Our Planet

Text : Aya Endo

I know this is sudden but here is a quiz for all. What is always in the pocket of Yamanoko’s childcare worker?

The correct answer is a notepad and a pen. In addition, we sometimes carry tools for recording such as IC recorders and cameras. Even when raising children, when you come across expressions that include children’s languages ​​and non-languages, there are times when you can’t remember even if you try to remember them later. Childcare educators are watching a large number of people at the same time, so it is very important to write down what happened so that we do not forget it. The words collected in this way become records of daily childcare, and they are accumulated and become records.

Let’s follow the process of recording at Yamanoko. Until March 2020: Each class wrote a “childcare diary“ consisting of activity details and specific episodes of children in all classes. Akebi posted and shared photos. The good thing about this recording method was that we could share the day with my parents and it was an opportunity for the caregivers to look back.

　

On the other hand, although it accumulates in each person, it was a pity that it was not used at the end of writing. It was a waste to spend so much time. How can we keep a “functional record“ that will deepen children’s understanding and change their practices? This question was shared with the entire team, and a subcommittee “Archive Committee“ was established in July 2020 to examine the ideal way of recording. There are five members who raised their hands: I, E, K, N, and Y.

The background to the establishment of the archive committee was the exhibition “Our Transforming Selves“ held in 2019 as an experience of accumulating records and deepening children’s understanding. The “Our Transforming Selves“ exhibition develops research from the “questions“ that are generated in daily life with children held in October 2019, and broadens the fun of what is happening in Yamanoko.. By pursuing one question for each class for three months in this project, we were able to get a sense that my child’s understanding would deepen, so we thought we should do this on a daily basis.

At the first archive committee meeting, we organized the purpose of recording. Among them, it became a story that the meaning may change depending on the recipient, the record for the educator, the record for the child, the record for the guardian. For example, if you think about records for children, most of their childhood memories are pruned during the growth process of the brain and cannot be remembered as memories. In my previous job, I was working with children who couldn’t live with their families, and I was made to think about the importance of records to children. A child who has experienced repeated losses and divisions has learned about the practice of life story work, in which they look back on the past in which they grew up and confirm their own story. As I explore past stories, the fact that many people remember me even if I don’t remember them supports the realization that I am important, and that act itself. This seems to be functioning as a therapy. I wanted to hand over to the children such a record that would help them overcome the various difficulties they encounter in the process of becoming an adult. (From that point of view, we are preparing a plan to deliver the record to the graduates of this year.) On the other hand, the meaning of the record for parents is to deepen their understanding of their children, as a parent. I think it will support their growth.

For children, the perspective of records for parents is important. In order to realize these two, it is important to enrich the practice of Yamanoko. I think that by enriching childcare, children can grow up more like themselves, and parents can also be raised by raising their children. The record is “to enrich practice (childcare)“. We wanted to find a way of recording that deepens individual perspectives, turns them into collective intelligence, and changes practice.

The reality of childcare center is important when considering specific recording methods. Since this field is child-centered from early morning to night, all the childcare workers in the class can get together and talk for up to 20 minutes a day. You need to make the most of this 20 minutes and produce the maximum learning with the minimum power. What’s more, if you don’t close your learning to an individual level, but to a collective level, it will not lead to a true richness of practice.

So we thought about a retrospective method using sticky notes. Write the episode briefly on a 2 cm wide sticky note. In Yamanoko’s childcare diary so far, I learned and described a method called “episode description“ (Kureoka, 2005, 2007, 2008), which consists of three frameworks: background, episode, and consideration. By breaking it down and adopting a small sticky note, you can simply describe the facts. You will be able to collect more episodes than ever before, which will allow you to accumulate episodes for all the children in your class.

　

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Also, what angle of a perspective to cut out a huge number of episodes is a very important point. Until now, the viewpoints were different depending on the childcare worker. As a result, the focus was sometimes on what the child couldn’t do. When “what you can’t do“ grows in the childcare worker’s consciousness, it also appears in the way you are involved. Rather than focusing on the problem, trusting the child in any expression and grasping the possibilities there will definitely lead to richer practice. From the discussion including such reflections, we decided to incorporate the following five viewpoints from the New Zealand childcare practice “learning story“ approach as the core viewpoints of how to cut out episodes.

・ To be interested (interested)

・To be enthusiastic (enthusiastic)

・ Confront difficult things that have never been done (challenge)

・ Express your thoughts and feelings (expression)

・ Take responsibility for yourself (role)

　

Daily 20-minute shared meeting flow

1:Write the episode on a sticky note (about 5 to 10 sheets per childcare worker)

2:Stick a sticky note on the childcare diary where the flow of the day is printed (it will be full of about 20 sticky notes)

3:Have a retrospective discussion (share health observations first, then share perspectives on how you perceive the episode that you want to focus on most)

4:Copy a childcare diary full of sticky notes. Spell the copied paper as a childcare diary

5:Reattach the sticky note to the child’s personal record file

This is the record performed on a daily basis. By using sticky notes, we are trying to balance the daily childcare diary and personal records so that the work is not duplicated. Next, looking back on the month, a monthly meeting to plan for the next month will be held for two hours with all the childcare workers in the class and the director. Before the monthly meeting, we will review the personal records and make preparations for each person in charge. (However, this process still has different recording time for each class, and some classes are recommended and some are not.)

Preparation for monthly meeting

1: Decide the person in charge of the child for the month

2:Review the child of the month from the accumulated sticky notes. While considering the relevance of the episodes, summarize what you can read by keywords and make it something that can be shared briefly. (Write directly on a piece of paper with A3 sticky notes)

3:Read reviews other than the child in charge (it is difficult to take this time)

Akebi  (3-5 years old class) personal record Classifying sticky notes from 5 perspectives and adding considerations under them

After making the above preparations as much as possible, at the monthly meeting, we will start from the interests and enthusiasm of the children this month and think about the efforts for the next month. The recording method is mind map format. The core topic will change depending on the child’s situation at the time, and may focus on specific activities (drawing, drama, etc.) or on the attitude of involvement. It can also be a philosophical debate, such as the balance between freedom and restriction. We will also share the questions that each childcare worker currently has and deepen their understanding of their interests. This monthly meeting will be the engine that drives the class’s efforts, and although the children’s current location is becoming clearer than before, the feeling that their understanding of children is connected to practice is still sparse. I can only feel it. There seems to be a problem in the connection part that connects the child’s understanding from the record to the engine of the class.

Documentation newly implemented in the Urui class (0-year-old class): Set a theme of exploration, record and discuss in three categories: 1) children’s appearance, 2) caregivers’ observations and reactions, and 3) children’s reactions.

 

Starting from the questions of the caregivers and the children, examine the curriculum in a mind map format

 

Considering Yamanoko’s record with reference to the group discussion model of the reflection model “realistic approach“ for interpersonal assistance, which was advocated by Colt Hahen, an authority on teacher pedagogy, it goes as follows:

Group discussion type 5-step procedure

1: Pre-structured (narrowing down the points to focus on in experience)

2: Reflection of experience (individuals look back on experience)

3:Structuring (sharing individual experiences with the entire team and putting them on the table for discussion)

4: Focusing (bringing experience and matching)

5: Acquisition of lowercase theory (creating a theory as a group)

The issue seems to be that the pre-structuring of 1 is weak. It is because there is 1 that the structure of 3 and the focus of 4 will deepen, so it seems necessary to incorporate 1 into the preparatory stage. This article tells about trial and error about recording. I am glad to have the opportunity to share with you about Yamanoko’s hot topic, the record. In some classes, we shared personal record files with parents from this year’s individual interviews, but next year we will create a process to share our deepening understanding of children with parents. Recording is always worth exploring. Please look forward to future developments!

 

References
“Aim to Be the Master of Childcare Records! “ By Takako Kawabe and Yukio Tashiro, Froebel-kan
“Assessing children’s learning in a nursery school“  By Margaret Kerr
“Teacher Pedagogy A Realistic Approach that Connects Theory and Practice“  By Fret Kolthachen Gakubunsha