20/08/2018

Teacher: Liz

Shared interests
Kia ora Sara,
I am still learning about your skills,
interests and personality. It was
interesting to observe you at work, whilst
creating a relationship with you. Today I
saw you building a friendship with Rayan
while following your interest in fine motor
experiences.
This morning outside you spent a signifi-
cant time placing pegs around a container,
alongside your friend Rayan. I sat with both of you as
you negotiated taking turns and chatting amongst your-
selves, I watched curiously to see if your
interest was in Rayan or in the task itself.
As Rayan wandered away you remained fo-
cused and then engaged me to work with
you. You showed me that you only wanted
the pegs that matched and said “no, no” as
I placed the wrong peg on the container!
Placing pegs around the

container allows you to practice your pincer

grip (essential for beginning to write) and
grow strong muscles in your hands, you also
need hand eye co-ordination. Sara you even
added a mathematical approach by making
a pattern and using only the matching pegs.
As I observed you more throughout the day I noticed that you and Rayan were
drawn to each other over shared experiences of using the magnetic blocks. You ne-
gotiated sharing out the blocks, each taking your own construction to build.. You
were still very much co-operating and sharing
ideas, you both took an interest in each oth-
ers tasks. I watched you both adapting you
own designs, from seeing what the other had
done. You chatted so happily as you worked
together that I could see you both growing
your
relationship and developing social abilities
through your interest in the magnetic blocks.
Just as with the peg experience you added a
mathematical element to the play as you
created patterns and shapes, and explored
how the different shapes would fit together.
You were both engaged & focussed. It was a
pleasure to see that you could negotiate in a
calm and respectful way, you could maintain
your own project but also work together, you
could learn from each other but also teach.

As shown in the photos throughout the day

you also choose other experiences that prac-
tice fine motor skills.

Sara, you are a fantastic friend! You were

able to draw Rayan’s attention into the task you took an interest in. You are learning
about constructing and maintaining friendships. You are interested in fine motor
control, and mathematical matching & patterns. I will continue to provide challenging
fine motor experiences for and encourage you to work alongside others. You will be
supported to develop skills for increasingly complex social interactions with your
peers.

 Contribution: Children are encouraged to

learn with and alongside others.

 Exploration: Play is valued as meaningful

learning, children gain confidence and
control of their bodies.