The Walls Tell A Story: Classroom Documentation

 Documentation is a critical element in the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. The valuable information collected through intentional documentation drives our child led, emergent curriculum model. Without it our learning would lack authenticity, intention, and direction. 

If someone were to ask me what documentation is and what it looks like in my classroom, the answer is both simple and complex. Simply put, I work to collect information on the interests, thoughts, and ideas of the children in my classroom. The complexity comes in determining and implementing effective documentation methods. The challenge becomes how can we document countless conversations, artistic expressions, ideas, and questions each day? This process can look completely different depending on the specific teacher and their own learning style, because the truth is that we as educators are also students who are learning each day from our students. We are learning where to focus our inquiries. We are learning the physical, emotional, and cognitive needs of each child. We are learning what sparks joy, curiosity, and thoughtfulness in our group. We are learning how to be the best teacher, advocate, friend, and co-learner possible. 

In my classroom, many methods of documentation co-exist including both video and audio recordings, multiple notebooks filled with hand written notes, samples of student art, the backs covered in Post-Its noting conversations that transpired throughout the artistic process, and a seemingly endless camera roll of photographs. These methods blend together into a single voice that sings the harmonies of our discoveries and adventures. At SVK, the walls tell a story. Not only are we able to display our students' artwork (which in and of itself boosts self esteem, confidence, and pride in our efforts), but there is also a significant emphasis on offering a record of the process in it's entirety. Our learning is made visible through photographs, direct quotes, and imagery that symbolizes the children's thoughts and ideas at the time the learning took place. These displays serve as a learning tool for children, a visual memory of ideas and concepts explored. By making our thinking visible in the classroom, we can achieve higher levels of discussion and deeper understanding of topics. 

In the words of Carla Rinaldi, "documentation is not about what we do, but what we are searching for". Each piece of documentation offers a snapshot of this magical journey. 

Building New Relationships

 "It is through others that we develop into ourselves." - Lev Vygotsky

Children are innately drawn to engage in social interactions with peers. 

And while the beginning of a new school year is always an exciting time of meeting new friends and building relationships, this year seems quite different. After a time of quarantine and social distancing from the novel Covid-19,  each conversation, each touch, and every interaction in our classroom seems so much more significant. 

Our indoor and outdoor classroom environments at SVK provide diverse opportunities to develop and cultivate important relationships among friends. 

The process of navigating peer interactions such as conversations, negotiating materials, and problem solving can all strengthen children’s relationships with one another. These relationships can help facilitate personal growth by helping the children better understand themselves as individuals in a peer setting while also learning to work together to achieve common goals. 

It has been so beautiful to watch these little friends create and cultivate these new relationships in the midst of a global pandemic. 

Preschool Graduates

Our school year is ending and another group of incredible learners will move on to their next chapter, kindergarten.  It's so hard to know how to feel when everything just makes you feel so much. I am so proud of this special group of children. I am honored to have observed and been a part of the journey with them this past year. I am grateful for our time together. I have seen so much growth, so much courage, so much incredible strength from such small humans who I still have to kneel down to hug.  It never ceases to amaze me just how much our children are capable of.

Yet in the midst of all this joy and love, I feel so deeply saddened by the circumstances that ended our time together. I feel as if my students have been robbed of the final months of preschool magic that they so deserve. No last hugs or high fives. No cupcakes and homemade graduation caps. No building full of family and friends bursting with pride, unable to hold back those tears. At the end of each school year when I take all of the beautiful art down and tuck it away in folders to go home we participate in a meaningful reflection.

"Ms. Renee, you member when I painted you that?"
"That project was my favorite!"
"That picture is from the woods when we played together!"

When I emptied my classroom walls of our creations this year, all alone in a classroom still littered with half finished projects, I cried.  I wasn't even fully aware of the power of this moment with my students until it was taken away from me.

It feels selfish to mourn the loss of my time with them. I know they will all go on to do beautiful things, I know that they are well prepared, extremely capable, and supported by some of the most amazing families and human beings I have ever known. I know all of these things, but that doesn't make it any easier to let go.

As I prepare for our Zoom meeting graduation, I must acknowledge and accept that this will be the very last time I see some of these children. And while I can't hug them tight and tell them how proud I am of all they have accomplished, this will have to do.  I will soak up this moment and add it to my ongoing list of all that I am grateful for including another year spent learning and growing alongside my students.

A Day in the Life

The other day a colleague of mine asked me how my day had been.  One of those generic greetings that require a generic response.  "It was fine, how was yours?" Now we can carry on with the real purpose of the conversation.

Later on I found myself thinking about that conversation again.  When I thought about how my day had been, I immediately began to recall all of the tasks that made up my day at work.   But was that really a reflection of how my day had been?  I began wondering, how many times did I smile today?  How many emotions can I remember feeling?  What did I learn today?  What challenged me to think differently?

This thought process inevitably led me to wonder how a young child would interpret this question. When we come to school there is a routine.  There are things that happen consistently every single day.  They offer a security that children can depend on.  We have meals, we take naps, we play.  And while there is comfort in this structure, our day is so much more than that.  Each day is comprised of countless little moments and in the early years of development, each one of those moments has the power to make a lasting impact.  A shared laugh with a peer can be the beginning of a relationship that sparks incredible social/emotional development.  The sun casting shadows across the playground can inspire a lifelong love of science and the natural world.   A picture in a book that brings joy to a child can encourage him to open another book, then another.  Our days are full of growth and learning in a million tiny extraordinary ways.  These photographs, while only capturing a fraction of these moments, offer beautiful insight into our day.

Every single moment of the day is meaningful, because after all it is always the little things that make the big things happen.