Type of observation:

Date:
Child/rens Name/s:

Jotting
19.04.13
Kodi

Age:
Observer:
Time of Observation:

3.5 years old

Lina Han
08.40am and 10.05am

Context:
Observations happened in the morning at babys room and at preschoolers room. Children stayed in
babys room until more children came in, then preschoolers moved to their room. They had spontaneous
plays at home-corner area, construction area or on the table. Staff members supervised all of them.
Observation:
When Kodi arrived to the centre, he made an eye contact with me. He showed a smile and gave me
a hug with greeting.
He looked around the room and chose what he liked to do.
He took out some wooden cars from the basket next to him. Kodi put them next to each other (side
to side) and used a low shelf as a table.
He picked one of the cars and moved it forward and backward. While he was doing that he started
to sing a song; Wheels on the Bus.
Then Kodis sister, Kiana, came over. He looked at her and said What KiKi (Kianas nickname)
should have? He looked all the cars he had in front of him and passed the car that he had on his
hand to Kiana; Here. Have this. Kiana smiled.
Kodi gave me a car as well. I got a special one that had triangle shape so I asked him if he knew
what shape of car I got. Its triangle said Kodi. He also said that the car he had was the bus. I told
him we call that shape rectangle. He repeated the word while looking at the bus.
There were many children in the babys room so the preschoolers move to their room.
Kodi went to the construction area again and Fi, who is his friend, jointed with him too.
He grabbed lots of cars and played on a table. Long roads were drawn onto the table.
Suddenly, Fi shouted out Help! Kodi drove the car to her and asked why do you need help?
Fi replied Im stuck with sad voice. Its ok. I will help you said Kodi.
The children also played with human toys as well. Kodi had two people so he gave one to Fi; You
have girls. I will have boys.
They drove each car following the road. Kodi flipped the car in the air, drove really fast, crashed into
another car, made sounds Broom, and had some conversations with Fi. Later on, they swap the
cars to take turns at playing with different cars.
Analysis:
Kodi shows positive signs of accepting new educator, me, with smiles (Bashford & Bartlett, 2011). We are
developing secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships (DWWER, 2009, p.12) each other.
Kodi belongs to a family, his sister (DEEWR, 2009). He continuously takes care of Kiana. He uses the
home language to construct meaning (Outcome 1.3) calling her by nickname; Kiki. Koko is his nickname
as well. Furthermore, Kodi is building and maintaining relationship with others (DEEWR, 2009 & Outcome
1.1). He is interested in being part of group (Outcome 1.4). The physical and social learning
environments (DEEWR, 2009, p.14) that we provided had a positive impact on the childrens developing
social skills. Kodi is also playful. He offers own ideas and uses playful sounds like Broom, Broom
(Bashford & Bartlett, 2011). He explores ideas using imagination and creativity during the play (Outcome
4.4 & Outcome 5.5). Kodis language skill increases while engaging in enjoyable interactions using verbal
and non-verbal language (Outcome 5.1).
Implications for Planning:
I could plan an extended group experience so Kodi can increase his social skill and his interest. For
example, I could teach the whole group about traffic light which is most important when we are out on the
road and for people who drive. We will have open-ended questions to develop their cognitive and
language skills as well.

Type of observation:
Date:
Child/rens Name/s:

Anecdotal Records
13.06.2013
Paige

Age:
Observer:
Time of Observation:

3.5 years old

Lina Han
10.05am

Context:
Observation happened at outdoor area. Children continuously had spontaneous plays all over the place.
Some had physical play, some did drawing and some played in the sandpit. The staff members
supervised all the children.
Observation:
An interesting experience was set up today. There were lots of natural resources, different sizes of
baskets which were made by wooden and a measuring tape on the table. Some children got interested in
so they sat around the table together.
Paige grabbed some small baskets and placed them in front of her. She looked around then she started
to put different types of nature resources into each basket. Paige put some Gum Nuts which she could
find in a basket. She put some Gum Ball (from the Sweet Gum tree) in another basket. She put some
Syncarpia Glomulifera (Turpentine tree seeds) in another basket. She put some Gourd in another basket.
I asked Paige what she was doing and Im sorting, replied her. I was very surprised to see how good
she is at sorting the resources into different types. She was also quick at doing it. She thought of this
activity as a matching game because she had to find the natural resources that looked same or similar.
Some of the resources were little bit stinging so Paige grabbed it with fingers gently so she would not get
hurt.
When Paige needed one more basket, she asked the educator to provide it for her. However, when the
educator handed the basket, which she was not looking for, she told the educator I dont like this
basket. So, the educator handed another kind of the basket to her then she said Yah, I want that one!
When Paige finished at sorting, she shouted out I finished sorting! and asked for a measuring tape; I
need a measure. She tried to measure how long the baskets were together. She put the end of the
measuring tape to the first basket then moved the tape towards the last basket. Paige also tried to read
the measure. At first, she said its 40. The educator asked to look at the numbers carefully again. She
looked again and said 27. The answer was 22.

Analysis:
Paige expresses wonder and interest in the environments (Outcome 4.1). She is curious and participates
in a variety of rich and meaningful inquiry-based experiences (Outcome 4.1). She transfer knowledge
from one setting to another (Outcome 4.3), and uses feedback from others (Outcome 4.4). She
communicates her needs for comfort and assistance (Outcome 1.1). Paige also demonstrates an
increasing understanding of measurement using vocabulary to describe size and length (Outcome 5.1).
She takes on roles of literacy and numeracy users in the play (Outcome 5.2). She begins to sort,
categorise, order and compare collections and attributes of objects and materials, in the social and
natural worlds (Outcome 5.4). Moreover, Paige engages with technology for fun and to make meaning
(Outcome 5.5). This activity might have been challenging for some children, but the children progress
well when educators hold high expectations for their achievement in learning (DEEWR, 2009, p.12).
Implications for Planning:
When we, as educators, plan experiences we have to value and build on childrens strengths, skills and
knowledge to ensure their motivation and engagement in learning (DEEWR, 2009, p.14). Therefore, for
Paige who is interested in math, I can plan more experiences that contain some mathematical concepts/
learning. Furthermore, I can use open ended questioning, challenging thinking and guiding their learning.