What a disaster my planned art activity was today! We had collected some beautiful autumn leaves at Nature Discovery on Thursday and I had thought that maybe we could use them to do some screen printing with. So a few days later after I had dried and pressed them I was ready to give it a go. After setting up the activity I invited Twyla to come and have a go. The result was so disappointing not only for me but also Twyla. The leaves were not flat enough to gain a crisp out line so the resulting print looked like a big blob of paint. We abandoned this activity soon after. In hind sight I should have asked Twyla what else we could have done with the leaves and adapted them into a new art activity. But we had  had a busy morning with unsettled children and a few behavior issues and it just felt like this activity was a little forced. 
When it comes to inspiring tamariki to try a new activity I think it is much more successful to involve them into the set up of the activity and use their interest to channel their ideas into something new. This has been really evident in the work that has been carried out at the clay table for many weeks now around the subject of faces and people and encouraging tamariki to continue to explore this interest by providing provocations help inspire creativity and imagination.
I am now thinking maybe trying the screen printing again but this time inviting tamariki to maybe draw a face and cut out the shape to use on the screen. 

Report- New Entrant Classrooms in the Remaking

For a long time now I have been disappointed in the way some primary schools tend to stifle the creativity of young children. Many times I have seen worksheets produced where tamariki are asked to colour in a picture often related to a subject or topic that is a current focus, or entering a new entrant class to see a wall display of twenty four identical daffodils. I have many times become disheartened as I know tamariki are capable of using their imagination to create the most amazing art work that reflects their personalities, showing they are individuals and helping others to see things from a different perspective.
At the end of last term Hannah moved on to school, she was incredibly gifted when it came to incorporating her imagination into her art work. I had arranged for her art work about unicorns to be exhibited at our local library so it could be admired and valued by our wider community. I enjoyed supporting Hannah and extending her creative journey and it was because of Hannah's interest in art that I chose my goal for this year.
Because Hannah's sister is still at kindergarten I am able to catch up on her school experiences regularly and yesterday she bought a long some thing to show me. It was a worksheet with the picture of a T-Rex on it which Hannah had been asked to colour in. My heart sank as I knew just how capable Hannah was of creating her own dinosaur, it made me wonder if her new teacher had even looked at her portfolio and if she had did she value the information and learning stories in it.
Even though I felt sad for Hannah and the loss of creative opportunities for her there was a glimmer of the old Hannah that I had nurtured on the page. Below the worksheet dinosaur Hannah had drawn her own one which was awesome, she had also added grass, flowers Te Ra and some clouds. It was these things that I commented her on and celebrated her achievements.
So this experience got me thinking...are all New Entrant classes like this, I knew Tuakau Primary's isn't but wondered was this the exception. When speaking to Tina Taylor from school this week she mentioned Reception Classes which I hadn't really heard much about so became interested in finding out more about them. While looking on line for articles I discovered the report 'New Entrant Classrooms in the Re-making. I found this report to be really insightful it opened my eyes to a new way of thinking from primary schools to help with the transition to school and it placed a greater value on play based learning and activities with increased creative opportunities. I hope many more schools are recognising the important part that play provides to the learning of young tamariki and hope that Hannahs experience with a work sheets becomes a thing of the past. Hannah's dinosaur may not have looked like a dinosaur to many but it had so much more meaning and value to her than a picture printed on a piece of paper where everyone in the class looked the same.

18.5.16

PPM Meeting

Which criteria does this evidence? 3-Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand                                                              4- Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice.                                                               12- Use critical inquiry and problem solving effectively in their professional practice.                                                                                                                                                                                     Why does this evidence this criterion? How has does this show that your practice has changed/improved? After feeling quite over whelmed about how I was going to implement Tataiako into my daily practice by talking amongst our team with Dianne Akast we all agreed to start at the beginning and use the Y diagram of look feel and hear to help us to focus on identifying what the five competencies look like in our kindergarten. By working through the Y diagram for the Manaakitanga competency helped me to put into concept how this looks in my own personal practice. It made me aware that I was already using many different tools and techniques in my practice and it made me begin to think of different ways that I could make it more visible in my documentation. I am looking forward to brainstorming the rest of the competencies with the rest of the team over the coming weeks.

26.4.16

Korero based on the Cultural Competencies of Tataiako

Which criteria does this evidence? 3- Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand,                                                                   4- Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development                                                                                    of professional practice.                                                             12- Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional                                                                    practice. Why does this evidence this criterion? It has provided me with the opportunity to engage in professional dialogue with my colleagues which demonstrates my commitment to a bicultural partnership in Aoteroa and ongoing professional learning. How has does this show that your practice has changed/improved? I am developing an awareness and understanding of Tataiako, as this knowledge develops I will be able to articulate my current practice to these competencies. Through having this discussion I recognise I need to gain a greater understanding of the competencies and how they link to the teaching criteria.