Essay On Observations In An Infant And Toddler Classroom

I chose to study the (name of the classroom) classroom as an observer under the teacher (name of a teacher) and direction of (name of the center’s director). The center where the observation was performed is called (name of school) located at (address of school) and the phone number is (include a phone number). It is with this experience of overseeing the methods that the teachers utilized in their own classrooms that I was able to recognize the use of how each teacher and aide used the 3 R’s in their classrooms.
When observing this particular infant and toddler classroom, I made myself mindful for looking for the use of respectful, responsive, and reciprocal behaviors. A teacher of all young children must utilize these three simple skills in the classroom in order to encourage a child’s development and ability to learn. Any individual who comes in contact with these infants and toddlers are teachers. I even noticed that when a toddler saw that I was a stranger in the classroom that they would sometimes point to me or look at me and ask me something simple. I realized that any response I gave the child was something that the child was learning more about me so that they did not feel completely uncomfortable.
One behavior I noticed several times was when the infants needed diaper changes. Since I was only observing the classroom for a short time, it only occurred a couple of times but I did notice that the adult teachers were respectful and told a child, even an infant, that they were going to change a diaper. I noticed a teacher pick up an infant and say to her, “Jasmine, I am going to go ahead and pick you up so I can change your diaper now.” The teacher showed the child that she was a person rather than just a thing. The teacher was very calm and gentle as she took the child to the changing table. Even when the baby started to cry, the teacher reassured her that everything was going to be okay and that they were just going to change her diaper and then she could go back to her nap. She even told the infant that she would be clean and fresh soon with a new diaper which continued to show respect. While the infant does not really know what that means, just the soothing voice of the teacher made me realize that the baby stopped crying pretty quickly.
I also noticed this when another toddler was playing, a teacher was down on the floor and they were working together as a team to play with blocks. The teacher was very respectful and encouraged the young boy that he could build a small tower and make it taller. This not only was respectful of the teacher by encouraging the toddler to continue to build, but it helped to build the relationship in a positive way to build a connection between the two also. I also noticed that when the little boy started to get frustrated because his blocks kept toppling over, the teacher gave a positive response. She was familiar with his temperament and knew that he would get upset if he felt like he did something wrong so she was very positive and upbeat and got him back to building again before he could get upset that his structure had fallen down. She was right on top of it and as soon as his face scrunched up like he was ready to cry, it was soon in smiles again because she knew how to react.
Another small group of toddlers were using bubble wrap to paint and make prints. The teacher was telling them what they would be doing and how they would do it. She was smiling and the children were excited back. They then had reciprocal exchanges because they went back and forth so that if the children had a question, she encouraged them that their project looked great and that their parent or sibling was going to love it. She had asked them who they were going to give it to when they were done. There was a lot of back and forth interaction that showed that the children trusted their teacher and that everything would be great when they were done.
It is through the use of all of the 3 R’s that I could see how they all worked together. I never noticed a teacher who did not respond positively to a child. Since all of the children were small, the tone was very gentle in the classroom. The children never did anything that caused a teacher to use a harsh tone. Each of the 3 R’s worked in conjunction with each other but it was more obvious in the toddlers to pick it out. The infants just felt secure when the teachers would talk to them so it helped to establish a positive relationship. The teachers seemed very attentive to the children’s needs so it was not just like a daycare. The children seemed to feel very comfortable and responded with enthusiasm or love for their teachers. It was very obvious that the small sized structure of the classroom with more one-on-one exchanges helped the teachers and children to build a stronger relationship to encourage learning for the children.