Entry 2
Today, I noticed one little girl playing in the family corner by herself and she was talking to herself as she played. I heard her saying mummy a few times so I asked her “where is your mummy” and she responded quickly by saying “mummy work”. I asked “why is mummy going to work” and she said “work”.
Her older sister noticed us talking and she approached us. I asked her the same question and she said “mummy is a teacher like you”. I asked “how she felt about being away from her mum” and she said “I miss mummy but we can call her to talk when we miss her”. I noticed that when we were talking about the mum the little sister looked sad and it was obvious that she missed her mum. But the suggestion from her sister to phone their mum got her excited and her eyes lighted up as she grabbed the telephone and started to dial different numbers before talking on the phone. She said “hi mummy” and she smiled to herself. I saw the other sister picking up another phone and pretended to be the mother and talked back to her little sister. They talked and they moved closer to the wall where all the pictures of children’s families are posted and the little one pointed at their family picture and then looked at me while pointing at her mother saying “mummy”.
Later in the day during afternoon tea, I noticed that the little girl looked sad so I asked her why and she said “mummy”. Her older sister picked up her banana and she raised it to her ears while instructing her sister to do the same. When her sister did, she started to talk pretending that she was the mum. Her little sister looked surprise but soon her expressions changed as she smiled and started to respond to her sister’s conversation.
Looking back, I cannot help but appreciate the role of technology in our everyday lives. Using the telephone allowed this little girl to cope with her emotions when she missed her mother. She felt calm and peaceful knowing that the telephone will connect her to her mother anytime that she wanted. The big sister understood that although they could not see their mother physically, they could still talk to her over the phone. The telephone helped the children to feel secure in their learning environment as their “connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.54). The use of the family picture is also a good result of using cameras to support children and families. This technology also fosters good relationships between the two siblings and their mother.
The role playing of the telephone conversation with the mother, support children’s feelings towards their mother and it made them appreciate their mother and how much she meant to them. The telephone also allowed children to be creative and accommodating in their play as they experience “familiarity with the properties and character of the materials and technology used in the creative and expressive arts” (MoE, 1996, p. 80). The children also use bananas from their lunch boxes as telephones and it was very amusing as the two sisters giggled and giggled when they were using it. Cordeau-Young (1997) believes that “experience should stimulate children’s interest, expand their knowledge, be fun and add varieties’ to the school activities” (p. 142) and according to Te Whāriki, during their play, they build up confidence in their language skills as they “discovered different ways to be creative and expressive” (MoE, 1996, p. 72).
I really enjoyed watching these two sisters as they found ways to deal with missing their mother. The telephone and the pictures clearly showed how technology is a significant tool for teaching and learning in my centre as they help me to notice, recognise children’s learning and development.
References
Google Image. (2012). Image of banana. Retrieved from
Google Image. (2012). Image of family walking outdoor. Retrieved from
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he whaariki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Taylor, S., Morris, V., & Cordeau-Young, C. (1997). Field trips in early childhood settings: Expanding the walls of the classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25 (2), 141-146.
Hi, Sulieti.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome story and an excellent way to empower the children to learn through hands on exploration. This is the first time I have managed to find your blog and it is fantastic with really awesome work. It is good to see that you have picked up girls pretended play. It is interesting how technology plays a huge part in our lives, even at a very young age. Children often pretend to call their parents in my centre as well, and I have not thought of it as an influence of technology! I agree with you that experiences form children’s learning, and that using banana as a phone is an excellent example of children sculpting from their own experiences. You could perhaps ask open ended questions next time, to encourage girls learning. Scaffolding plays a big part in children’s learning, and I believe that as educators we should do it when there is a chance to. Ka pai Sulieti!
Hi Sulieti, I really enjoy reading the story about the two sisters as how they found ways to cope with her emotion when they were missing their mummy. It is a very interesting story. It is also a good example of how technology influences our lives and children’s learning and development today. You are a very observant teacher. From reading your reflection, I learnt the way of how you carefully observed children’s behaviours and analysed the information that you gained from your observation, in order to develop better understanding of how the children to cope with their emotion. It is a very good teaching technique. It is also great to see that you developed awareness of how children used technologies as a tool to solve problem and used it in a creative way. You also valued that technology is a significant tool for teaching and learning. However, I am also curious about how you feel about technologies and how technologies influence your teaching style today.
ReplyDeleteThe two siblings are so cute. They can use banana imagination as a phone, so she can keep contact with her mum very often! Children missing their parents are normal because they have strongly attachment with them. We as educators should be aware and respond to the child’s emotional needs to help them transit from one environment to another. Indeed, the telephone and family pictures are very helpful to release the girl’s emotion. Another helpful approach is encouraging the girl to bring some special stuff from home which can increase the sense of belonging between home and centre (Ministry of Education, 1996). Also, if your centre has provided a computer, you can teach the girl how to send an email for her mum by using the computer. Or, you can encourage the girl use a wide range of materials such as crayons, colour pencils and glue to make a card to her mum. To make her understand that there are many ways to express her emotion to her mum even if she is not in the centre.
ReplyDeleteReference
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Malo lelei Telephone
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting scenario and the impact of pretend play in children’s learning. In this case the children do not have to pretend to use their fruit for their lunch as means of communication to their mother. This is the crucial time for us, as educators to cater for children’s needs by providing resources to enhance their learning. We can take advantage of technology that is available in our centres every day. Smorti (1999 Autumn) states that technology is about helping people and solving problems. It was obvious that the older sibling familiarise with the situation by using pretend play. I will suggest another method of settling the child was to use the real phone to ring home: explain to the child that her mother may not be home, but you can try, you will be surprised with her reaction to your proposition.
It was a good idea for you on your behalf to take notice of what was going on with the little girl missing her mother. You presented the phone and the pictures as a mean of comforting the little girl and that was authentic. What I would normally do in my centre with children that take interest in family photos, is to take them to draw pictures of their family and talk about it so she could form attachment with those around her. I know how very useful communication device is in our daily lives, in fact I cannot survive without it. You have provided a provoking and real life experiences here and I enjoyed it.
Reference
Smorti, S. (1999, Autumn) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 19.