Professional Portfolio Artifact(s) Reflections Cover Sheet PLO: Design, implement, and evaluate environments and activities that

support positive developmental play and learning outcomes for all young children. The Artifacts I have included to demonstrate my competence in PLO 2 include:
Activity Planning form (CHDV 150, implanted and revised in CHDV 210)

Block Plan Preview of ECERS I. Explanation: How is the content of these artifacts used to demonstrate my competence in this PLO and what specific knowledge, skills, or belief systems are demonstrated?
While finishing my first activity planning forms in CHDV 150, I learned rudimentary

knowledge on how to plan a developmentally appropriate activity for preschoolers. I learned skills that allowed me to put myself in childrens shoes and think about what I would find interesting. I used this skill to create all of the activities in my thematic unit, making sure that they were all in the zone of proximal development of the children. I believe that children should be allowed expand on what they are already interested in. This leads to the best type of teaching because the children are already engaged; they just need the proper tools and materials for them to persist in their area of interest.
The block plan assignment taught me the basic skills I needed in order to plan a

curriculum chart. In CHDV 150 not only did I learn how to put my activities down on paper but I also learned how to tie them in to weeklong plan. In the 150 class I also learned the skills necessary in order to organize the chart. I learned how to put certain activities together. For example I read a book about caterpillars on the day that we had a bug activity. The CHDV 150 helped me understand and created my belief that children should have fun with their activities and they should be in their zone of proximal development.
After completing the first set of ECERS in my CHDV 160 I learned the knowledge

necessary to fill out the booklet. Through my observations I also started to notice why it is important to have enough space so that the childrens activities dont conflict. Skills that I acquired from this artifact would be what to look for in order to correctly fill out the forms. Another skill through my ECERS assignment would be how to properly rate the chart. I believed following the ECERS was important because the children need a healthy and safe environment with enough space, so they dont interrupt each other but small enough where they can interact with one another if they need to.

II. Growth: How do these artifacts demonstrate my growth in knowledge and skill?
Activity Planning form

While actually being in the field, I got deeper knowledge on how children really learn. I didnt only learn from the children but from my mentor as well, I learned what activities are appropriate and why others are not. I learned that children like to do things on their own things, in order to get a sense of independence. I also learned that in any activity I implement, the children have to feel accomplished. I dont want to set them up for failure. I also learned the skills needed to implement my activities and how to engage the children. I used these skills to set up my activities in a way to include all of the children. For example, while in the classroom, I had a younger child whose fine motor skills werent at the level of the other children, so I had to set up my activities in a way that the younger child was included and the older ones werent bored. I also asked open-ended questions in order to draw them into the activity and to make them think about what they were doing. My beliefs have not changed since I first did an activity planning form in CHDV 150. I can only say that now I have implemented these beliefs and they have been reinforced since working with children.
Block Plan

When I started planning the curriculum block plan for my teacher in charge week, it was completely different than the one I had done in my CHDV 150. During the time it took me to get to the 210 class, I learned about the DRDPs, diversity and transitions. I used all of the skills I had learned in the Diversity Class (CHDV 200) and the Observation and Assessment class (CHDV 160) in order to fill out my new block plan. I inserted the DRDP measures that were shown in each activity. I also used the skills in order to exclude bias from my activities. For example, even though my theme was Mothers Day and spring, I included books and props that also dealt with family and fathers. I tried to keep in mind that not all children have mothers or fathers. My belief on planning curriculum has changed a bit since CHDV 150. I still believe that the activities should be fun for children and should be in their zone of development but I now know that it is up to us to make those fun activities also good learning experiences for the children.
ECERS

While in the classroom, I was constantly reminded from my mentors about the ECERS. All of the knowledge I learned in my 160 class started to come back and soon I found myself constantly thinking about the ECERS. My knowledge has grown in identifying possible hazards and remembering how important staying within the teacher to child ratio is. I used these skills to think of new ideas to improve our classroom. I also used the skill I had previously obtained in remembering how

important it is for children to wash their hands constantly due to how many germs they exchange. The classroom I had observed did not do a well job of initiating the communication with the children, very unlike the classroom I was doing my student teaching in. Because I have seen how important it is to go by the ECERS, my beliefs in the ECERS have only increased. I now see how relevant they actually are.

III. Application: How am I going to build on the knowledge and skill that is demonstrated (In other words, what are your next steps?) and how will this knowledge, skill, or belief system be integrated into my future teaching practice.
Activity Planning Form

I will use the knowledge and skills that I have gained in order to plan activities. I will make sure that they are in the area of interest of the children. Most importantly, I think the skill that will be more useful is the fact that I can include everyone in my acitivities, regardless of their level. In order build on the knowledge I have in planning activities, I will constantly refresh my memory on how to do them by constantly filling out the forms. I also plan to take the special courses that are offered at different schools to help me think of new ideas and activities. I will take classes like the creative arts and math and science classes that they offer at VVC. I can never have too many ideas for the children. The skills and knowledge I have gained and have yet to grow on, will be implemented in my future activities.
Block Plan

I will use the skills I have gained in order to create weekly block plans for the children and teachers to know what to expect from me. I will include topics and activities that are relevant to the children. In order to build on my knowledge of planning curriculum charts, I will continue to do them on a weekly basis so that I master the process. I will also keep up on my DRDPs in order for me to know exactly what it is that my children need and how I can scaffold them to where they have to be.
ECERS

I will use the knowledge that I have gained from the ECERs in order to set up my classroom. I want to make sure that my classroom meets all of the criteria in the ECERs. I plan to keep up with the ECERS by attending any annual meetings that we may have. In case there are any changes or revisions of the ECERS. I will also always make sure that I obtain the most recent copy