Guest Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 hi I am new to this forum so bear with me!!!!!!!! I am a Nursery teacher of 6 years have also worked in a special school and in years1 and 4! have now found where my heart lies. Have recently been excited about a resident artist scheme that a parent, myself and the staff have been working on. Influenced by Reggio emillia and High/scope! We've recently applied for and have been succesful in gaining an arts grant for a large amount of money!! So exciting but my head is swimming! I've had sleepless nights! Must admit I have planned so thoroughly to the elg and stepping stones and although they are not set in stone i rely heavily on my planning and assessments for evidence! However my heart is with the High/scope approach of which we have just had one taster session...I am confused (not a new feeling!!) How do I plan for the key experiences? I mean what do I write dowN? Have no problem with the environment providing experiences etc but how do i plan? Has anyone got any examples of high/scope plannning? We are a 26 place nursery with only 2 of us and the odd student thrown in here and there! I think we will have a problem as i think this approach is heavily reliant on adult support!! Love this site. Great to know that there are so many of us out there and that the foundation stage is at last being recognised!!! Thankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 Hi Wheeldon, Thanks for your first post - what a wonderfully exciting time for you! Please keep us posted with your progress, won't you! Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 Hi Wheeldon, and welcome What a hugely enthusiastic first post; many thanks for that I know there are members here who operate in the HighScope structure, and I hope they give you the benefit of their advice and experience. Do you do a plan-do-review system of some sort now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 hi helen and sue thankyou for the warm welcome taken me ages to pluck up the courage to write but it wasn't at all as bad as I thought! Have done some plan do review but not every day i feel this needs to be done in small group situations and we really struggle with adult support...hoping this project will change all that! Got some parental support who have attended workshops and the high/scope day... that was reassuring. Need to convince my head that we need a third qualified member of staff. Any ideas? It's a great time for me as for the last 2 years I have been working part time to spend sometime with my little boy. I have been offered a full time post and foundation stage co-ordinator. The project is soooo exciting and the icing on the cake is that my little boy can come to Nursery with me!! What more can I ask? Having a baby has made me a much much better nursery teacher. (I now know how it feels now to leave a sobbing child in the arms of another!!) Project starts after half term so will keep you posted with progress! Still looking for planning the High/scope way if anyone has any.. Have a lovely break! I know we Early years people deserve it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 Hi Wheeldon and welcome! what an interesting project you are about to embark on. I am very interested in the High Scope Approach and wish I knew much more about it. You can do an NVQ! I was recently lucky enough to spend an afternoon in a High Scope dedicated nursery, within which you can train and whom are open to visitors. The session started after the arrival of the children to their key groups with a planning session, where the children chose their first activity. The group I had been allocated to were all quite new and I think older children recorded their planning choices in some way. The teachers moved rooms on a weekly basis, as both their base area and as their working focus but children were free to access the whole nursery. Nothing was set up before arrival as everything was determined by the children. So the majority of the session was child initiated with staff interacting with children in their chosen activities. At some point the outside was opened and there was a rota for staff from the various locations to man this depending on the numbers outside. Group time followed and was the time in which the children were adult led. The focus depended on the room that the teacher was based in that week and the whole staff had been involved in the planning of the whole nursery so that each group followed similar activities within the half term but would also be differentiated to meet individual needs. The children also had an opportunity to tell others what they had been doing and to have a story during this group time before going home. Snacks had been offered during the session in a cafe style. At all times children were active and busy and engaged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Hi wheeldon, Welcome. It certainly does sound like an exciting project and I would be interested in how it progresses. I'm sorry I can't help in any way though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 hello and welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Hello wheeldon and welcome! Do you mean plan for the key experiences throughout the session, through all activities, or are you looking at the adult-led parts, which would normally be Large Group and Small Group Times I think? I ask because planning is different according to the contexts. In the Plan-Do-Review sequence [Work Time] you're taking your lead much more from what the children are doing/are currently interested in, so it's about providing an environmemt that supports & develops those interests. Simple example, if children are showing keen interest in capacity in water play, you'd make sure it was available as a Work-Time choice with a selection of containers etc that support their interest. Large Group & Small Group Time are adult prepared activities that still tend to work around children's observed interests, eg. if children were interested in colour mixing while painting in Work Time, a Small Group Activity might be around experimenting with pieces of crepe paper & cups of water, or blending with chalks. If I remember correctly there are 4 sources from which you draw your Small Group Activities: key experiences, seasonal or cultural events, new materials and children's interests. All parts of the curriculum should constitute active learning, which involves Materials, Manipulation, Choice, Language and [Adult] Support. When any of those is missing it's not active learning. That might be your rationale for the extra staff member! We were recently advised that you should audit each area of the room for Active Learning, as well as each part of the timetable. You could see if there are any High/Scope Implementation Courses nearby; you get loads of ideas on them, but I've found that's only the start of working the High/Scope way; there's so much to learn. Try the High/Scope UK website for publications - mostly USA produced, but not all. They're not cheap but there are some good ideas, & they do deliver very quickly. There is a UK publication linking the Key Experineces to the ELGs but personally I think there's more work to be done there yet. Sorry if I've gone on a bit. Hope I'm at least on the right lines for you! I'm no expert on it but I am keen on the 'partnership with children' aspect in particular. I think the long-term results for society could be significant if we can work on mutual respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 thankyou so much weightman. I've found a high/scope accredited centre only 5 miles from where i live so will try and arrange a visit next week think things will be a lot clearer when i actually see "it" in action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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