Entry #27, 26 November 2009

Olivia and Chloe from the 1-2s room were with us today. They seemed extremely unsettled today.

Olivia had moments of calm, but was frequently in tears, calling out for not Mum or Dad, but for Marge, the staff member from upstairs. Chloe started the morning alright, but may have been unsettled by Olivia's distressed. As the day went on, she cried a lot as well, calling out for both Marge and Daddy.

I was advised against picking them up to soothe them, as they were meant to get used to the new environment on their own, thus building their self-confidence and independence.

Luke proved incredibly proficient in making guns out of Lego bricks. He stacked them up together with ease, and ran around the room, pointing his creation at everything and going "DSH! DSH! DSH!". I thought this was standard behaviour for a boy, but a staff member said that guns were not allowed, and kept telling him to disassemble it, sometimes doing it herself. It only took Luke mere seconds to reassemble another gun though.

Moving Forward

The standard policy is for transitioning children to be accompanied by a member of staff that they are familiar with. However, this may not have been possible today due to staff illness. Previously, members of staff they were familiar with did indeed accompany them into the room, and they were far less unsettled.

I remember in my previous work setting as well, that the children were not allowed to have pretend guns. How odd, I'm sure everyone I know, male or female, grew up playing with pretend swords and guns. As far as I know, none of them have turned out to be vicious psychopaths so far.

Entry #26, 25 November 2009

I was off ill today. Unlike in Malaysia, if your ill for just a few days, you don't actually need a Medical Certificate.

When I went into work the next day, there was another member of staff who clearly wasn't feeling well either. When asked why she was in, she said she'd feel guilty if she just didn't turn up. The assistant manager sent her home anyway.

Moving Forward

While I initially felt a pang of guilt because of the other staff's dedication, in retrospect I feel that calling in sick is better than turning up sick. When you call in sick, management is given advance warning to plan the day around a shortfall of staff. If you turn up sick, that advance warning is taken away, and what's worse, you're very likely to perform your duties ineffectively, as well as passing your illness on to others.

Nurseries are a breeding ground for germs, and it's not uncommon for a simple flu to just continually be passed round and round.

Entry #25, 24 November 2009

A Good Behaviour Board was introduced yesterday, with the awards of tidiness, good behaviour and helpfulness. Some of the children may actually be behaving well to earn the awards. B'a and F'n seemed keen on being tidy, while L'e even helped a staff member dispose of things in the bin. I think F'n was already trying to be more of a tidy person even before the board was introduced though.

S'r seemed to be singing today. He hummed a bit, made smacking noises with his mouth, and then repeated the whole tune again and again. He also knew that there was cake on a high shelf, and he pulled on my hand, moving it towards the cake. When I refused to get it for him, he tried to climb up himself. He also spelled "DUMP" with some wooden alphabets, I wonder if that had any significance.

Two workmen were doing some structural work. The children were very interested in what they were doing and the noise they were making. Unfortunately, the workmen didn't seem to take extra precautions with where they were. Their tools and equipment were just left lying all over the building.

I found 2 large screws on the ground where they'd finished their work, and a child even got his hands on a hammer before I grabbed it off him. There were also power drills around, but I suppose they weren't plugged in, and wouldn't be accessed by the children unless they wandered very far.

Moving Forward

The Good Behaviour Board seems to be doing the job of enforcing good behaviour. I wonder if the children are too young to properly grasp the concept. Normally I see that kind of thing in the 3-4s, as opposed to the 2-3s room I'm in.

I wonder if the workmen were given any special instructions to be more careful in the nursery? Last week there was a professional photographer, who seemed to behave rather oddly. He used harsh language openly in front of the children, and the younger children were even distressed by him!

Entry #24, 23 November 2009

I'c and F'r greeted me in the morning, and another staff member told me C'n came to check out my voice when I was passing by.

Despite L'e's overly energetic and often challenging nature, he's actually pretty clever. He build a tower of blocks, saying "I did it!", and also seems to be the most skillful so far in threading shapes. While the others seem to fumble about in their attempts, L'e demonstrates a good degree of fine motor skills.

I greeted L'e's father at the door, and he seemed to be in a talkative mood. Most of the parents usually just pay attention to the room leader, but he talked to me instead. He told me how L'e was doing that day, commented on his face painting last Friday, and told me he'd also forgotten L'e's nappies. Maybe he was just too embarrassed to tell the room leader he'd forgotten the nappies.

At the end of the day, I'c's mother asked how my training was coming along. That's the first time I've felt a parent has actually expressed geniune interest in me, as opposed to just focusing on their own child.

K'm was rather unsettled again this morning. A staff member pointed out that he's fine when I'm not around, but when he sees me he acts up to get attention. This was further demonstrated when I left the room. He began to act like his normal cheerful self, but when I came back he started to act up again.

Moving Forward

My relationships with the parents and children continues to improve. What a pity I only have 2 more weeks to go!

While staff members may often feel that parents just focus on their children and don't enquire much about them personally, I guess the same applies vice versa. The end of the day is also pretty hectic, as both staff members and children start to leave. That just makes it all the more meaningful when someone actually takes the effort to show an interest. However, as much as I'd like to ask parents how the financial markets are doing, I don't think they'd really like to discuss it with me.

I've already started trying to pamper K'm less. That could actually be contributing to him seeking more attention, but he'll have to get used to it. He acts the same way in the mornings, getting upset when his parents drop him off, although as soon as they're gone he plays all over with a huge smile on his face.

Entry #23, 20 November 2009

Today everybody dressed in Pyjamas, in support of Children In Need. The children got their faces painted to the likeness of Pudsey Bear. The pale tinge of yellow combined with the paint running/smudging caused some of them to look like extras from Michael Jackson's Thriller.

B'a's finger bandage has been removed, revealing a dark red cut on her finger. She refuses to use her finger though, still treating her hand with care. This causes concerns for things like going down stairs, where she will get into an awkward position to use her other hand to hold onto the railing. She also got very upset when she was required to wash the hand with her injured finger.

J'a was a bit cranky today, often getting upset. Normally he can communicate what's upsetting him, for instance he wants a car or toy, but today at times he'd just cry. He also spent a lot of time hoarding all the cars, to the point that when his hands were full, he held one in his mouth! He carried his treasure hoard around the room with him. When C'l told him to come do an activity, he brought them all with him and placed them on a chair beside him.

K'n had some fun at J'a's expense. He seemed to realise that J'a was hoarding cars, and also that I would not allow J'a to take a car that someone else already had. K'n took a car already in his possession, and placed it in front of J'a. When J'a tried to take it, K'n would yell "Mine!" and yank it away, or get into a pulling fight with J'a while calling out "Mark, mine, Mark, mine". Needless to say, both scenarios caused J'a to cry.

K'n got away with it the first time. The second time I told him that he was upsetting J'a on purpose, and I would let J'a keep the car the next time. He didn't repeat it after that.

K'm was very unsettled today, crying a lot. There's a high chance he was unwell, especially because at times he would open his mouth, point his finger in and say "Sore".

Moving Forward

B'a's finger may still be causing her pain, or at least fear of pain. She should gradually begin to start using her injured hand again though, especially with the encouragement being given by the staff.

J'a's hoarding behaviour may have been reinforced due to the "He had it first, let him keep it" principle. As such, he reasons that if he has everything first, all the time, noone can ever take anything from him. Other children are learning to share.

For example, A'n wanted a car, and F'n had 2. I told F'n that A'n would like a car, would he be willing to give one to him? (I didn't do it as a "false question" where he didn't have a choice.) F'n looked at his 2 cars and thought for a moment, and went "The orange one" and passed it to me. I told him to pass it to A'n instead, which he did.

Hopefully J'a's temperament will improve with time, but reinforcing good behaviour will have to be done both at nursery as well as at home.

Entry #22, 19 November 2009

There were 2 "incidents" (otherwise known as accidents) today!

When I arrived at the nursery, several of the children were playing with child scissors while the staff were on the other side of the room. The scissors were taken off them, but apparently L'e had cut his finger, and thus his finger was treated and wrapped up.

L'e seemed more upset by the bandage than his injury. He showed me his finger, and kept going "Off! Off!", but I told him not to pull it off. He did lose his bandage a few times though, at which he'd come and report it had fallen off (whether he pulled it off I don't know). He did not act as though it was causing him pain or discomfort (i.e. treating it with care or protecting it)

Later on, while I was trying to reprimand a child at eye level, C'e slipped on the carpet behind me and banged her face against the table. She started to cry, and I calmed her down, but there was a red mark where she'd hurt herself.

I had to sign my name as a witness on Incident Forms for both children.

Moving Forward

I didn't like the idea of signing my name on those Incident Forms. I felt as though I was indirectly (or even blatantly) being blamed!

Those children were already happily playing with those scissors for who knows how long by the time I got there, and the scissors were removed when I got there. I didn't even see L'e hurt himself, he seemed alright, I left the room for about 20 minutes and when I returned he was being bandaged.

As for C'e, the other staff member was doing nappies, and therefore I was expected to keep 6 toddlers sat at the table, obediently doing nothing for about half an hour.

I can understand that it's not great for the Nursery to tell a parent "Your child was hurt while noone was looking", but does that mean they'd rather grab the nearest scapegoat?

Entry #21, 18 November 2009

S'r stacked some triangles according to the colours of the rainbow again. Interestingly, he substituted the blue one for an extra purple one.

He also lined open books up on the table. When he found that there was not enough room to line them all up, he then closed them, and lined them up that way.

A photographer was here to take the children's pictures. While waiting her turn, I'c's mother would frequently pop by the room, and wave to I'c. While this may have seemed endearing to her, this only repeatedly upset I'c, as he still had to remain in the room.

Moving Forward

Sometimes a child will be upset during the drop off. Presumably, the parent will feel guilty at leaving the child in a distressed state, and will sometimes even come back to say goodbye to the child again. What this actually does is to upset the child all over again, even though many children quickly calm down once their parent/carer is gone. I guess it's more for the parents to feel at ease with themselves, rather than for the sake of the child.