JOURNAL REFLECTION

Today in afternoon mat chat, I brainstorm the processes of gardening with

children. Children participated in the discussion through answering various
questions such as which types of seeds we have planted in our veggie patch?
To this all children raised their hands and answered it as capsicum and carrot
seeds. Children told me how they cannot wait until the veggies soup. I and
other educators laughed and mentioned how a soup will be perfect treat in
winters. During our mat time lesson, I played some plant germination videos
on the ipad and children had great time watching and learning from it. Through
this activity, I focused on highlighting the importance of taking care of our
environment. So much learning occurred in this setting today; the children
embraced each other and the environment with enthusiasm and excitement.
They shared their resources and took turns participating. They talked with each
other and me about plants of their at home and gardening experiences they
had before such as pruning with their grandparents.

I have never planted in a veggie patch before so it was a new learning

experience for me too. Today I learnt that the plan is not perfect, it is the
children who gives a life to it. I felt today the more I have been practicing solo
teaching lesson, the more it is helping me build confidence. The full control of
placement is not too far and I already feel like I will be able to manage it
through well. The best lesson I have learnt so far is that being successful at all
the activities is not about being perfect, it is being responsive. Today I realised
that I still needed to establish better classroom management practices. As I
believe teaching the simplest procedures, like packing up belongings or how to
ask to go the bathroom, needs to be explicitly taught. I have observed how
children when given a bowl of food during lunch do not use words such as
please and thank you. They also leave the learning messy when they have
finished playing and do not pack it away before heading to the next corner.