Full Day Kindergarten(FDK) - Focused Observations

September 2017

School: Charlton PS Teacher: Ms Kliger ECE: Mrs Vaid

1. The FDK program envisions a classroom teacher & a registered Early Childhood
Educator collaborating to provide a well-designed program in a safe, inclusive
and responsive environment. What evidence did you see of:

a) Collaboration
Lots of communication was happening throughout the entire day. The teacher and
DECE have been working together for a number of years and have an excellent system
of ensuring that all students are included in the learning process. They also know each
others' strengths and weaknesses and makes for some great collaboration.
b) Safe Environment
Some of the newer students (Junior Kindergarten) are going through social issues while
interacting with the other students. This has created some tension and chaos amongst
the younger students. Together, the teacher and DECE have a method of keeping those
students with social issues included in the classroom but not without some strict and
stern rules and norms. It's possible that these students have never been to daycare, or
have difficult environments at home, so it is important that they understand from the
beginning what a safe environment consists of.
c) Inclusive Environment
Rules and norms were introduced in the first week so ensure a safe environment. This
is an important step as it dictates how students interact with the teacher, DECE, and
each other. Each student is encouraged to learn and play at different learning stations
no matter who is there. This lets the students know each other on a personal level,
while they can get used to different personalities, intelligences, and demographics.
 d) Responsive Environment
This will continue to be a work in progress, and for some students it may take longer.
The Senior Kindergarten students are already familiar with the classroom, its setup, and
the learning stations. They are easily responsive to the environment, whether in the
classroom or during recess. For the younger students, they don't understand the
concept of school and schedules, and so they feel lost and confused. This will get better
as routines continue to be firmly applied. What has worked is showcasing an SK student
of their behaviour and responsiveness to the task at hand, and the younger students are
now looking up to them and mimicking their action.

2. FDK is focused using the Childs Inquiry Process. What evidence did you find of
this? It might include: Exploration, Investigation, Communication.
Once again for the younger students in their first year of Kindergarten, evidence as
been there where upon starting a new learning station, no instructions has been given
to them. Using their hands and eyes, they start to manipulate what's in front of them and
try to make sense as to what they're "supposed" to do. For example, they are given little
wooden cubes, both wood-coloured and primary colours, along with a slate. From there
they are free to build whatever they can, whether it is colour-coordinated, shaped like a
known object, or otherwise. They will take some cubes and put them on their slate, first
not knowing what to do with them, but then eventually putting them together. This is
where they are exploring their options, in which way will they take these blocks. By
observing their peers, they are investigating what they are accomplishing, if anything.
Communication happens where they are first wondering if there are "correct" blocks to
use, and how to use them. Eventually they start talking about what they're making, or
just quickly building something. I was amazed to see the creativity that these students
had in such a short amount of time. One student created a train from the blocks and
placed wooden people on top. Another student built a house with walls and windows
from a bird's eye view. Students then see that there are no right or wrong answers, they
are free to build whatever they want with no judgment, and from there they start to see
the blocks in a new way and create other possibilities for themselves.
 3. Learning expectations for FDK include: Personal & Social Development,
Language, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Health& Physical Activity & the
Arts. Identify at least one learning opportunity for each of these expectations.
Personal & Social Development: Making the right decision. Students are invited to sit on
the carpet, there are no assigned seats. Students must decide where they wish to sit,
knowing possible past consequences of sitting with certain students who may have
distracted them and others from the lesson. Students who choose to sit where they will
not interrupt or be interrupted are making the right decision, others will learn that for
their social development, it is best to keep the chit-chat to a minimum while sitting in a
better place.
Language: A good majority of the students are failing to state courteous sentences such
as 'may I?', 'please', and 'thank you'. As a teacher, it is imperative that students be polite
to each other in the class and others when speaking. Through repetition, students will
be able to ask and answer questions in a polite manner, thus practicing proper speech
as well as correct sentence form and syntax.
Mathematics: Students are highly engaged in all sorts of manipulative during learning
centres. One centre that is math-focused is the usage of blocks which are of different
shapes and colours. With these blocks, students are able to create different shapes,
designs and objects. The key is for the blocks to stand up against each other without
falling. Watching students try to place blocks is fascinating, they quickly realise that
certain angles wouldn't hold up against others (for example, a triangle on its side
wouldn't sit straight on top of a square)
Science & Technology: With the change of the season, students will start to dress to
school differently. It is important for them to know why they can't wear shorts in
December. They can start to make connections by simply looking outside and seeing
the colours of the trees' leaves changing, the decrease in temperature, the shorter days,
and so on. Afterwards they can speak about what appropriate clothes they must wear in
fall and winter, describing when they need to wear certain items (for example, we need
to wear boots when there is snow on the ground)
Health & Physical Activity: Students are sent snacks to school. Some have great
snacks, others have snacks that could be improved. By having a conversation about
healthy snacks, students can see the benefits of eating certain things that help us play
throughout the day. From there, they can discuss and see what certain students can
and can't eat that may make them unwell, touching on the subject of allergies. Finally,
they need to understand that due to certain allergies, they shouldn't bring these foods in
the classroom, extending it to the school if other students are highly allergic to
something (peanuts being the most evident)
The Arts: Students usually react well to music, whether liking it or not. Certain songs
can be played and there can be a discussion as to why we like certain songs, their
speed, the beat, the way it's being sung, and more. Students are welcome to make
connections by possibly singing their favourite song, letting them express themselves in
an artistic way. Eventually the whole class can turn into a mini rock-band where
students create their own instruments, write their own song (with the help of the teacher
and DECE), and perform in front of each other.

4. Integration of learning throughout the FDK is important. How were opportunities

for Integration evident?

During a DPA activity, students were engaged in mindfulness via a YouTube video on
yoga for kids. Unlike yoga presented to adults, this was simply a story told using body
movements. Students listened and watched a yogi tell a story of animals going
shopping and driving around the city. By performing yoga poses, students were
exposed to the language component coupled with physical activity, without putting any
attention on the verbiage of moving certain body parts (for example, 'the lion went to
grab the orange juice with his right arm all the way up and across the isle', as opposed
to 'extend your right arm upwards and stretch it across your chest and hold it for 10
seconds'). The integration was seamless, interactive, and fun. The end goal of having
students be calm after a chaotic block of learning centres was achieved.

5. Observation & Documentation provide the evidence of student learning in FDK.

Describe the strategies and methods used by the Teacher & the ECE.
Although documentation wasn't used during my time in the classroom, much
observation and communication was done by the teacher and DECE. At first I thought
that they were informally stating what students were doing with no real purpose, but
later realised that this was critical in the way we understand our students. This particular
classroom of 28 students is very active with 28 different things happening at the same
time. Whether positive or negative, the teacher and DECE would make an effort to
ensure that the other knew of a certain behaviour, process, or work that was witnessed.
For example, an SK student wrote their name for the first time ever, a huge
improvement from the JK year where they could barely hold a pencil. The teacher was
ecstatic to see this, and made sure to first show enthusiasm and happiness to the
student, then proceeded to show the DECE as well as the neighbouring kindergarten
teacher the progress that was made. The same can be said for a worrisome behaviour
that is detected in students. It is imperative that observation and documentation
(whether mental or jotted down on paper) is completed as to watch for the progress
along the weeks and months.
 6. Engaging Families in the FDK what evidence do you see of families being
engaged in the FDK program?
For some families, it is their first time seeing their child off to school. For others, it is
their second or more times sending their child. For the new families, it is very important
that they are kept in the loop by the teacher and DECE. I witnessed a lot of worried
parents and guardians who wanted to make sure that their child was okay during the
day. One thing that the teacher said to one teacher, which resonated to me, is this: "If
you worry about your child in front of them, they will worry as well. Therefore there is no
reason to worry, trust that your child is in good hands and if anything happens then we
will let you know. Otherwise please let your child play and experience school at their
own pace." The parent understood the point but was still reluctant. The day after, we
saw their child dancing during a DPA, after their parent told us that they were shy. The
teacher was very quick to take a video of the child in order to show it to the parent at the
next opportunity. On the other hand, you see parents who are very confident of their
child due to the impact they've had on their children's learning at home. Engaging
families are a very important piece when it comes to the FDK programme, without them
the learning only happens in the classroom and doesn't extend further. At such a young
age, children are very dependent of their families, and so it is important that teachers,
DECEs, communities work together in providing the best learning environment for them.