being an educator doesnt mean that i shld js teach them more knowledge, it also means that i should be engaging with them more and use the topic that im teaching to make small conversations with them

i realised that i am able to initiate conversations with the children and when my teammates dont know how to start introducing another section of the activity, i am able to try to let the children know that we’re going into another section of the activity. 

i realised that i was not really paying attention to the children’s safety when we were outside, and i definitely will be more alert in terms of their safety. 

i will still try to make small conversations with the children the next time i work with them. 

i learned how to deal with crying children. for me i just did not make eye contact and let the teachers the pg children are familiar with to handle and calm them down. 

i think i was able to take the lead when needed and i had to step out of my comfort zone to do that, which i was okay with. i found that i could handle surprise roles for example when i was asked to step in to do the story telling. i found myself being not as reluctant as i thought i would be. i am quite proud if myself for handling it well :)

i dont think i have anything that i would not repeat. i know what not to do based on the seniors feedback so those are the things i will remember not to do next time. 

something i would repeat is singing songs related to what we want them to do. for example the clean up song as i find them responding better compared to me just telling them what to do. 

What did you learn about being an EC educator today that you did not know before? 

— some children will not be willing to listen, I should let them do their things first instead of stopping them. Give them time to finish their activities.

What did you learn about yourself in terms of taking the lead, being a good support for your team, ability to step out of your comfort zone, etc.  

— I was able to communicate with my team well. 

What did you do today that you definitely will not repeat the next time you work with children?

— being very less talkative than what I am.

What did you do today that you definitely will repeat the next time you work with children.

— demonstrating actions for them to follow (eg sweeping the rice off your hands into the box nicely) 

K1: i had a conversation about language, a girl asked me if i knew what chicken was in malay and what uniform was in malay. We also talked about frozen and the colors that represent it. So i had an cute conversation with them. 

What did you learn about being an EC educator today that you did not know before? 

I learned that being an ec educator is not just abt planning or getting the children to do what is planned, but it’s also to be able to adapt to the situation like last minute changes.

What did you learn about yourself in terms of taking the lead, being a good support for your team, ability to step out of your comfort zone, etc. 
I learned that I am able to take the lead when i need too but i’m also able to do the support work/dirty work for my group mates when they feel uncomfortable or have other things to do. 

What did you do today that you definitely will repeat the next time you work with children.
I will definitely be more welcoming? today i feel like my interactions level was middle and i feel like i want to attract the children more next time and have a higher interaction time.

Through today's experince , I learnt that I am able to be one who takes initiative to get things started . When my group was overwhelmed with the number of children and have the jitters on not knowing how to get started , I took the initiative to get the conversation started with the K1s . I greeted them and made them say hello and get their attention to my group and I . When my other groupmates are giving instructions to the K1s but the children are carried away with their own conversation , I would take the initiative to get the K1's attention back like saying " K1s eyes on Ash " 

One thing that I would repeat in the future is that to always relate the topic of discussion to the children's real life experience . This way the children will be more interested and attracted to have an on-going conversation with us . 

conversion: sharing is caring. new mermaid movie

what did i learn: it is so mentally and physically exhausting to take. care of children 

what did i learn about myself: i tried to step out of my comfort zone but i did not manage to stay active and happy until the activity end

will repeat: never staying/handling children alone 

Today, I learned that being an EC educator requires a high degree of patience, adaptability, emotional stamina and also strength. I also learned that EC educators must have a strong sense of problem-solving skills in order to identify and address the individual needs of each child. Additionally, EC educators need to be able to provide emotional support, as well as to build strong relationships with them in order to effectively work together in the best interest of the child and also to carry the child huhu my back was hurting but im glad the child was happy. 

I learned how I rarely rely on others when im taking the lead and it felt less stressful when i knew i could rely on others for help 

I havent learnt the true way to break up a fight when the children do fight (it happened jn) i did what i could to stop them by asking them to share and say sorry to each other but next time i shall ask the teacher for help

Continue to comfort and talk to them to gain their trust

I had conversations such as, 

- “What colour is this toy/paint?

- “Would you like to paint the butterfly?”

- “What animal is this?”

Something that I learnt about being an EC educator that i did not know before is that especially for playgroup, it requires a lot of time and patience to calm the child down when they first enter the centre, because their crying could almost feel like it never ends.

I learnt that I’m not really a great leader, but I am a good support for my team. Whenever I see that they are struggling to keep the children together or make them do the activity, I help assist them diligently.

Most of the time, I was discussing and being slightly rowdy with my teammates around the children. Now I learn that the children are watching our every step especially in the centre, so I shall not repeat it again in the future.

I was able to interact and play well with some of the children, and not mind them getting my shirt dirty with the paint :D I didn’t wish to upset them with my negative emotions. Hence I just laughed it off, letting them know that it’s okay.

I learnt that it is very tiring, mentally and socially. Every child is different in terms of sociability and how they choose to do things. I was aware of it at first but i didn’t know it would be as tiring.

I learnt that i could naturally approach and attend to those who seem to be alone or drifting away from the activity and i am able to speak to them more comfortably.

i will not wear white shoes when painting

i will continue speaking comfortably with children and attend to them when they are in need or alone 

What did you learn about being an EC educator today that you did not know before? 

What did you learn about yourself in terms of taking the lead, being a good support for your team, ability to step out of your comfort zone, etc. 

What did you do today that you definitely will not repeat the next time you work with children?

What did you do today that you definitely will repeat the next time you work with children.

1. What kind of conversations did you have with the children?

2. What did you learn about being an EC educator today that you did not know before? 

The plans will not go as planned so we have to improvise & act as fast as possible to the changes ( must have quick thinking & action )

3. What did you learn about yourself?

What i learn about myself is that I'm able to stay patient and able to anticipate to changes & lead my team members & connect with the children.

The conversation I had with the children includes asking their favourite colour, whether they like a certain animal like elephant, and asking them if they like to play games. 

I learnt that not only you have to be consistently be engaged with the children to make them interested, you have to understand that some of the children can listen, while some requires more patience. I have to expect that some children have more knowledge and can understand whatever I am saying while some can not. I should not expect that all children will be an active participant as more require more attention than some. Simple thing like naming themselves, could be a chore and i should not just let the “silence” be. 

I learnt that I can actually step out of my comfort zone and take lead at some point, because at first I thought that I am not able to speak up or talk to the kids from the experience I had during the dry run. Compared to the dry run, I felt that the actually experience was better. 

I will try my best not to let the children run about and be aware more of their safety. 

Being interactive and engaging. 

(N2) I managed to communicate with the children more, ask them about their favourite sea animals, what they like to do, play with them and ask what they are doing. One of them said making cake. I helped them build the cake. They also liked the sensory play, they love water and the ocean a lot. When it gets messy, we say ‘Gentle’, ‘Gentle! So the animals won’t get hurt and be sad’, ‘Clean up’ song and ‘raise your hands!!’ when we don’t want them to touch anything. They also played peek a boo and talked about zombie and monsters. 

It is difficult to manage children if you panic. You need to be calm to show an example and be creative. It takes LOTS of energy to match theirs and you can make simple actions like ‘Hands up!’ to stop them from touching. We should also know when they give children space and not force them to do things, we can redirect them to another fun activity or let them play alone but still watch over them.

I helped in getting the children’s attention and setting up the activities. I think in the future i will take the lead more and support my team. I made sure that the children are with them while i cleaned the floor from the sensory play. The children managed to make me speak out more and think in a more ‘fun and expressive’ way to communicate.

I think i stepped out of my comfort zone and i hopefully wont be too overwhelmed the next time i see them. i hesitated at first but it flowed naturally.

I asked them questions about themselves, i ask for their names. When they are playing alone, i sit next to them, saying hi. if they are uncomfortable, i try to stay silent and watch over them trying to not pressure of overwhelm them which makes them open up. They know i am there. They are aware. I also tried to explain to them why they needed to share as some didn’t want to..

‘Share the shapes! You have lots of shapes, how about you give one shape to him?’

Start off with one little thing to give and they will be more comfortable with sharing more. Its like an introduction to sharing. I cheer them on when they share.

- I learnt that being an EC educator means you need to have more than one plan ready at the back of your mind. If plan A doesn’t go as plan, you need to go with plan B. Especially when you are dealing with play group, their mood tend to change in an instant and you have to attend to their needs first before proceeding with lessons that has been planned. 

- I learnt that in times where things get chaotic, we can’t fully depend on our leader to lead or take instructions from. If they are dealing with something else, I have to step up and be confident with what I should do next. Things like “guys let’s go and set up the material first” are some small things that we should step up for. 

- I think I shouldn’t follow the child too much without saying a word because that’s where they will feel very uncomfortable. 

- I should praise the children more for all the little things they made because that’s where they feel like they succeed in doing something.