the
child (Marley) answered no. This means she was supporting her knowledge on the
similarities and differences of an elephant foot to her own.

When reflecting on my activity to the goals I set with Experts to ELECT I believe the
domains and skills were met in my activity. The children exchanged materials and
ideas during their art time. They also connected their artwork to past experiences
first by having the play animals in from of them while the pain tied so they could
think back to what their interests were and second because they brought their
play animals into the art work and traced their feet on the paper (which was a
great idea!) The children just started to touch the surface on the 'describing
relationships such as smaller than, bigger than, different than' we could have
worked on that one a little more.

The areas or learning were defiantly met in my eyes. I believe the children used
creative expressions in their artwork and were engaged in what they were doing.



What did you learn about the childrens learning (this is called pedagogy)? Remember,
you co-construct the learning experience with the children. Explain any challenges
that you or the children had with this learning experience (if any) and what would you
change for next time? Was this inclusive?
I learned that the children had very good patience at the beginning of the activity
waiting for me to explain what was going on. I expected some children to start their art
right away but they paid attention to me first. I was impressed with how well the little
ones worked with paint and I also learned (even though I could have guessed) the
children loved to get their hands dirty in the paint.
Some challenges I had with his learning experience was just coaching the children, even
though the stamps did not turn out as well as I had hoped on the paper, the children
were still very interested and knew which footprint belonged to what animal. For next
time I might pick an older age group to do an art activity with just because the very little
ones were so excited they just got their hands messy and thats all they cared about.
Overall I believe our experience was a success.

Pictures taken by: Drew Gregory, Monday March 14th 2016

The activity you prepared and set up was very approaching to the children and
shows a lot of thought and preparation. As you mentioned it would be interesting to
see how the older group interact but you adapted well with the younger age group
and allowed for their exploration. It being a rainy day we were all inside so we
would typically have a smaller group, which may have allowed for more interaction.