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My name is Leslie Chang, I was born in Auckland, New Zealand. My ethnicity is Chinese. I will be 19 years old on 18th of this month. I live with my parents, my younger sister and my grandma. We also have four birds and two turtles. My hobbies are listening to music, singing songs and playing the piano. I also enjoy interacting with people to get their opinions and their evaluation of things.

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Describe and reflect on how your first day went. What did you notice?

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Describe and reflect on how your first day went. What did you notice?

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I was placed in Nurture Early Learning Centre in Avondale for my professional early childhood practice course. I noticed that this early childhood centre has good facilities and a professional management structure. The centre is divided into different rooms for infants, toddlers and preschool children respectively. I am assigned to the room for the preschool children for my practical exercises. Classes are run for the children by the teachers. There are more than 20 children in this room, and four regular teachers. On my first day, there was a fire drill, the children participated in it very well. When the fire alarm went off, I watched the children line up and go outside of the door to an assembly area. I had an impression that it isn’t the first time the fire drill of this type was done as all the children seemed to know what to do. Later in the room, the children were arranged to sit together for a sharing time. Each of the children stood up at the front in turn and showed the things they had brought from home and told everyone else why they liked the items displayed. I think this part is very helpful for children’s learning and development.

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I really enjoyed the first day of the practicum. The children are independent and listen to the teachers. When the teacher tells them not to do something, they stop doing it. The children were quite open and friendly, they liked to interact with me. I read some story books to them, they discussed the pictures in the books with me. A girl even came up and touched my earrings and said she liked them.

It was also the five years old birthday for one of the children who will leave the child centre. Everyone else danced haka to say goodbye to this child. This made me reminiscent of the celebration of my own 5 years birthday by other children when I was at the at kindergarten. It also provided me the first-hand experience about the bicultural education framework that the centre implements in accordance with the requirements of Te Whāriki. This is also covered in the book Our-Code-Our-Standards that the teachers should respect the diversity of the heritage, language, identity and culture of families and whānau. This shows that all the children should be treated with equality and should not be ostracized.

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What experiences and understanding inform the way you communicate in situations like this?

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What experiences and understanding inform the way you communicate in situations like this?

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I noticed that when a child started to cry because of something, one of the teachers would calm him down by some hugs and talk to him nicely, and wait patiently for him to stop crying, and then patiently ask the reason for crying. When two of the children started an argument, the teacher would talk to both them at the same time and listen to their stories and then told them what is the right thing to do. Throughout the whole process, the teacher’s tone was gentle and patient. Through these experiences, I learned that as an early childhood teacher, I should have care and love towards the children, and I should have patience to give time for the children to calm down so that I can create an easy and relaxed atmosphere to have the smooth communications with them. I find it important to understand what the children are saying and thinking about so that I can find the best approach to deal with the situation.

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All the staff are quite friendly to me and are willing to share some of their experiences with me. They showed me around and helped me to get familiar with the environment quickly. I also feel I have established a friendly relationship with the children, especially when I re-entered the room after my lunch break, they were waved to me.

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I would like to focus on observing the teachers on how they do their jobs, such as, how they communicate with the children, how they deal with different situations, how they look after the wellbeing of the children and how they keep the children safe and happy so that I can learn and practice these skills and learn to deal with different situations. For example, there was a child who was playing alone, and when I crouched down to try to talk to her, she silently showed me something she was building with toys. Although the child appeared happy throughout the time, I think I should learn the best way to talk to her to understand why she wants to play alone. And I should find a proper way to encourage her to play with other children once I know the reason.

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Some of the children were building houses with the blocks. They had open minds and learned how to build houses. Some children were doing other things, such as reading books, playing outside or playing bingo. They were also playing in the sandpit and scooping the sand into the pipes and buckets. The children also had a clay table where they could make objects with the clay. The children were also sitting there when the teachers ran the classes for them. A child approached me and asked me what was in my note book I was holding and I patiently explained to her that I was taking down notes for school.

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How did the environment support learning?

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How did the environment support learning?

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The early child centre has provided a very positive environment for the children. The room where they were staying was very spacious so the children could move around freely. There are also different activities and games for the children to participate in such as reading books, drawing, playing outside and so on. Some children were also playing a game of bingo where the children tried to identify different parts on a person’s face such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth. This could help the children to learn the names of a person’s facial part. There were also some photos of the children on the walls. It would make them feel comfortable and make them have a sense of belonging in the early childhood centre. There were also photos of the activities the children did at the early childhood centre that showed what they have learned. This is covered in the book Te Whariki principle 2 holistic development as the children need a broad and rich curriculum that enables them to grow their capabilities across all dimensions. When focusing on a particular area of learning, teachers need to consider how this focus relates to and connects with other aspects of learning and how it builds on the children’s strengths. It also mentions in chapter two of the book Reflective practice for professional Development, some definitions of learning refer to the acquisition of knowledge and skills, others to a process closely connected to how we gather information from our environment.

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How did adults support learning through play?

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How did adults support learning through play?

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Throughout the time the children were at the early childhood centre, there was always at least one teacher who would stay with the children and would play with them. The teacher would share with the children different ideas to that the children can learn different things. The teachers also ran 2 to 3 classes a day through which they supported the children with their learning.  During the classes they would sing songs together with the children, and read books to the children and would ask the children about the pictures in the book. The teachers also encouraged the children to participate in the discussions about the books read to them, such as asking what the story is about, and some other details. They also played a game of hangman where the teacher would think of a child’s name and then ask the children to guess the first letter of that child’s name and wrote the letter on the board when the children worked out the letter correctly. One by one, the children were able to work out the exact spelling of that child’s name.  From the conversation I had with a teacher, I found out that this week the children were learning about Cook Island information and she was teaching the children how important the patterns of Cook Island are, they hung some of the patterns on the wall and were also sewing them on a mat so the children could see them. The teacher also told me that she would listen to some of the children’s ideas so that she could have an idea of what activities to do the next day. She also told me sometimes she would sit with the children at the table and ask them how they are feeling, the teachers also made sure of the children’s safety when they are playing with the blocks and asked them not to throw the blocks around. The teachers also taught the children to learn to be respectful and polite.

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Observe and enquire: How do Kaiako strengthen children’s self-efficacy and self-worth?

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Observe and enquire: How do Kaiako strengthen children’s self-efficacy and self-worth?

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The early childhood centre runs regular classes for the children in a bid to strengthen their self-efficacy and self-worth. In those classes, the teachers would encourage the children to answer questions, to help them to have open minds about the answers and raise their strong interest to participate in the process of questions and answers to enhance their self-efficacy and praise the children for participating in doing it. This covers strand 3 contribution in the book Te Whariki where teachers listen to the children’s ideas and their answers, encourage them to feel positive about themselves, the children will then feel that their opinions are important and would not be afraid of talking more about their opinions they share with the teachers. It is also covered in the book Our-Code-Our-Standards which provides opportunities and supports for learners to engage with, practise and apply learning to different context, and make connection with prior learning, then children will learn to think in more details if the teachers keep encouraging them to answer the questions. The teachers also encourage the children to learn to do the things own their own and learn to do them independently. For example, when children sit at the table drawing pictures, the teacher encourages them to use their own imagination and draw the picture they like from simple ones such as stars and a bit more complicated pictures such as houses, trees, mountains or animals or any images or pictures from their observation of the things around them or draw the images from their imaginations. The teacher also encourages the children to learn to do the little things themselves independently, such as putting on their shoes, fasten their shoe laces, washing their hands and tidying things up in the room. The teacher also keeps praising the children for doing these things and encourage them to be more confident in doing these things. I also sought an opportunity to hear from the teacher their feedback and comment on myself for the last three weeks of the practicum. The teacher said that I did a good job at observing the activities at the early childhood centre, made notes of what I have observed and engaged in having the interactions with the children. The only thing I need to improve is to interact with the children more and ask the children more open-ended questions, she told me when they are drawing at the drawing table, I could sit down next to them and ask them what they are drawing and let them explain it to me.

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What strategies have you used to initiate conversations and play with children?

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What strategies have you used to initiate conversations and play with children?

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The strategies I used was first to observe what interactions the teachers at the early childhood centre have with the children, in what way they interact with the children and how the teacher interact with the children. I also keep an eye on the children’s reactions and responses to the interactions from the teachers. The strategies I figured out was to establish a very positive relations with the children, make the children feel relaxed around me, and have close observations to what the children are doing, what they are talking about to each other and how they get on with one and another. I’ll then initiate conversations with the children, listening to what they were telling me, and engaging the conversations with them about the things they like and answering their questions. I will also share with them my opinions on how to build houses of different types when they are playing with the blocks, encourage them to tell me what houses they were building in order help them have better ideas of what they are doing. I also read books for the children, answered their questions to the stories I read to them, and encouraged them to talk freely about what they understand about the stories or encourage them to comment on the pictures in the books in order to help them to think and express their opinions.  I also did the drawings with the children, asked them what they were drawing and encourage them to draw the pictures they could think of, such as drawing stars, and connect the stars they draw with lines. I also praised him for their drawings and made little suggestions here and there on how to make their drawing look better. I also showed the children what I drew and ask them questions and hear their comments to make them feel proud of what they are doing, enjoy participating in the drawing activities. I also explained to the children what I was drawing on my paper and answered the questions they were asking me.  I also played the ball with them and communicated with them as they threw the ball at me. This covers the principle of the Empowerment in the Te Whariki book as it explains the teachers should have an important role in encouraging and supporting all children to participate in and contribute to a wide range of enriching experiences. This is also explained in chapter 2 of the book Reflective practice for professional Development, a teacher demonstrating how to do something and then guiding students to do the same for themselves is an example of learning by doing. This may or may not involve social participation within the group, but it does involve an active approach to the development of skills.

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These have worked well for me as the children have pretty open mind and like to be close to me to have the communications with me. They enjoy spending time with me and like to ask me different questions.  I listened to the children with patience and share with them my ideas and opinions to provide good opportunities for the children to participate in the communications with me and learn different things. Through these activities, the children feel close to me and feel more willing to talk to me. It made it easier for children to ask for help if they feel there is something they struggle with. Some of the children would come to me to ask for help to take off or put on their jumpers for them. These interactions made the children feel more positive and willing to learn new things and share their ideas with me.

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What I would like to work on further is asking the children more open-ended questions such as what their hobbies are and asking the Children what else they like to do, by asking the children more questions I would also have a better understanding on how different each child’s ideas are. I should also be more active in talking to the children instead of just keeping quiet and taking notes in my book. I would also like to do more activities with the children such as playing different games with them and get to know the children a bit more than I already did so far. I’d like to have more detailed observations on how the teachers deal with different situations with the children, how they resolve the problems and how they interact with the children as their experience in handling the daily work is important for me to observe and learn.

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Ministry of Education. (2017) Te Whāriki He whāriki mātauranga mā ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa Early childhood curriculum (2017). New Zealand Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/ELS-Te-Whariki-Early-Childhood-Curriculum-ENG-Web.pdf

Thompson, C. (2021, September 28) Reflective Practice for Professional Development: A Guide for Teacher (2021) (1sted., pp. 15-22). Routledge. https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/books/mono/10.4324/9781003056812/reflective-practice-professional-development-carol-thompson

Education Council New Zealand, Matatū Aotearoa (2017) Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession (2017) (pp. 1-21). Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. https://teachingcouncil.nz/professional-practice/our-code-our-standards/Links to an external site.

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Review what you know about Te Tiriti Informed (bicultural) practice. 
Observe and record examples of Te Tiriti informed practice at your centre. Ask a teacher about this too. 

What examples of good practice can you identify?

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Review what you know about Te Tiriti Informed (bicultural) practice. 
Observe and record examples of Te Tiriti informed practice at your centre. Ask a teacher about this too. 

What examples of good practice can you identify?

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When children’s home language and cultures are valued, and when the teachers are responsive to their cultural ways of knowing and being, leaner identity is enhanced. the teachers at the early childhood centre have created an inclusive environment for children of different cultures. The teachers practiced Māori songs with the children during their classes and they also learned numbers in Māori, the teachers would ask them the name of the number and the children would tell them the English name and the Māori name of the number. This connects to the book Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners as it says the school/ECE service respects and embraces Māori language and culture. The teachers treat all the children with different cultures equally and respect their cultural background, they would hear the children’s voices on what they think about things, and would encourage each of the children to answer questions regarding Maori culture and other cultures, and share more information with them. This helps the children to think and learn more about the cultural awareness, Maori culture and their cultural identity. This links to the book Te Whariki which says ECE settings are safe and secure places where each child is treated with respect and diversity is valued. All children need to know that they are accepted for who they are and that they can make a difference. Feeling that they belong contributes to their wellbeing and gives them the confidence to try new experiences.

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What might you need to work on in your own practice? 

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What might you need to work on in your own practice? 

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For my own practice, I would need to keep learning more and knowing more about the Maori culture and other different cultures, respect and value the bicultural practice of ECE so that I would be able to understand the children and communicate with them in an environment that make them feel comfortable, safe and included. I could also answer some of the children’s questions about different cultures, tell them stories and legends about some of the cultures that they are curious to learn more about.

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Create a closing reflection summarising your placement experience.What was the biggest learning for you?

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Create a closing reflection summarising your placement experience.What was the biggest learning for you?

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The biggest learning for me is that I learned that each child is different and has different personalities. The children also have different opinions as well and they usually help each other out when a child answers questions. I also learned that when I got to know the children more, they became more open to me, and were willing to share with me what they think about things. They also felt more comfortable to listen to what I say to them. They became more comfortable to sit with me on the mat during their classes, and some of the children would come and sit on my lap, with a sense of trust.

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What were the highlights and challenges? Set some goals for your next placement experience.

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What were the highlights and challenges? Set some goals for your next placement experience.

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The highlights are I learned what different things the early childhood teachers teach the children and how they speak to the children when they weren’t behaving well, or have arguments with the other children. This reminds me that there is a lot for me to learn to handle different situations with the children and make sure it creates a positive result for the children. The challenges I face are how to ask the children open ended questions so that they can be encouraged to share with me what they are thinking about as this will help the children to learn to think and learn to express their thoughts. I should try and talk to the children more and get to know more about them. My goals for my next placement are to talk to the children more and get to know them and their personalities more in order to involve them in the learning process instead of quietly walking around and taking notes.

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Describe and reflect on how your first day went. 

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Describe and reflect on how your first day went. 

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On my first day of my new practicum placement, I introduced myself to the children in the room, the children were comfortable to be with me and are happy to approach me and say hi. The early childhood centre had a lot of different activities for the children to do, for example puzzles, reading books, drawing.  The children sometimes play outside if the weather is good. The teacher did an experiment with the children, where she mixed some scents into the paints and encouraged the children to try and paint on the paper with the scented paint. The children made creations based on their imagination. This is quite a good way to involve the children in the learning process as it is mentioned in the book Te Whāriki as Kaiako have an important role in encouraging and supporting all children to participate in and contribute to a wide range of enriching experiences. The experiment was successful as the painting smelled like the scented food colourings after the children has finished their paintings. The children also had a mat time where the teacher sang songs with them and read stories to them. The children also also did some physical activities, such as dancing.

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I did the story reading for the children during the mat time and rewarded two children who behaved well with stickers from the sticker book. After reading a book to the children, I observed the work by the teacher, and came to some understanding on how the teacher taught the children in the early childhood centre and I also made some notes in my book throughout the day. I also asked the teacher questions on things I didn’t understand. What impressed me particularly well was the manner the teacher handles the situations when some of the children failed to behave well or had a argument. The teacher appeared to be extremely patient and nice to the children and shared with the children the strategies to learn to behave and stop arguments instead of criticising them what they did.

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I would like to work on building a relationship with the children in the early childhood centre to start with, so I could get to know them better and find out more about what the children like to do. I would also like to work on trying to understand what the children are saying as sometimes when a child is talking to me, I can’t really understand what the child is saying, I should ask the children to repeat themselves again to understand them better. I’d like to work on building up the communication skills and learn the strategies on how to teach the children the best way to behave and learn to avoid having arguments with other children. I’d also like to build up experience in creating a positive environment for the children to feel the belonging so that they will feel encouraged to participate in all the learning activities.

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What immediate differences do you notice between this centre and your previous placement? 

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What immediate differences do you notice between this centre and your previous placement? 

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The differences in my new placement I noticed is that they have numbers and words  on the walls for the children to learn, read and count. The early childhood centre also has some pets such as two guinea pigs and one turtle. On the first day I went to the early childhood centre, they let the turtle out of the water tank and walk around the room so the children would be able to pat him. The teacher arranged some physical activities such as dancing in the class. My previous placement didn’t do in their classes. My new placement also has some puzzles for the children could to try work on, but my previous placement didn’t have any puzzles for the children to solve. Another difference between the two centres is in my previous placement the children can play inside and outside at the same time,but in my new placement when the children are outside they can only play outside and can’t play inside unless a teacher stays with them. I believe this is to make sure the children are safely looked after by the teacher. The similarities of my previous centre and my new centre are both have photos of the children on their walls which make the children have a sense of belonging in the early childhood centre.

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The question raised for me is I noticed that the early childhood centres have different teaching settings. In my new placement the children have puzzles that they could solve but in my previous placement they didn’t have puzzles for the children to solve. They also have different rules when the children are playing. In my previous placement the children will be able to play outside and inside at the same time, but in my new placement when the children are playing outside, they have to stay playing outside, and they can only play inside if a teacher stays with them inside.

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For me as a future early childhood teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure the children have an environment where they could learn different things. I could also ask the teachers in my placement questions I am not sure about in order to prepare for my future career as an early childhood teacher.

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What strategies and practices does your setting have for developing partnerships with parents and encouraging their participation? Ask your contact teacher about this.

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What strategies and practices does your setting have for developing partnerships with parents and encouraging their participation? Ask your contact teacher about this.

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After having a conversation with the teacher, I understand that the early childhood centre develops partnership by talking to the parents when there are new children coming to their early childhood centre or any of the children are moving to another room in the early childhood centre. The teachers would arrange a meeting with the parents and they would talk about their children and get some information about their children. They would also explain to the parents how they teach the children in the early childhood centre. The teachers would also ask about the children’s cultural background and gain some understanding of their culture, this is also something that the teacher should do as mentioned in the book Our Code Our Standards as it says respecting the diversity of the heritage, language, identity and culture of families and whānau is conducive in building a positive relationship that will benefit the children’s learning. This is also covered in the book Te Whāriki as it is important that Kaiako develop meaningful relationships with whānau and that they respect their aspirations for their children, along with those of hapū, iwi and the wider community. To encourage the parents’ participation in the early childhood centre, some events should be prepared for them so that they can come and understand the environment their children are in and what their children are taught. For example, the early childhood centre can hold events for Mataariki and Christmas where all the children’s parents can come into the early childhood. They can also hold the event called fish and chips day where the parents of the children could come into the early childhood centre to enjoy the day of fish and chips. I was also told by the teacher at the early childhood centre, that when she is working in a different room with other children, she would talk to some of their parents and get to know them as well.

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Write a reflection on your professional communication so far using an interaction with a child, parent or teacher. Describe what happened. What went well?

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Write a reflection on your professional communication so far using an interaction with a child, parent or teacher. Describe what happened. What went well?

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What went well with my professional communication during my practicum was the children in the early childhood centre have built up the trust on me, they enjoyed playing with me, opened up to me about their thoughts and feeling, and shared with me their little secrets. They enjoyed playing with me and enjoyed sharing what they liked with me. For example, one of the children was dressed in an Elsa costume and showed me her clip-on earrings. During their mat time I was sitting with them on the ground, two children came and sat beside me. Both of them liked my earring. I tried to use the opportunity to develop their understanding of the shape and what metal the earing is made of, such as the earing is a combined design of the shape of a ring and with a gold star, one of the two children also grabbed my arm and made me hug her around the waist when they were listening to the storybook the teacher was reading to them, that’s the trust the children have built up and a feeling of being protected and cared for by their teacher. She would be reluctant to be away from me. I would also ask the teacher questions about the communication skills with the children and how to interact with the children and what the best way is in helping with the children’s development. I would also have discussions with the teachers on what activities they do with the children that helps the interactions in the early childhood centre, I was also observing and trying to learn from the teachers in the early childhood centre on how they interact with the children and the purpose of the interaction.

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What I would have done differently was to approach the children more easily and play more games with them, I should also try and hold conversations with the children and understand them better.  As a future early childhood teacher, I should find what strengths each children have and I should understand more of the children’s background and languages so I could know what different activities I could do with the children in the future. This is mentioned in the book Te Whariki as it says the identities, languages and cultures of Pasifika children are strengthened by acknowledging the interconnectedness of people, place, time and things. I should also listen to the views from the children with different cultures on what they want to do as this relates to the book Tātaiako as the teachers listen to the views of the children and also the views of their peers.

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Using your experience on placement, reflect on your own sense of belonging and wellbeing and the strategies you have in place (or need to develop) to thrive.

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Using your experience on placement, reflect on your own sense of belonging and wellbeing and the strategies you have in place (or need to develop) to thrive.

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In the early childhood centre, I am treated equally by the teachers and I also have a sense of belonging as the teachers are quite open to share their experiences with me. What I need to develop as a future early childhood teacher is how to get the children engaged in different activities so that they could learn more and build on their strengths from different activities they are doing.

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Observe and engage with a child or group of children as they are playing. Describe what is happening and think about what strengths, interests and knowledge can you identify?

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Observe and engage with a child or group of children as they are playing. Describe what is happening and think about what strengths, interests and knowledge can you identify?

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Engaging with the children as they are playing provides me with the opportunity to make observations. The children like me to be with them when they play. One of the children held my hand and took me outside as they wanted to play a game with me, she used blocks to build a hamburger and gave it to me and I pretended to eat it and told her that it was delicious and gave it back to her, she also made a car with the blocks and pretended to drive me to an destination, from this I can identify the strengths the child has. The child has the empowerment to create acts on things that interested her. This has the links to the book Te Whariki as it mentions children have agency to create and act on their own ideas, develop knowledge and skills in areas that interest them and, increasingly, to make decisions and judgments on matters that relate to them. The teachers also created an environment in which the children feel comfortable to be themselves, this is covered in the book Our Code, Our Standards as it says create an environment where learners can be confident in their identities, languages, cultures and abilities.

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Describe what you did and how your engagement supported learning. What would you do differently next time.

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Describe what you did and how your engagement supported learning. What would you do differently next time.

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My engagement supported the children with their learning, creativity and imagination. They learn to use the blocks to make different things. This has made more children join in to use some of the blocks to build different things.  This helps with their learning as the children looked at the things built up by other children with the blocks, and tried to understand and comment what was built. What I would do differently next time to help the children develop their creativity and imagination to think of what they can build with the blocks. This will help the children to think and observe and learn.  I may also think of some physical things for them to build, such a house, the shape of an animal or something else so that the children can learn the shapes of the things.

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Reflect on your participation and learning on placement overall.      What has gone well for you? 

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Reflect on your participation and learning on placement overall.      What has gone well for you? 

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I had more interactions with the children in this early childhood centre, I played some games with the children and I talked to them every now and then with them. I also participated in different activities the children had. When the children were cutting out pictures from the magazine, one of the children was showing me the pictures that he cut out and I was asking him what was in the picture, then the child answered me what was in the picture and I encouraged him to find more pictures similar to the one he showed me. I also looked at other children’s cutting and asked them to tell what they cut and what other children cut. This links to the book Te Whariki belonging is nurtured through social interaction with Kaiako and other children and by respecting the achievements and aspirations of each child as their cuttings reflected their understanding of their family and community background. This also helps me to understand what the children’s interests are, this is also covered in the book Our Code Our Standard engaging in ethical and professional relationships with learners that respect professional boundaries. I was also able to learn some of the children cultural background, their interests and their imagination. The children like me to be there to join them and encourage them with what they achieved from the paper cutting. They are so happy to see that as the teacher, I could make the positive comments on what they cut as that makes them feel proud and more confident and interest in doing the paper cutting with more imagination and interest.

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The questions that have risen for me is as a future early childhood teacher it is important for me to learn some of the children’s songs and dances so that I could teach it to the children in the future. I also noticed that each early childhood centre is different, so they have different rules on how they teach the children. As a future early childhood teacher, I should learn the rules so that I will know more on how to help the children with their learning and what activities I can do with the children in the future.

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What will you do differently next time? 

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What will you do differently next time? 

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What I would do differently next time is to listen to more children’s songs and learn some dances that the early childhood centre would do so I could know some of the activities the early childhood centres teachers could do with the children, and I could participate in them together with the children.

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At the end of the reflection set and explain three personal goals that you will carry over into your second year placement.

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At the end of the reflection set and explain three personal goals that you will carry over into your second year placement.

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For next year my first goal is to have interactions with the children more and do more activities with them instead of just standing around and doing nothing, I should also think of some activities that I would like to do with the children in the early childhood centre. My second goal is to talk to the teachers in the early childhood centre more and find out some information on how the teachers teach the children and also learn some of the centres philosophies. My third goal is I should ask the teachers more questions on things I need help with and what I should do if a child has a conflict with another child in the early childhood centre or get the ability to deal with different problem that may arise.

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Ministry of Education. (2017). Te whāriki: he whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa = Early childhood curriculum guidelines. Ministry of Education. https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/ELS-Te-Whariki-Early-Childhood-Curriculum-ENG-Web.pdf

Education Council New Zealand. (2011). Tātaiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners. Ministry of Education. https://teachingcouncil.nz/assets/Files/Code-and-Standards/Tataiako-cultural-competencies-for-teachers-of-Maori-learners.pdf

Education Council New Zealand, Matatū Aotearoa (2017) Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession. Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. https://teachingcouncil.nz/professional-practice/our-code-our-standards/Links to an external site.