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Lillie and her friend who also loves early childhood education! 

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Hi! My name is Lillie Whitney and I am a sophomore at Penn State majoring in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. I am on a THON Dancer Relations committee and I also play intramural soccer. I enjoy working with children and already have multiple experiences doing so. During my senior year of high school I got the opportunity to be a preschool teacher at one of my local preschools, Creative Clubhouse, so I got to be in a preschool classroom for a whole school year. I also go back to that same preschool every summer as a camp counselor. I also volunteer at my church back at home with events and weekly programs for elementary school aged children.

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Children from my preschool, Creative clubhouse, working together to build a tower.

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In this course I am hoping to explore many different elements of early childhood education. I am hoping to explore how children interact with one another versus how they act with the adults in the classroom. Observing relationships and interactions between people has always been interesting to me, so I am looking forward to seeing how preschoolers in this setting interact and work together. I am also hoping to explore individual differences. Every child has their own experiences, backgrounds, and home lives, so I am interested in seeing how different experiences and events impact how children act in the school setting. I am so excited to be in the classroom and to ain't even more experience being in a preschool setting! I am looking forward to forming relationships with my students and my mentor teacher, because I believe that forming relationships with students and teachers is a very important part of the learning process.

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Children completing their restaurant project.

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Week 2 Video Reflection: Project Zero Color Investigation

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Week 2 Video Reflection: Project Zero Color Investigation

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I loved this curriculum project of having the students explore restaurants and then eventually making their own restaurant. This is actually a project that I did when I was in kindergarten, and I remember feeling so accomplished and having so much fun with the project. This was interesting to me since I, as a child, have experienced a very similar project, and it is something that I will never forget. It is also a very good way to incorporate the family into the schooling process since the families could come and experience the restaurant that the students put together. I noticed reflective practices from the teacher because she realized that her students were super engaged in playing with the food and pretending to have a restaurant, so she then took what engaged her students and formed a learning experience around that. She used the thinking lens of seeking the child’s perspective because she explored what the children in her class were drawn to and excited about. I really liked how the teacher then took her class around the neighborhood to explore restaurants and to ask her students the question of “What makes a good restaurant?”. This was such a great educational experience for the children because they first played restaurant, then gathered information about restaurants, then finally put together their own restaurant. I can use reflective practices throughout this semester’s journal through reflecting on what I saw in the classroom and how I then helped further the children’s education through my observations. For the journal, I can go back and reflect on past entries and observe how I am learning and growing throughout the semester. I can reflect back on past entries and connect the content throughout my journal.

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Week 2 Video Reflection: No Small Matter

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Week 2 Video Reflection: No Small Matter

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There are many different challenges and opportunities currently facing the field of early childhood education. One challenge is the education and achievement gap that starts to form from a young age. Children from higher income families can afford higher quality education, so these children will be ahead of their peers when they enter kindergarten. These children are also exposed to more educational experiences and opportunities outside of school, so the achievement gap is starting before elementary school even starts. This is challenging because all students are at different stages and places in their educational experiences, even though all children deserve access to high quality education. Another challenge is that early childhood educators are often seen in society as babysitters, while this is not the case. Early childhood educators are much more than babysitters. They are forming the basis of their students’ education, building knowledge, taking care of the children, and providing medical and mental care. I have had experiences while working with children where people do not fully understand what I do. When I was an intern at a preschool people thought I was just there to watch the children, but I was there to teach them and help them grow. People often make fun of me for being an education major because it seems “easy”, but that is not the case. Society does not seem to have a proper view on what early childhood educators really do. One opportunity of early childhood education is to provide the groundwork for all of the education that the children are going to receive in the future. Everyone has to start somewhere, so early childhood education is the stepping stone to all academic knowledge and a basis for the future of education.

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Teacher teaching her students about peer conflict resolution. 

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Week 3 Video Reflection: Social Emotional Learning

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Week 3 Video Reflection: Social Emotional Learning

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The two teachers from the CSEFEL videos support the development of children’s social emotional learning and peer conflict resolution skills. They do this in a three step approach: introduce the skill, practice the skill, and then maintain the skill. Social emotional learning is a very important part of early childhood development, so incorporating those skills into the classroom is vital. One thing that intrigues me about the way the teachers support peer conflict resolution skills is that they ask the students what they think they should do to solve the problem. This allows the children to try to figure out problem solving skills on their own and for them to explore different ideas. The teachers were still there to talk the problems out with them and support their social emotional learning. Another thing that intrigued me was how the teachers taught the children through singing songs. These songs engaged the children and it was a way of learning through an interactive method. This helped to introduce skills to children, and then they could practice what they learned through the song. When the teachers would see the students using the social emotional and peer conflict resolution skills, they made sure to recognize the actions so that the students would maintain the skill and use it again in the future. As a future teacher, I can use positive guidance strategies in my classroom. When I introduce a new skill I can do so in a way that keeps my students engaged and excited to develop peer conflict resolution skills. I can then come up with activities for my students to do that will guide them through practicing the skill. Lastly, when I see students using the skills that they learned on their own I can reinforce them and recognize that I see them applying their knowledge. Using positive guidance skills is important because students want to be recognized for their good work and they will be more likely to use the skills in the future if they realize that they have done something positive.

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One element that I would like to include in my future classroom is a garden. If I were to have the space somewhere I would love to have an outdoor garden like the one pictured above, but if that is not possible I still want to have a little indoor plant center that my students can take care of. A garden is a great place to support learning because there are many different things you can teach such as the life cycle, growth, photosynthesis, and how to take care of a plant and the best ways to nourish it so that it can continue to grow. Depending on the grade that I wind up teaching I can alter the lessons so that it is presented in a way that my students understand. At the preschool I interned at during my senior year of high school we had an outdoor garden. The students picked out what they wanted to grow, discussed how they think plants grow, read books about plants, then finally planted their gardens. They would then continue to maintain the garden and they even got to eat the vegetables they grew. This was an amazing hands-on learning experience for them and is something that I want my future students to partake in.

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One other element that I want to include in my classroom are the family boards. These family boards are a good way for students to learn more about their families and the families of their peers. This is also a good way for students to feel comfort if they are ever sad or discouraged. Seeing pictures of loved ones can provide support and a sense of encouragement. I never had family boards in any of my early childhood classrooms, but if I did it would have provided me with an opportunity to feel comfort in moments when I missed my parents. These boards are also a very good way to teach children about all different kinds of families and that all families look different. One thing, though, that I dislike about the family boards is that when some children are upset or struggling and they see a picture of their families they might get even more upset. Even with this one downside, I would still want to incorporate the family boards into my classroom because of the conversations about families that it can create.

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Area of the classroom students can go to to relax and feel any feelings that they might be feeling. 

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One other element that I want to include in my future classroom is this comfortable and relaxing corner. This nook is a great space where students can go and relax if they feel stressed, overwhelmed, or just want a break. This can foster learning because while children are in this comfy corner they can think over their emotions and feelings, thinking about what they can do to feel better. Emotional learning can happen here. At the preschool I interned at we had a corner just like this called the "All Emotions Corner." Children could go and think through their emotions here, no matter what they were feeling. Providing students with a comfortable and safe space to process emotions is very important because it teaches them to outwardly feel their emotions and that it is ok to acknowledge your feelings. In my future classroom, I want to have a corner like the one pictured above with comfortable pillows, cushions, and stuffed animals. I do not remember having a place like this when I was a child, but it would have been nice to have a place to go if I needed a break from the action of the classroom. I really like the emotional learning aspect that comes with this space because a good early childhood education is not just academic education, but also social and emotional education and learning experiences.

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Bev Bos has a classroom environment that is different from a “typical” preschool classroom. She lets her students explore and learn on their own. In her teaching style, the environment plays a major role in her classroom. She sets up the environment in a way that children learn everything on their own. They learn through play and discovery. One disposition that she talks about is risk. She lets her students take risks and discover what they want to learn in the classroom. Risk is an important disposition to discover because it helps students figure out what they are comfortable and uncomfortable with.

Another disposition that is prevalent to this video was self-esteem and students figuring out about themselves. Students need to learn about themselves and others as part of their learning so that they can also learn in an academic sense. Learning through play is most of the learning that was happening, and this reminded me of the preschool that I once taught at. The preschool that I taught at thought that education happened through play, so students would play and learn through what they were doing. Observing children playing can tell you a lot about the learning experiences of a child because every child is different. Some might go for the same toy every day while others might explore new items each day. This is a huge part of early childhood learning, and it was a major idea from this video. The one thing that confuses me, though, is that since the curriculum is not standardized, some students might not be ready for kindergarten or might be behind some of their peers. If children from other preschools are learning letters and numbers while these students are learning through their play, they will be in different spots than their peers.

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Student building a tall tower out of blocks.

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The teachers in the Thinking Big project taught their students in a way that is not always seen as traditional. Instead of having the same curriculum every year they create their curriculum through seeing what their students want to learn and are interested in. The students in this film were interested in building the tallest structure that they could, so the teachers created a year-long project surrounding that idea that ended with the class going to one of the tallest buildings in the city so that they could be as high up as they could. This wrapped up all of the goals for the year and provided closure to the project.

This is inspiring because the teachers show that students can create their own learning experiences and classrooms do not always have to look like the “standard” classroom. I found this video to be more inspiring because it shows that teachers are able to accommodate their students’ wants and needs. This cultivates the dispositions of curiosity and wonder. This is because the teachers allowed the students to explore ideas on their own. They let the students figure out the type of ladder that would be best and what materials they could use to build the tallest tower. The children were able to make discoveries on their own, which is a very important part of developing dispositions that will last a lifetime for students.

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Teacher leading a discussion about the cover with her students. 

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In the video, the teacher used the Whole Book Approach while reading Megan Dowd Lambert's Freight Train with her students. She did so by not only reading the book to her students, but leading a discussion about all aspects of the books, especially the pictures. She had her students discuss what they thought was going to be on the back cover and also asked them if they knew what kind of train cars there were before reading about them. This is a great way to have students interact with the book while also seeing what they already know about the subject. This can also be helpful for teachers because they can see what background knowledge students already possess and it gets them involved in the reading process.
During my literacy project I can apply the Whole Book Approach. I can start by asking the students what they notice about the cover and the people on the cover of my book. As we are reading the book I can stop and ask them questions and give them an opportunity to share their thoughts about what is going on. My students might already know information about the topic my book is on so that way they will have the opportunity to share their own thoughts and experiences.
This connects back to "windows and mirrors" in my educational journey. Windows are opportunities for students to learn about new experiences and people who are not the same as them while mirrors help students reflect and connect their own experiences to the content. I remember back in elementary school we did a project where we had to learn about one of our ancestors and present about them to the class. This was using windows and mirrors because for the "mirror" part we had to learn about someone in our family and it was a personal learning experience that I could relate to and then the "window" was learning about the family members of my other classmates who were not like me and we got to learn about new cultures in that way. This was a great project to get my class to learn more about their own background and the culture of others.

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One of the books I am using in my literacy project.

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The Milo's Museum video did a great job at fostering anti-bias anti-racism discussion. The people in the book were all different, including people of different races, ages, genders, and abilities. The reader talks about how to lead discussions based on the people ion the pictures and how the students can discuss how everyone is different in their own way. Having the students discuss these things instead of just the teacher talking about differences is very important because students need to be engaged and active in the anti-bias and anti-racism discussions.
The book I am choosing for my literacy project is "When Charley Met Emma" by Amy Webb. Emma is a girl who utilizes a wheelchair, and Charley realizes that different is not weird, but different is ok. This can lead to an interactive anti-bias discussion because I can ask leading questions such as "when have you seen someone in a wheelchair" or "do you know anyone who uses a wheelchair". I can have my students talk about their experiences with people like Emma. The book also goes on to talk about how different people have different needs and need different things to help they in their everyday life. The book can also foster anti-racism discussions because the book features characters from all different races so I can have my students talk about the representation in the book.

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Children using their imagination at recess. 

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Week 7: Assessment and Early Learning Standards

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Week 7: Assessment and Early Learning Standards

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After viewing Is Recess Too Safe and Fiddleheads Forest School, I gained ideas on how to utilize loose parts in my future classroom. I can provide materials that might seem like trash as materials that they can play with and build with. What might seem like trash to us can be an exciting experience for children. They can take loose parts and use their imagination to use them as things such as blocks, cars, people, or anything that they want them to be. If my classroom has an outside area I can utilize even bigger loose parts such as tires and trash can lids as seen in the video. The children let their imagination run wild to transform these items into things that they could all play with. The students worked together to create games and ways to play together. The Forest School allowed students to play with items found in nature and they got to learn through a living classroom. The benefits of using open-ended materials is that students can play with them in however way that they want to and there is not only one right way for these items to be used. This lets students be creative and create their own play and learning.
The preschool that I worked at utilized loose parts, especially in outdoor play. We had a bin full of random items such as sticks, rocks, old bins, utensils, cardboard rolls, and just about anything that is not a typical play toy. The students would always use their imagination and turn those objects into new things and worked together to create games to play with them. I think risk taking and adventurous play is very important in early childhood because it allows students to use their creativity and imagination. My comfort level with this is pretty high, unless it is an activity that can harm my students. If something seems dangerous I would step in, but besides that I want my students to explore and engage with loose parts in their play. The preschool I worked at made me more comfortable with allowing students to take risks because I could see the reward that it had and we luckily never had any negative experiences or harmful play.

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Activity of students looking in the mirror to draw themselves. 

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I am very comfortable engaging in conversations with younger children about race and other aspects of identity. I think that it is very important that children understand that all people are different, and that different is a good thing. When I was a child I do not remember learning much about anti-bias or people who are different from me. I do not think this is a good thing, as I could have been more aware from a younger age. I really like how the current education system is including more about anti-bias, and I have seen this through things I am learning in my classes along with my experiences teaching at a preschool in recent years. I really liked all of the anti-bias and anti-racist education practices in the video. These ranged from casual conversation, making self-portraits, and reading books that have multiple languages in them. The one that intrigued me the most was when the students and teachers were sitting at lunch and the teacher causally asked questions about languages they speak at home and the foods they eat to bring awareness to these children about their differences. This intrigued me most because it shows how even during lunch and casual conversation teachers can teach their students about anti-bias education even during non-traditional education times. Another practice that intrigued me was the picture that I included, when the teacher sat students down with mirrors and had them draw self portraits. This was intriguing because I have seen this activity in my own experiences. At the preschool I worked at we completed this activity with my students. We sat students down and had them talk about what features they noticed and we had many different skin color crayons they could use. When then used the self portraits to talk about the differences we all have in the classroom. I hope to incorporate this activity in my future classroom because I want to highlight the differences between my students to show how even though we are different we are all an important part of the classroom. I also really liked the books with two languages, so I hope to have books in my classroom that have the students' home languages in them. This can introduce students to new languages and for the students that already know the language, it can provide more practice. I also want to lead causal conversations with my students about anti-bias education to let them know that differences are normal and that we all appreciate everyone's differences.

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Me in the dramatic play center at Bennett Family Center.

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I enjoyed my first day in the Iguana Garden room at Bennett Family Center! The thing I found most intriguing was how the students were talking to each other in different languages. They were communicating with each other in both English and their home languages. It was very cool to see preschool students being able to switch between languages, and it was very impressive. One thing that I found shocking was the way they do free play at the end of the day. Children were only allowed to be on the rug or at the table and could only use one toy at a time. There were multiple times when children were mixing toys to play with different things at the same time, but they were told to put one away. The preschool I used to work at encouraged the usage of multiple kinds of toys in play, so this threw me off. I do wish I was there for more instructional time because all I see is nap time, play, and snack. I enjoyed getting to know some of the children and I cannot wait to really get to know them all. One question I have is what do the mentor teachers expect from me and how much should I step in? There were multiple times yesterday where I was unsure of what my role is in the classroom, so hopefully that will become more clear as I spend more time there. I also did not know if I should step in and say something if a student was doing something they were not supposed to. Overall, I had a good first day and am excited to see what the rest of my time there will be like.

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Cartoon example of what the personalized building blocks look like.

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Similar to the article we read this week, the Iguana Garden classroom that I am in has a philosophy of an emergent approach to their curriculum. The teachers create lessons and opportunities to learn based off of the students' interests. One way that my mentor teacher, Rachel, and the other teachers do this is that they have a board where they write down questions and curiosities that the students have and then they look at it to see what the children in their classroom are interested to learn about. This helps to keep the students engaged and to make them feel like they have a voice in their educational experience. Another philosophy my classroom and mentor teacher has is to build off of the knowledge that the students already have. For example, the children have been learning about maps and addresses recently. so they first started off with students talking about their own homes and addresses. They then got more into the subject after asking students what they already knew and what they were curious about. One part of this unit that I find interesting and really like is that in their block area each student has a block with a picture of their house on it. I included an example as my picture of this post, but I did not want to include pictures of the real blocks with the students' actual homes on it, so I just made a cartoon sample of what they look like. This makes building with the blocks more personal and the students love to show me their block with their house. This is a great way to add a personal touch to playtime and lets the students connect with the content they are learning. Learning through play is another philosophy of theirs, and this is one way that is shows in the Iguana Garden classroom.

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Tower the preschoolers in my class made using loose parts.

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I frequently watch the students in my classroom participate in open-ended loose parts play. Yesterday the students were playing with a bin of loose parts and building towers out of the pieces. The bin was full of different loose parts that were all silver, including dvds, rings, boxes, rolls, and other random parts. Some of the students even took some of the rings and put them on their ears to pretend they had earrings. I also see open-ended pay with loose parts often when we are outside. The students take different materials such as rocks and sticks and use their imaginations to pretend they are something else. They will often pretend that they are things such as foods in a soup. When thinking about my upcoming literacy project, I can incorporate loose parts into a STEM activity part. For example, I can use the KEY LEARNING AREA: Scientific Thinking and Technology Standard Area 3.2 PK.A.1: Sort and Describe objects according to size, shape, color, and texture. I can take loose parts that have to do with the topic that I give my lesson on and have the students sort them into different categories based on different features. I could tie the objects back into the book that I read so that this activity is relative to the story and lesson.

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The book the students had a guest reader read to them, after collaborating and deciding what book they wanted to hear. 

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There are many things done in the classroom to support the social and emotional development of children. One learning activity that was done in my classroom placement was drawing with watercolor pencils. This craft activity led to social and emotional development because the students had to learn to share and take turns with the different colored pencils. This led to the students talking to each other and discussing what colors they wanted to use and how they would take turns with the different pencils. This led to discussions about sharing and also about helping others with drawing or cutting out different pieces of paper. Another activity that I observed in my classroom placement that helped to support social emotional development was when they had a guest reader come into the classroom. The children first wrote a letter and made a map to their classroom asking the director to read them a book. She then came to the classroom and read them the book they picked out. This supported the children's social emotional development because they came up with a way to ask the director to read to them. They needed to use their language skills to come up with a polite way to ask for the read aloud. They all worked together and then signed the letter. This let the students work together and collaborate with one another, leading to the development of social and emotional skills.

One interaction between peers that I observed this week was between two students, Sally and Rana. These two students also have a ballet class together, so they kept talking about how they see each other every day of the week except for Sundays. They then decided that they were going to dance together in the classroom and started to spin. They did this for a while until they moved on to color in their drawing books. This was intriguing to me because they were connecting the idea that since they are in a weekend class together, they are in the two of the same classes and get to see each other outside of school. They were also taking what they learned in their dance class and brought it into this classroom space. They were able to recognize that they can take what they learn and use it outside of the classroom, as knowledge is not lost once you leave the space you learn it in.

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Play area the children often turn into their cooking area and restaurant.

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I have seen many examples of outdoor learning in my placement. One example of outdoor learning that has really stuck with me was when a few students decided to make brownies out of ingredients found in nature along with the pots and pans they have available outside for them to use. They used dirt as the flower, wood chips as chocolate chips, and leaves as the eggs. They then got creative and used grass as broccoli and sticks as carrots, as they decided to make healthy brownies. This outdoor play immediately turned into outdoor learning because it led to a discussion about what ingredients were needed to make brownies and collaboration to figure out what nature element should represent each ingredient. The children used their imagination and creativity to turn outdoor items into brownies. Besides this one instance, there are many other examples of outdoor learning that I have witnessed. One nature-inspired element that intrigues me is a patch of mulch that has about 10 big rocks in it. The students often use their imagination and pretend that the mulch is lava and that they can only walk on the rocks. They have to figure out a way to get around by only stepping on the rocks and making lava boots so that they can walk in the lava without getting hurt. The creativity and imagination of the children during this learning always intrigues me because they get creative with how they are going to get their lava boots and often have codes to get them and then they help the other children figure out the codes. They are turning mulch and rocks into a land of lava, which shows that they are taking the elements of nature and using them to enhance and enrich their play. I can incorporate outdoor learning into my future teaching by making sure that I take my students outside during some lessons. I will probably be teaching in an indoor classroom in a school, so I can take my class on special trips outside to learn. For example, if we are reading a book about flowers and plants I can take my class outside to observe the different plants that they see in our school community. Another example could be if we are learning about bugs and insects I can take my class outside to safely look at the insects and examine how they live. These two examples will let my students witness the elements found outdoors in their natural habitats and they can see them in person instead of just looking at them through pictures. I think it is very important for students to have first-hand experiences in their learning, and outdoor learning is a great way to do this.

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Area of the classroom where they display their daily reflections.

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My last few visits in the field have mostly been very similar. I get to the classroom during naptime and I usually read to a student until naptime is over. Then I help the children transition to book, puzzle, and journal time. We then move to a very, very brief circle time and the children get ready for snack. We all have snack then go into free play, but they have to remain on the rug and play with a small variety of toys. We then go outside and I play with the children in my class and sometimes the children from other classrooms too. The thing that I have found most surprising from this is circle time. During this time the children either review what they have done earlier that day and look at the daily reflection or one of the teachers will read a book. That being said, the children start being called to wash their hands for snack before circle time is even over. This is surprising, especially when a book is being read, because they are cutting the book short for the students and I just do not really understand why they do not start moving the children on after circle time and after they have finished the discussions and books.

One question I have after this experience is about what happens after the students leave preschool and enter kindergarten? How prepared are the children for kindergarten? As we have learned, there are many different types of preschools, so when kindergarten starts there will be children from all different preschools and I wonder how the children from this preschool will adapt to it. I know Bennett Family Center has a kindergarten, but I am unsure of how many children will go there and how many will move to a different school.

One piece of advice that I would give to future students in this course would be to try to get a spot in the morning section of this class. I had to make up hours so I went during the morning one day and I got so much more out of that experience than I do in the afternoon. More of the learning activities and group lessons happen in the morning, so I wish I was there to experience that. I feel like I would have gotten more out of the field experience if I was here during the part of the day that was not mostly free play. I know that is not possible for every student, so my advice for all of the students in the afternoon would be to really get involved in the classroom and with the students. The afternoon is a lot of free play time which can sometimes drag on, but if you get in the action and play with the students you will get so much more than just observing. Observing is important, but engaging with the students allows personal connections to form and an opportunity to be in the moment and enjoy the short amount of time we have in the field.

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My first key learning moment from this semester was when I got to go to Schlow Library with the preschoolers in my placement. I heard that my class was going to the library to read with Ms. Katie and I knew that that was something I wanted to experience. This was a key learning experience for me because I got to witness my students outside of the classroom and during a different time of day. This helped me to see the true colors of my students and gave me insight to why my students act the way they do when I am in the classroom. This trip occurred in the morning and I realized that a lot of students who are quieter in the afternoon were a lot more talkative and active than when I normally see them. By the time I get to my placement some students are tired out or about to go home, so this allowed me to spend more time with those who leave while I am there. It was also helpful to see my students outside of the classroom and how they handled themselves in the library and walking through downtown because I got to see them following directions and interacting with others in a different light than normal.

One thing that happened to us on the way to Schlow Library was that one of the students got a bloody nose and we all had to stop so that we could get him help. Many of the students were wondering what happened and what they could do to help, so this reminded me of the CSEFEL videos about social emotional learning. In the video the students learned how to resolve conflicts using a three step approach of introducing the skill, practicing the skill, and maintaining the skill. During this incident the students were at the step of maintaining the skill because the teachers asked them if they knew what to do while we were stopped, and they responded with that they wait patiently until the issue could be solved. This conflict resolution skill can be utilized in my future classroom because if there is ever a conflict between peers or if one child is having an issue I can teach them the social emotional skills that they need to solve it, then have them practice and maintain the skill. Social emotional learning in my future classroom will be very important because it teaches my students personal skills that they will be able to use for life.

My next key learning experience was when I did my literacy project because it really put me in action at my placement. I feel like I got so much out of doing a whole-class reading and activity with my preschoolers because it made me realize my purpose there. I was there to support the preschoolers and their learning through reading a book and having them plant some flowers to remind them to be kind to their friends. I learned about the importance of knowing how to meet the needs of your students along with how to make a lesson plan and how to execute the lesson. This was very meaningful to me because I got to put what I was learning all semester into action. Being able to teach a lesson to the preschoolers made me realize that what I am doing matters and that I am someone who my students can look up to and learn from.

During this semester we learned about many different teaching strategies, including the whole book approach. I was able to utilize the whole book approach during the literacy project because I let my students interact with the book and talk about what they saw in the pictures. Lambert’s piece on the whole book approach because it talked about how the pictures in the book are just as important as the words and how students can make meaning out of every aspect of a book. I can frequently use the whole book approach in my future classroom because as an elementary educator, I will read many books to my students. I will teach my students about all of the different parts of the book and ask them what they notice about illustrations. I want my students to be able to connect to the books and the materials that they are learning, so utilizing the whole book approach will allow me to provide that opportunity for my students, just as I did during my literacy project.

My final key learning moment was not something that happened in the field, yet it was something that frequently happened in our seminar discussions. Whenever fellow peers would speak out about their experiences in their preschool classrooms I got to learn so much valuable information. It was super helpful to hear about the experiences that my peers were going through because sometimes I could relate to what they had to say and it was nice knowing that others felt the same. It was also helpful to hear about experiences that were completely different from mine because it showed that every class and every student is different. This was a key learning experience for me because I was able to learn from my peers. The learning that occurred from this was not just taught to me, but it was experienced. I then could take what I learned from my peers and apply it to my field experience. It was also very helpful to hear from the cohort A students at the beginning of the semester so that I had an idea of what to expect when I got into the field later on.

This can connect back to the reading we completed on emergent earthen curriculum because it was written based off of experiences that happened at Hort Woods. I really enjoyed this piece not only because it was educational, but because it was about an experience that happened at a Penn State preschool. I feel like I could really connect to this reading since it was written about a field placement here, similar to the way that I really valued learning from hearing about the field experiences of my peers. This article gave me a way to experience the ways of the teachers and the experiences in the field on a second-hand account. I could really learn from this piece because I was interested in its contents since it was written by one of the course instructors, Misty Woods, and her peers. I can take what they wrote about in this piece, emergent earthen curriculum, and apply it to my future classroom. I can do so by providing my students with time to go outside and learn, and see where nature takes me. I can be open to discussing harder topics, like the death of this rabbit in this article, so that my students can learn about nature and the world in a natural way.