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Implementation and reflection:
What went well?
All of the children really enjoyed the experiences and that is at the heart of why I did the experiences. All children understood the learning and concepts behind each experience.

What could be improved? What methods were used to capture what the children were learning?
Next time if I had more time and resources I would improve my gardening experience with real gardening, planting real flowers, herbs, and veggies.
*I captured what the children were learning via observations and photographs.

What theories or research informed your teaching strategies?
Was it hands-on?
My teaching strategies were highly informed and implemented on the likes of Lev Vygotsky's MKO theory.
“Ninja play” from the likes of Playwork theory.

Did you take a step back?
I took a step back where appropriate. I put my input to initiate and start the experience and then took back and observed what the children did and were capable of. Where I thought they could use a suggestion or a tool to further their play is when I stepped in or when I was invited back into the play.
EG: searching volcanos, adding a book about planting.

Did you include the environment?
I did not include the environment per say but the resources in our environment.

Did you involve the families?
Families were included in the environment as they were spoken about in experiences and Saxon's parents were involved as his interest in volcanoes had since developed and he had taken the volcano book home.

Did you use any prompts?
Did you make any modifications?
No to both.

Any changes to the environment?
There were no changes required to the spaces I was using... there was one area which I modified in the home corner for my salon experience.
In the home corner there was a section where there were some products that could be used in a salon and a table. However, I got more products from the storeroom and a mirror, and we did a full set up.

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Question: “How do children transfer these skills learnt from intentional teaching moments to other aspects of play and life?”

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Context:
Monday 8th Of May – Friday the 19th Of May
The learners are 4 years old, their interests are creating art, flowers/gardening and making things with playdough / volcanoes. The emerging interest is learning through creating things. At Russell Court the environment and programs are truly run on children's interests. Each area in the room is there specifically because a child or group of children have shown interest or requested it. The kinder is flourishing in resources. The children at Russell court have a big interest in creating things and their interest is supported so adequately... they have access to diamantes, pom poms, boxes of all sizes, googley eyes, tinsel, feathers... anything the children want or need they are told they just need to let the teachers know and they receive it. Anytime throughout the day. Constantly on rotation. It is very evident that its embedded in the pedagogy that Russell Court is FOR the children. Even intentional teaching and things that need to be delivered such as emotional regulation, school readiness, healthy eating etc... the way they’re delivered are always in a way that interests the children that is fun and they want to participate.

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Rationale: To summarize, the three observations demonstrate both intentional teaching moments by teachers and the interest in learning through creation. In ob 1 the children were able to express their creativity and imagination from a dot and learnt that metaphorically from a dot you can become / make anything you dream of especially if you have someone like a teacher to facilitate and support you. In ob 2 the children were able to create their own garden, plant flowers where they would like them too, but they also learnt about the processes of gardening and what you need to make a garden and maintain it. In ob 3 Saxon created a volcano with playdough but he also learnt about the functions and parts of a volcano and now has a resource about his interest that he can always go back to and learn more about.  What they all have in common is a MKO (Vygotsky, 1978) scaffolding their learning for them. Whether that be me (student teacher) or a fellow classmate who holds a higher amount of knowledge on said topic/interest. 

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Rationale: To summarize, the three observations demonstrate both intentional teaching moments by teachers and the interest in learning through creation. In ob 1 the children were able to express their creativity and imagination from a dot and learnt that metaphorically from a dot you can become / make anything you dream of especially if you have someone like a teacher to facilitate and support you. In ob 2 the children were able to create their own garden, plant flowers where they would like them too, but they also learnt about the processes of gardening and what you need to make a garden and maintain it. In ob 3 Saxon created a volcano with playdough but he also learnt about the functions and parts of a volcano and now has a resource about his interest that he can always go back to and learn more about.  What they all have in common is a MKO (Vygotsky, 1978) scaffolding their learning for them. Whether that be me (student teacher) or a fellow classmate who holds a higher amount of knowledge on said topic/interest. 

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Interpretation/Analysis:
I feel that child development theories relevant to my observations and analysis are the socio cultural theory. The socio cultural theory  focuses on development and learning in context of children's communities (social and cultural)

Socio Cultural development believes:
-Children are positioned as learning through the belief system to which they are exposed and through their interactions with others.
-Development is the relationship between the child and their communities.
-Zone of Proximal Development By Vygotsky (Development change is generated through adult support of a more knowledgeable others, being experienced over time, followed by independent child accomplishment.

As well as Bronfenbrenner's Ecological systems are all factors that play part in assisting a child's development
microsystem: home, siblings, afterschool care etc
meosystem:
Exosystem: parents friends, parents jobs etc
macrosystem: culture, social norms etc

Barbara Rogoff
Theory of Guided Participation
“Building bridges” from children's present understanding and skills in order to reach new understandings and skills through collaboration with other, adults, caregivers and communities.

“What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do herself tomorrow” Vygotsky, 1978)

Implications for Practice:
-Value relationships as central to learning.
-Implement intentional teaching for development.
-Encourage children to work together through sharing ideas. – mixed age group, group learning experiences
-Expose children to language-based learning.
-Children are encouraged to form their own theories about the world through exploration in partnership with their educators, family members and the community.

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Plan (Provocation):
What other learning is possible?
Apart from their original learning intentions
Gardening - learning about how to garden and the process.
Playdough - Saxon learning about volcanos with the book I gave him and creating a volcano with lava. (Its correct properties)
The dot - Letting their imaginations run wild and creating whatever they think of from a dot.

There is so much more learning possible from these experiences. That the great thing about learning and teaching is that it is multifaceted and never linear. There are so many ways to implement learning. This is why learning thorough play is so vital for children.

Other learning possible through said experiences:

Gardening Observation:
Gardening also teaches children responsibility from caring for the plants. Cause and effect eg: plants die without water, too much sun and the plants may die.
Numeracy values: measuring how much feed and soil the plants need etc
Self confidence - accomplishment from achieving growing the food they have grown and can enjoy.

The dot
The dot activity could also teach:
Colour recognition through scientific experimentation - colour mixing activities.
Practices fine motor skills and hand eye coordination from holding and moving the pencil on paper which then furthers hand writing skills.
Exploring other art mediums to create with: other colours, textures, marterials etc...

Playdough
Other teaching moments from playdough:
-Expanding literacy skills as they are using word to describe what they are doing or creating: “squish, squeeze, roll, flatten.”
-Learn about measurement: how much flour, oil, cream of tartar etc goes in to make playdough.
-Experimentation- seeing the gooey mixture turn into firm playdough.

Improves social/communication skills:
-Sharing and trading tools.
-Talking about what they're making.

Practises their hand eye coordination:
-By using different tools, different size cookie cutters, rollers etc

Encourages creativity: playdough stretches their imagination and makes them think innovatively... creations are endless, pizza, snake, volcano, cakes, snowman's etc...

Emotional regulation: Helps to ease tension and release excess energies as children are sitting down focusing on what they are eating which is calming.

Develops fine motor skills:
Playdough builds strength in children’s hands. Rolling, squishing, molding, breaking, flattening and the rest helps to develop muscles that are used for fine motor movements.

All of these skills can be implemented through planning of different forms of play and experiences and can be adapted to provoke and honor the complexity of different individual learning needs.

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References:
Mooney, CG 2013, Theories of childhood: an introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky, 2nd edn, Redleaf Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States.

Hoffnung, M, Hoffnung, RJ, Seifert, KL, Hine, A, Ward, L, Pause, C, Swabey, K, Yates, K & Burton, R 2015b, ‘Theories of development’, Lifespan development, 3rd Australasian ed., John Wiley & Sons, Milton, pp. 33–64

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Children roleplay gardening after learning what steps and what resources needed to start a veggie garden then applying it to their play.

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Creations made from a dot after having read the book ”The Dot”.
“I made a spider with the black dot! -Selma.

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Saxon and his second Volcano (with lava) after having read his volcano book that I gifted him after investigating lava and its purpose in volcanos.