Rachael

 McBeth    

Preschool:  Journal  4  

Insights    

• It  is  important  that  as  we  remember  how  powerful  oral  storytelling  can  be.  

Especially  as  we  perform  and  are  enthusiastic  as  teachers.  If  we  can  dramatize  

moments  and  plan  for  those  moments,  we  can  engage  children  in  amazing  ways.  I  

think  it  is  important  that  we  don’t  just  wait  for  these  moments  to  happen  but  that  

we  purposefully  plan  them.  I  will  apply  this  as  I  plan  stories.  I  will  plan  moments  

and  how  I  can  dramatize  a  moment  to  make  it  more  interesting  and  engaging  for  the  

children.    

• Modeling  this  kind  of  storytelling  and  helping  children  be  part  of  that  decision  

process  can  greatly  enhance  their  future  play.  We  can  help  this  by  adding  

movements,  sounds  and  actions  that  children  can  participate  in  as  we  tell  a  story.  

This  helps  them  feel  empowered  and  gives  them  a  sense  of  accomplishment.  As  they  

see  this,  they  can  then  apply  it  in  their  play.  I  will  apply  this  by  making  movements  

and  actions  children  can  do  as  I  tell  stories.    

• Documentation  and  taking  observation  notes  of  children’s  conversations  and  

interactions  can  be  a  tool  to  help  teachers.  It  helps  them  see  the  “path  of  inquiry  that  

children  open  every  day.”  It  can  help  teachers  see  growth  and  development  over  

time.  It  can  also  help  teachers  know  what  children  are  interested  in  and  what  they  

care  about,  to  incorporate  that  into  the  classroom  and  activities.  I  will  apply  this  by  

continuing  to  take  notes  and  filling  up  and  looking  at  the  webs  made  in  class.    
 • When  reading  books  with  children  it  is  important  that  we  include  discussion  that  

goes  beyond  the  book,  or  the  “here  and  now.”  This  allows  children  to  make  

connections  and  apply  that  knowledge  not  just  to  the  story  you  are  currently  

reading.  I  will  apply  this  by  reading  the  books  previously  and  coming  up  with  ways  

to  connect  it  to  real  life  experiences.    

• When  choosing  book  selections  for  children,  it  is  important  to  think  about  what  you  

can  talk  about  with  children  while  reading  the  book.  If  it  is  hard  or  difficult  to  think  

of  things  related  to  the  book  and  topic,  then  it  isn’t  a  good  book.  This  is  especially  

important  while  choosing  books  we  read  in  the  classroom  and  small  focus  books.  I  

can  apply  this  by  making  sure  when  I  am  selecting  books  that  I  am  looking  at  the  

books  and  thinking  of  these  questions.    

Part  2  

A)    

• Being  aware  of  surroundings  and  always  facing  to  see  the  other  children    

• Making  sure  I  am  being  intentional  in  my  interaction  with  the  children    

B)    

• I  did  work  on  the  goals.  It  helped  me  when  I  faced  away  from  children,  to  recognize  

quickly  and  adjust  my  position.  I  was  also  able  to  see  children  having  disagreements  

and  stop  a  child  from  pulling  something  on  top  of  themselves.  I  also  worked  on  the  

other  goal.  I  worked  to  remember  the  goals  of  children  and  try  to  implement  that  

into  the  activities.  For  example  for  a  child  whose  goal  is  to  interact,  I  would  invite  

that  child  to  an  activity  with  multiple  other  children.  I  wasn’t  perfect  but  it  did  help  

to  make  my  interactions  more  meaningful.    

C)  

• Look  at  specific  purposes  of  activities  and  seek  to  apply  it.    

• Being  aware  of  surrounding  and  always  facing  to  see  the  other  children.    

Part  3:  Lead  Teacher    

a. I  felt  like  the  children  were  engaged  in  the  self-­‐selected  activities.  In  the  sensory  bin,  

children  dug  up  and  buried  dinosaur  bones.  When  I  asked  one  child  what  they  

found,  they  said,  “dinosaur  bones!”  Children  also  mixed  and  made  slime.  One  child  

said,  “It  is  sticky.”  They  said  they  made  blue  and  white  slime  as  well.    

b. I  felt  like  gathering  time  went  well.  Most  of  the  children  were  there.  I  think  they  

really  liked  the  story  and  sat  and  listened.  I  had  them  do  movements  with  me.  If  I  

could  do  it  again,  I  would  have  had  more  materials  to  actually  show.  For  example,  in  

the  story  when  the  boy  dropped  the  blackberry  on  his  shirt  I  would  actually  do  that  

with  a  blackberry.  They  also  liked  watching  me  make  the  paint  and  leaned  in  to  see  

what  I  was  doing.  One  child  who  hardly  ever  comes  to  gathering  time  came  over  and  

looked  at  the  paint  for  a  second  as  well  which  was  exciting.  I  would  also  have  made  

the  gathering  time  a  little  longer  as  well.    

c. Small  group  focus  went  well.  I  made  the  mistake  of  leading  a  small  group,  which  I  

didn’t  know  was  something  I  shouldn’t  have  done  this  time  so  I  didn’t  get  to  see  how  

the  other  small  groups  went.  The  group  I  lead  liked  making  the  paints  and  coloring.  

They  stayed  the  entire  time.    I  think  something  that  helped  was  having  extra  pieces  

of  paper  to  have  them  paint  on  when  they  finished  the  first.  If  I  could  do  it  again  I  

might  have  more  things  to  make  paint  with  or  another  activity  as  well.    
d. Closing  circle  went  well  for  the  most  part.  They  liked  most  of  the  activities.  Two  of  

the  activities  were  a  little  too  complicated  for  them,  so  I  had  to  move  quickly  on  to  

other  activities.  I  feel  like  I  moved  a  little  too  fast  through  some  of  them.  For  

example  we  played  sleeping  lion  which  they  engaged  in  and  laughed  in,  but  instead  

of  saying  we  are  going  to  play  one  more  time,  I  asked  if  they  wanted  to  play  one  

more  time  or  if  they  wanted  a  different  activity.  They  smiled  and  leaned  in  as  I  told  

the  story  of  goldilocks.  Children  were  able  to  stay  engaged  and  interact  with  peers  

and  teachers  throughout  closing  circle.    

e. I  set  expectations  with  activities  such  as  the  slime  activity  that  they  had  to  wash  

hands  after  they  played  with  the  slime.  Children  followed  that  and  there  wasn’t  a  

problem.  At  gathering  time,  I  set  the  expectation  of  sitting  on  the  tape.  When  

children  moved  off  the  tape  I  reminded  them,  but  it  was  only  a  couple  times.    

f. We  added  a  stage  to  the  dramatic  play,  which  really  helped  with  engagement.  We  

didn’t  change  other  activities.  We  changed  where  the  table  for  science  and  play-­‐

dough  was  to  the  tile  to  make  easier  cleanup,  which  it  was.    

g. I  would  have  added  more  materials  to  my  gathering-­‐time;  I  would  have  made  it  

longer  as  well.  I  would  have  been  more  aware  of  how  long  I  was  spending  at  

activities  and  make  sure  I  was  more  keeping  a  good  balance  between  activities.    

h. This  was  my  first  time  teaching!    

i. I  learned  that  children  learn  best  through  hands  on  experience.  I  also  learned  they  

love  stories;  especially  as  there  are  movements  they  can  do  as  well.  For  my  next  

teaching  day  I  want  to  work  on  balancing  the  time  I  am  at  activities  and  making  my  

gathering  time  long  enough  and  providing  more  materials  during  gathering  time.