Child 1: Yes. Look! Look what I did.
Georgie: Show me.
Georgie: Ooh, I see it threading underneath there. Over the top ...
Child: Left.
Georgie: ... and around there and it goes back through.
Georgie: What did you say Remy? Some bits in and some bits out.
Child 2: Or leave them maybe just put this one there.
Georgie: It's hard to tie that tiny one.
Child 1: Oh, it's cold again.
Georgie: The sun disappeared. Hey, that looks great!
Georgie: Do you want to tie that around through there so it doesn't fall out?
Georgie: How are you going there William, can I help you?
Child 2: I think I need some help tying it off.
Georgie: All right Hazel can you help Remy tie that, his bit up? And I'll help William.
Child 1: Want me to, cause this is more better?
Georgie: You're doing a good job. So you take that where you want it to go. Yeah, that's it, like a snake. That's it.
Child 1: There, there, there.
Georgie: So this is another snake over here, so you can put that one through a hole and William's got this one here. All right, let's find a spot. Which spot would you like it to go through? That one? Okay. If you put your hand in there and you can catch it from the other side. I'm going to poke it through okay?Are you ready? Catch it, yep, and then pull. Pull really tight, you've got to pull really tight.
Georgie: Catch it again.
Georgie: Yep. Pull, pull, pull and then pull it back out the hole.
Child 1: And that's how you do it! Good. Now we've got it.
Child 1: I showed Remy. Look!
Georgie: I know, I can see Hazel. You've done a great job explaining that.
Child 1: Mummy teached me how to.
Georgie: Thats so great. All right. Are you going to try another piece? Show me.
Child 1: Do your greatest one, Remi! All right I"ll do my greatest one. Ooh, what about ... I'm going to do some more.
Georgie: Yeah. There's heaps there, choose your piece.
Georgie: I choose a piece. Are you going to try and join that on, Bea? Do you think?
Child 1: I'm gonna.
Georgie: But like a stick. Yeah, do you want to get some grass to tie it on?
Child 3: I like this reed.
Georgie: That little bit there? Little Spiral.
Child 3: That's cool.
Georgie: Wow! That's really tight Hazel.
Georgie: Yeah.
Georgie: Hazel when you tie that, it's looking good isn't it? What? No. It's looking great!
Kirsty Liljegren: Hello, I'm Kirsty Liljegren, reconnecting with the weaving experience through this Domain brings a different lens to assessment, as we zoom in on children's identity in relation to the group or as the Victorian Early Learning and Development Framework states their social identity. There are many aspects to this Domain. We can observe how children's growing awareness of others helps shape their view of themselves and enriches their learning opportunities. Empathy, respect and interdependence are examples of what we may be planning for and observing as part of children's learning and development.
Kirsty Liljegren: In this vignette, we encounter the children working alongside each other, very involved in their weaving. The teacher encourages one child, Hazel, to support another, Remi. And Hazel willingly lends her skill to assist this endeavor. She later communicates with the group "This is more better and then you pull it through", continuing to share her strategies out loud for the benefit of the group. "Now I'll show you" Hazel offers in the act of care, cooperation and encouragement. "And that's how you do it."
Kirsty Liljegren: "Do your greatest one Remi!". Did you notice another child smile in response to this statement? As stated in the Illustrative Map, this is evidence of the awareness of both the needs and achievements of others. Meanwhile, with some encouragement, William connects with the group task. He is often glancing over at others observing what they are doing. Is this influencing his technique? His thinking, I wonder? We later see Bea the child in the pink jumper who has been very focused, persevering with constructing a circular shape and then experimenting with where it could go and how to connect it.
Kirsty Liljegren: We observe another child content to weave closely with his teacher, interested and responsive to the group's contributions. The gentle collaborative spirit in the group stood out to me, reflecting the respectful relationships between the children and the teacher. There seemed to be a pleasure in this shared exploration, made visible through language and gesture throughout the experience. It's an important reminder of the value of what it means to learn as part of a group and how we assess and plan for dispositions.
Kirsty Liljegren: With the children's evolving social identity. You may like to reflect on the following questions: What skills and dispositions do you look for when analyzing children's interactions as part of a group? How do you create opportunities to bring multiple perspectives together to analyze your observations or data to get closer to understanding the learning processes of children? Are these skills and concepts then built upon and intentionally planned?
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