March 19, 2025
Today, I had an interesting conversation with Jersey and Amelia during lunch. As I sat down to eat with the children, Jersey asked me what I was having. I told her it was mashed potatoes with pork chops. She responded, “Amelia eats that too, she’s Filipino.” She then added, “Amelia eats bugs too!”
Amelia responded, saying she does not eat bugs, but Jersey insisted, “Yes, you do. You’re from the Philippines.” I asked Jersey, “Have you ever seen Amelia eat a bug?” She replied, “No, but she’s Filipino, and they eat bugs. Amelia lives in the Philippines.” Amelia corrected her, saying, “I was born in the Philippines.” I supported Amelia by adding, “Yes, Amelia is Filipino and was born in the Philippines, but she lives in Kamloops now.” Jersey stayed firm in her belief: “No, she lives in the Philippines, and they eat bugs in the Philippines.” When I asked her why she thought that, she just replied “That’s what they do in the Philippines.”
This conversation was a valuable moment for guiding children through discussions about cultural assumptions and identity. It made me think about how children develop their understanding of the world and the importance of challenging their misconceptions with curiosity and care.
Later in the day, there were two separate biting incidents involving the same child. The first happened in the gym, but neither the educator, support worker, or I witnessed it. When asked why she bit, the child explained that Sophia was in her space. Miss Alka reminded her to use words to let people know they are in her space instead of biting when feeling crowded.
The second incident happened outside after rest time. While lining up with buckets to transfer sand to the yard, we heard a scream from Wyatt followed by him saying, “She bit me!” He explained that she had been trying to go into the parking lot without a teacher. When I asked the child why she bit again, she said she was trying to see the sand, but Wyatt was blocking her. When she tried to move, he pushed her back.
Listening to her perspective made me think about how children communicate their frustrations. While biting is not acceptable, it was her way of expressing frustration in that moment. This was a good reminder for me that every behavior has an underlying cause, and our role as educators is to support children in developing alternative ways to express their needs.
March 20, 2025
Today, we took a walk to McArthur Island Park. I brought a large roll of paper and some Sharpies, inviting the children to draw “spring.” I asked them what they noticed around us, what their favorite parts of spring were, and what new things happen in the season. We sat on a bench and drew together, capturing our observations and ideas.
During the walk, we also gathered materials that caught the children’s interest, placing them in a ziploc bag. When we got back to the center, the children decided to use their collected items to create a centerpiece for the lunch table. We arranged them in a wooden bowl to create a spring centerpiece. I really appreciated the children’s desire to bring elements of the outdoors into their shared space in a meaningful way.
March 26, 2025
Last week, the children became deeply engaged in exploring sand. Since this interest remained strong, I decided to focus my conversation board on it. Having been away on Monday, I wasn’t sure if they were still exploring sand in the same way. But when we went outside, I was happy to see that their engagement had evolved.
Today, they were particularly fascinated by digging for treasure. It started when one child dug up a buried toy car. Another child, inspired by this discovery, decided to search for one too. Soon, the children began burying objects for their friends to find treasure. Their imaginations expanded as they wondered what else could be hidden beneath the sand, imagining buried treasures and even a bear. I am really interested in seeing how far this sand exploration can go. I am glad to see that the children are still finding new ways to engage with the sand, even though the excitement of getting new sand in the yard has worn off.
Last week, one of the educators brought in some old sewing machines for the children to explore. At first they didn’t show much interest, looking at them for a few minutes and briefly pretending to sew. Today, two of the children revisited the sewing machines. They found that the top of one could be removed, and were interested in what was inside the sewing machines. We found some screwdrivers in the shed and began taking them apart. We discovered what the inside of the machine looks like and how the different parts move. The children really wanted to “break” the machines. For no other reason than, “we like breaking things”.
As more children began to come outside and come over to see what we were doing, they became interested as well. When more children were in the space working on the sewing machines, I was impressed to see how they negotiated which screw drivers each person could have, depending on what machine they were working on and what type they needed.
Both the sand exploration and the sewing machine investigation have been ongoing for about a week now. At first, I was worried that the fast-paced nature of this practicum room might make it difficult to slow down and pay attention to specific ideas. But these explorations have shown me that when given the time and space to follow their curiosities, children will create meaning from their experiences.
March 27, 2025
Today, there was a lot of cops and robbers play happening. I’ve noticed that when children play with cars, there’s usually a “bad guy” car. They either bury it in the sand or lock it away inside blocks. Yesterday they buried a block in the sand, saying it was a thief who had stolen ice cream.
When we were outside after rest time, Wyatt invited Miss Mercedes and I to play cops and robbers with him. He started by saying that Miss Mercedes was “being a naughty lady” and had to go to jail. With the help of two other cop friends, he brought her to the top of the playground, where the jail cell was. When Mercedes asked what she had done to get herself in jail, Wyatt said that she had stolen gemstones and that I was her partner in crime.
I decided to play along and helped Mercedes break out of jail. While I distracted the children, she ran and hid behind a tree. When they realized I had helped her escape, they then put me in jail too. This play went on for a while. Mercedes and I kept escaping the jail cell, the children chased after us, and brought us back to jail each time they caught us.
Later when we were in the gym riding on the swivel cars, Wyatt and Kingston chased after me, yelling that I was under arrest. They each grabbed one side of my car and drove me over to the jail cell, which was a space under a table. I waited for the perfect moment and then made my escape, driving away when they weren’t looking. As soon as they noticed, they chased after me, determined to bring me back. And when I tried to reverse the roles by saying I was the cop and they were under arrest, they stayed firm in their roles, insisting that they were the cops and I was the thief. This play went on for quite some time, with more children joining in along the way.
This is a photo Aliya drew of Miss Mercedes in the jail cell, and the note Wyatt gave to her the first time she was under arrest.
A couple of the children also asked to take out our big spring drawing again today, and we drew together for a little while.
March 31
