Class room Observation
Observation Report for September 24th, 2014
It is about 9:30am, half an hour after the children have come inside and had a short circle time with a few songs and calendar. I enter the classroom, and am amazed as always by the atmosphere within. It is calm, but busy. There is a constant low level of noise– it is not absolutely quiet, nor is it loud, but there is simply a hum of low voices as they work and talk. I make my way to the observation chair and take it all in. There is something about the feel of a classroom full of children deep at work that is so inspiring.
Many are amused as they see a new adult member in their class and is trying to get my attention to watch them work. I glance around to see what some children are doing. I notice that one of the most favorite areas that the children like to work on is practical life. There was one little girl (3-4 years) so engrossed pouring water from the jug and wiping away every little drop that she had spilled. I see several with their own moveable alphabets on rugs on the floor, spelling out words in front of them. I smile– amused at their phonetic (mis)spellings, elated by their ability and joy in writing out words, sentences independently.
While the kids were hard at work, there are also groups of them that are having a conversation together near their cubbies. There were a few that are wandering and seemed unsure of what they wanted to do, there was one child who wants to work only on one thing, and I got to see how all of these situations are handled in a kind, respectful, and fair voice by the teacher. I really see how the teachers stop and take time to make sure that they look into the child eye while they talk, expecting the child to do the same.
A small girl, probably just 4 or 5 years old, has the first box of colour tablets laid out on a rug. She is doing a variation on this work– she has laid out the tablets along one edge of the rug, and is going out into the classroom to find objects that match
It is about 9:30am, half an hour after the children have come inside and had a short circle time with a few songs and calendar. I enter the classroom, and am amazed as always by the atmosphere within. It is calm, but busy. There is a constant low level of noise– it is not absolutely quiet, nor is it loud, but there is simply a hum of low voices as they work and talk. I make my way to the observation chair and take it all in. There is something about the feel of a classroom full of children deep at work that is so inspiring.
Many are amused as they see a new adult member in their class and is trying to get my attention to watch them work. I glance around to see what some children are doing. I notice that one of the most favorite areas that the children like to work on is practical life. There was one little girl (3-4 years) so engrossed pouring water from the jug and wiping away every little drop that she had spilled. I see several with their own moveable alphabets on rugs on the floor, spelling out words in front of them. I smile– amused at their phonetic (mis)spellings, elated by their ability and joy in writing out words, sentences independently.
While the kids were hard at work, there are also groups of them that are having a conversation together near their cubbies. There were a few that are wandering and seemed unsure of what they wanted to do, there was one child who wants to work only on one thing, and I got to see how all of these situations are handled in a kind, respectful, and fair voice by the teacher. I really see how the teachers stop and take time to make sure that they look into the child eye while they talk, expecting the child to do the same.
A small girl, probably just 4 or 5 years old, has the first box of colour tablets laid out on a rug. She is doing a variation on this work– she has laid out the tablets along one edge of the rug, and is going out into the classroom to find objects that match