Later, my Partner Monique and I started our day in the center. The children were divided into group tables to have their morning tea. When I sat with one of the groups by the table, almost everyone started to stare at me, which I could tell was nothing hostile. However, as the newcomer student teacher with no ECE experience, I sometimes looked down at the ground or away to avoid their sight. In brief, I was nervous and even started questioning whether I was the right person for this job.

Luckily, I was a natural regarding yard time. I imagined myself as the children's safety officer, which is part of my honorable duty in the first place. One thing I had noticed was that some children love climbing high. This has something to do with the risk-taking mentality. Therefore, whenever I saw children climbing high, I would come forward to watch and remind them to be careful and keep my arms ready for their safety, as well as anyone who wanted to get down safely.

Moreover, I had also assisted some children with the swing; they were amazed that I could make it higher. Afterward, they told me with their angel voices, "We had so much fun!" And that was a moment I felt myself glowing, and being 10/10 proud of my job. If you ask me, it did not just come in handy. When I stopped the swing, a young girl started to weep for a reason I did not yet know. I immediately lowered my level to her, first to make sure I could hear her clearly, second to let her know I was willing to listen. She hugged me by my neck, and said,"shins, my shins." As a result, I realized she was trying to stop the swing by her feet as it started to slow down. And the existing momentum transferred from the ground to her feet and shins. I had a similar experience taking care of my younger brother, so I knew one method was to twist the feet to relax the deeper shin muscles from the momentum. I told her to do so by doing it myself as an example, then I held her shoulder so she wouldn't fall. Later, she recovered and stopped weeping. I applied verbal and body language to deliver the message not to touch the ground until the swing fully stops. But of course, in a different communication style informed by the child's age and the context of the situation. I used simple words like feet, no, no, ground (by pointing at the ground). I handled it well for the first time.

In conclusion, here is my reflection on my first week in the center. This includes what I did well, how I felt at different times of the day, what I had realized and noticed, various methods of delivering communication in the special situation and environment, and the aspect I need to keep improving on. I have to be 100% honest about it, but the start of the first day was not pleasant since I was late(or too right on time a little). This was the mistake I had asked myself not to make again, as it did not demonstrate professionalism (Definitely something I should work on).

Later, my Partner Monique and I started our day in the center. The children were divided into group tables to have their morning tea. When I sat with one of the groups by the table, almost everyone started to stare at me, which I could tell was nothing hostile. However, as the newcomer student teacher with no ECE experience, I sometimes looked down at the ground or away to avoid their sight. In brief, I was nervous and even started questioning whether I was the right person for this job.

Luckily, I was a natural regarding yard time. I imagined myself as the children's safety officer, which is part of my honorable duty in the first place. One thing I had noticed was that some children love climbing high. This has something to do with the risk-taking mentality. Therefore, whenever I saw children climbing high, I would come forward to watch and remind them to be careful and keep my arms ready for their safety, as well as anyone who wanted to get down safely.

Moreover, I had also assisted some children with the swing; they were amazed that I could make it higher. Afterward, they told me with their angel voices, "We had so much fun!" And that was a moment I felt myself glowing, and being 10/10 proud of my job. If you ask me, it did not just come in handy. When I stopped the swing, a young girl started to weep for a reason I did not yet know. I immediately lowered my level to her, first to make sure I could hear her clearly, second to let her know I was willing to listen. She hugged me by my neck, and said,"shins, my shins." As a result, I realized she was trying to stop the swing by her feet as it started to slow down. And the existing momentum transferred from the ground to her feet and shins. I had a similar experience taking care of my younger brother, so I knew one method was to twist the feet to relax the deeper shin muscles from the momentum. I told her to do so by doing it myself as an example, then I held her shoulder so she wouldn't fall. Later, she recovered and stopped weeping. I applied verbal and body language to deliver the message not to touch the ground until the swing fully stops. But of course, in a different communication style informed by the child's age and the context of the situation. I used simple words like feet, no, no, ground (by pointing at the ground). I handled it well for the first time.

In conclusion, here is my reflection on my first week in the center. This includes what I did well, how I felt at different times of the day, what I had realized and noticed, various methods of delivering communication in the special situation and environment, and the aspect I need to keep improving on. Last but not least, I learned the importance of manaakitanga (care) and whanaungatanga (building relationships) according to in Our Code, Our Standards (Education Council, 2017).

Reference

Education Council. (2017). Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession. Author.

While I was watching, a little girl whom I had previously helped on the swing recognized me and invited me to join her. I squatted to her level and asked how was her day, can I have her name. She was trying to build a volcano and asked for my help. I took this as a sign that a sense of whanaungatanga that was forming between us. Since I did not really expect her to remember our earlier shared experience since my stereotypical mindset could be children tend to forget than to remember, which I was so wrong about! I believed she trusted me enough to include me in her play. I asked her questions about volcano, if she likes volcano a lot in particular, then I encouraged her to describe what she imagined it might look like when we are done. This experience helped me realize that how play could offers children opportunities to develop ideas and strengthen social and emotional connections with other students and kaiako.

Later, I discussed with one of the kaiako in the center about how play-based environments, for instance, the sandpit especially, support learning. She told me that children enjoy this kind of play because it pushes their imagination into creativity. It puts the thoughts into further actions and practices. Without such opportunities, children may keep their ideas only in their minds, unable to express or test them in anyways. Then she said that a rich play environment provides the tools and space for their thoughts to become visible and shared. This aligns with Te Whāriki’s (Ministry of Education, 2017) strand of Mana Aotūroa – Exploration, which emphasizes learning through active exploration of the environment.

In terms of self referencing, I can feel how my own participation is developing. From mostly observing to interacting and supporting learning through questioning and rapport building. Cherrington (2018) took reflection as connecting belief with action, allowing teachers to respond thoughtfully to children's cues. By remaining responsive and reciprocal relationships, I was not only assisting the child's creative thinking, but also learning about the importance of meaningful relationships and the role of the environment in play-based learning.

References

Cherrington, S. (2018). Early childhood teachers’ thinking and reflection: A model of current practice in New Zealand. Early Years, 38(3), 316–332.

Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa – Early childhood curriculum. Author.

Caroline, my guide teacher, said she was happy with my performance in the center so far. She said that my punctuality had improved dramatically since the first day of the placement, when I was late. She thought I was not serious about the placement, but now that concern was off her back, as being on time is a part of this profession. She also mentioned that many children like me and include me naturally in their play, which shows that my relationship-building is very strong. Hearing this made me feel proud and more confident about my growth.

For next steps, she encouraged me to learn more about Te Ao Māori through my studies because it’s an integral part of teaching in New Zealand. Also, something I hadn’t really thought about is that sometimes I help children too directly. I did not quite follow them because I felt that helping them when they needed it was my duty. Therefore, she explained further that it’s good to support them, but it’s also essential to offer them the chance to try first so they can learn to do things for themselves. Without the process of hands-on practice, they would never learn. After hearing her logic, I realized she’s right. I’ve seen kaiako do this often—standing close, ready to help, but letting children climb the small ladder or tidy up by themselves first. This really motivates children to believe in their capabilities.

At our center, teachers always give children small daily jobs like setting the dining tables or cleaning certain areas with name tags, putting them beside each task. This will promote responsibility; when they finish, the kaiako always praise them. You can see how proud the children feel. It builds their confidence and shows their contributions and efforts matter, which means the room would not be tidied up so fast without their assistance. That reminds me of Te Whāriki’s (Ministry of Education, 2017) strand Mana Tangata – Contribution, which talks about children learning that their efforts are valued.

Overall, this conversation was truly constructive. Thanks to the chance of reflection, I felt supported and guided, and I know what I need to keep working on to advance. If I keep being reflective, learning from others, and trusting children’s abilities, I will grow into a better educator.

Reference

Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa – Early childhood curriculum. Author.

Education Council. (2017). Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession. Author.