Blog - Page 3 of 4 - WatchMeGrow

June 3, 2016

Observing, assessing and mapping children’s progress through the EYFS – Part 1

One of the joys and privilege of working with young children is to observe them as they play, talk, think and learn. Watching children gives us a real insight into their lives; their thinking; their emotions and their unique personalities. It is our window into their development and our invitation to play alongside, joining in […]

June 1, 2016

Getting Started with the Development Map – Helpful Hints

Thank you for signing up to use the Development map with your children. I am hoping the following bits and pieces will be helpful as you start to use the Development Map The Philosophy of the Development Map film sets the pedagogical context of the Development Map and the principles behind it; there are also […]

May 10, 2016

Welcome to Development Map

Thank you for deciding to use the Development Map to document your children’s progress and record their learning journey. The Development Map will probably be very familiar to you as it follows the cycle of good practice starting with OBSERVATION then moving into ASSESSMENT then into PLANNING as outlined on page 4 of Development Matters (this is […]

March 28, 2016

Why create the Development Map?

We live in a world (in England) of assessments, targets and goals which are increasingly taking over our perceptions of what young children are actually capable of thinking about and learning. Keeping an open and informed mind is difficult when there are pressures to tick a box or highlight a statement. But what do we […]

February 9, 2016

WatchMeGrow a new website!!

Its taken some time but the new website is live and after 4 years of principles, pedagogy and practice (bit of a mouthful) I have now morphed into WatchMeGrow. It's hard finding a new name that captures what I do but having started my work with children a long time ago by training as […]

March 5, 2014

Heading up the Maunga.....

Out early this morning to join the children at Te Puna as they go out for a day on the mountain - 'Maunga'! There are quite a few of these in Auckland and NZ as they are all created from many, many dormant volcanos - this one was a 'pa' or village/town for a Maori […]

March 4, 2014

Aroha

Aroha mean 'love' in Maori - along with Tumanako which is 'hope' and Matauranga which is 'knowledge'. Have been at two inspirational centres over the last couple of days - Kids Domain and Tots Corner both in Auckland and both weaving the principles of Reggio Emilia pedagogy into the rhythms and flow of their philosophy...they […]

March 2, 2014

Engaging, Enabling Environments....

This week has been inspirational - visiting New Shoots centres that have carefully (meticulously) thought through what it is like to be a child in the space both indoors and outdoors. The care and respect for children is obvious in environments which are high quality, beautiful and engage all the senses. For example, The smells! : […]

February 28, 2014

A seminal moment..........

Well it had to happen and I couldn't think of a better place than being in such a wonderful centre - New Shoots at Papamoa! I have been surprised by how the children have welcomed me on my visits as I do worry that a 'strange visitor' can upset the balance especially with babies and […]

February 25, 2014

Happy Children......

Have spent the last two days visiting some wonderful settings with Michelle. All part of New Shoots (newshoots.co.nz) which has a wonderful philosophy of child centred learning...the environments are all eco friendly with lots of light, windows at child height and outdoor spaces which are carefully thought through. I saw my first maze for children […]

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