At the end of your day working with children, you probably do what a lot of early childhood practitioners do: Spend time thinking about what happened during your day. You often are too busy in the actual moment of working with children to really stop and think about all that is going on. Is it really that important to reflect on your work?
Insights from your work
Your reflections and insights help you process, understand, and bring to light your child care experiences. By recalling events, you uncover what you might not have seen or what you might not have had time to think about--you become more thoughtful. For example:
A provider was looking at digital pictures she had taken that day when she noticed that three-year-old Sam was always standing in the back, away from what was going on. She looked at photos from past weeks and noticed the same thing in several pictures. She hadn't noticed this before. The provider started to wonder: Why wasn't Sam entering the play? Was he comfortable? Can he communicate his ideas? This was definitely something to explore.
When you take time to reflect, it shows you value the children and yourself. It is the reflection that helps you question, plan, and understand. Reflection lets you see what is working, what's not, and how you might make a change as a professional. In a sense, you become your own mentor, guiding and enriching the path of caring for children and yourself.
Methods of reflecting are unique to each individual. Some practitioners review their daily/weekly lesson plans and make notes at the end of the day or week. Some practitioners will reflect with co-workers. Whichever method you devise, it is important to document your reflections and ideas. Having your ideas in writing will help you follow through with what is needed.
Reflections: Moving forward with new ideas
When you take time to reflect, you discover new ideas and begin planning for the ideas to be applied. The information is beneficial to the whole team: practitioner, child, parent, and program.
Look at the examples below that were created after a practitioner thought carefully about her day. She documented her reflections, added more reflections, brainstormed ideas and identified what program areas would be affected.
Experience 1
"Walking to the park today with three toddlers and an infant was
a little tricky. I was feeling stressed!"
Reflection - I think I will only go to the park when I have a parent volunteer. I'll post a sign-up sheet tomorrow and also put it in our monthly "Dear Families Letter." I really need help when walking anywhere with the children.
New ideas - Volunteers, sign-up, letter for families
Areas - Programming, communication with families, volunteers, safety, and stress reduction
Experience 2
"Jenna was really interested in the ants crawling on the sidewalk. She kept trying to pick them up."
Reflection - I will find some books, stories, and pictures about ants. I also have an ant farm packed away somewhere. I need to remember to wear my apron so I can keep my camera in the pockets, along with note pad and pen. Taking pictures would help Jenna remember her ideas and also share the experience. I also need to take more notes. I heard Jenna counting the ants and sharing comments. I could add that to my observations to share with her parents.
New Ideas - Ant books, pictures, ant farm, apron, camera, note taking
Areas - Curriculum planning, programming, individual support to child's interest and development, observation, parent communication, assessment, documentation
Experience 3
"I mean to talk with Seth's mother about his medicine. He seems so sleepy all the time."
Reflection - I will call Seth's mother. I wonder if his dosage has changed. I'm going to put paper and pen by our good-bye door so I can easily write notes to parents. I have a friend who uses parent mailboxes; maybe I need to try this. I'm glad I don't give medicines in my child care home, but I really should put together a medication policy in case I ever need to.
New Ideas - Call parents, note pads near exit, mailboxes, medicine
Areas - Health and safety, parent communication, observation, programming, goal setting, policy making
Important discoveries
Almost all providers use reflection, but what really enriches the reflection is making the effort to document the ideas and move forward with that information. Reflecting on our work brings the gift of discovery, encourages our growth as professionals, and brings valuable insights to our work with young children.
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