Last week, I made a comment about how open ceilings may create loud noises and how open classrooms may create limitations for the caregivers. I didn’t mean to say these comments because I am limiting the children’s capability and mistrusting the children. I am saying just from personal experience that high ceilings create for louder environments. It happens everywhere, even at restaurants. One of the schools had high ceilings and hard floors and without material that absorbs the sound it could get loud when a bunch of people or children are talking. I was just wondering if it does get loud and how can you add things into the environment that would absorb some of the sound. I believe we do have trust in the children but supervision of children at this age is a big deal. A school that is one big class has to run into some supervision problems. I don’t think it’s a matter of mistrusting children or limiting their capabilities at all.

This weeks reading was about assessment. I believe assessment is such a huge part for a child and so beneficial but it isn’t done enough. Assessment can help improve a child’s development individually and on a broader scale, assessment can create a classroom curriculum. I feel that the whole assessment process helps teacher’s build a relationship with each child individually. Every time I assess a particular child, I feel as if I know that child a little bit more personally. It creates an environment where a teacher sit backs and withdraws from the situation and just observes the child in its most natural habitat. The problem with assessment is that it’s very time consuming. For teachers, especially if they are the only teacher in the classroom can find it a burden. It always seems as if the moment a teacher starts assessing a child, something that needs their attention happens.

I enjoyed reading from the Te Whāriki website about how the children have a part of their own assessment. I have read from the benefits of allowing children to have a say in their own assessments. I know that in some public schools, the children conduct the second family teacher conference. I always wanted the preschool aged children to be a part of their own assessment. Every year, we make portfolios for each child; in this portfolio we include pictures of their development in each developmental area. We also include some work samples of their writing, and cutting and art. Well I finally got a computer in my classroom, where I can work on the portfolios. This helped out a lot because I would create their portfolio and have each child tell me what they were doing in the pictures. This way I could have the child create its own caption and it was a way that I could document their language development as well. The children love doing it and it makes the whole process easier on the teacher.