September 30, 2009

Basic Info
Room: 1
Age Group: early-3s

Adults
Ms S, lead teacher
MJ, teacher (other room)

Children
Ma, girl

A, girl
C, boy
I, girl, mostly kept to herself
P, girl
G, boy
N, girl
E, boy
H, girl
L, girl
S, girl
Mi, boy, occasionally in care here when a parent is in town on business

Space
Room 1 is a large room divided into separate areas by three-feet high shelving units that house toys, puzzles, and activities. A large loft creates yet another area in the room, where children can go to look at books or for quiet play.

Atmosphere
Today was Picture Day; many of the children were dressed up, and all the children were excited by the break in routine.

Observation/Notes
I arrived in the room about 8:40, just as many of the children were returning to the room after potty break. When I arrived, many of the girls had already taken pictures. Three of the girls were down the hall having their pictures taken.

Ma and A sat at a table in the middle of the room and put puzzles together. Ma seemed possessive of the puzzles and did not want to share with A. The first time that Ma took a puzzle away from A, Ms S gently talked to Ma and asked her to share. When Ma refused to share with A again, about 5 minutes later, Ms S asked Ma if she would do her a favor and help MJ make some copies at the copier. When MJ went to the copier, Ma seemed more than happy to go with her and help.

As I was observing the class, H, P, and S played in the area where I was sitting. H made a game of picking up tools from a playset and asking me the name of each tool. When I told her the name of a tool, she would pretend to use it (e.g., hammer, wrench, level, etc.) on the play workbench next to us.

Three girls came back from pictures just before outdoor-time; they had missed a morning snack, so Ms S asked them to sit at a table in the front of them room. Ms S opened for each girl a container of yogurt. After the girls finished their yogurt, everyone lined up, and we went outside to the playground. Just before we left the building, a parent brought M to the room. M is a boy who had come to the center regularly until his family moved out-of-state. One of his parents occasionally travels on business and brings M to the center when in town. (I had met M in another classroom in 2007, when I observed another classroom for TECA-1321, The Infant and the Toddler. My wife and I had also met one of M's parents at a Fall Festival in 2008.)

Playground
Rm 1 uses the playground area for three- and four-year olds at the back of the center. this area is fenced-in and separated from the older preschoolers' area to the West and from the younger children's area next to the center to the Southeast. The area contains a track on which children can ride tricycles; a slide playscape with a ladder, tubes, and some things on which to climb; a sandbox; a little storage barn where trcycles and some outdoor toys are stored. Between the center and the track is a small ampitheater-like area with benches. Initially, most of the children chose tricycles and rode them around and around the track. Three of the boys played with balls: a soccer ball, a basketball, and another small, air-filled ball. I spent approximately 20 minutes with the class on the playground.

Upon arrival, M had been a bit shy and kept to himself. Outside, however, M and the other children warmed up to each other very quickly, and he seemed to be accepted and included in each group of children as they played.