Words that are truly etched in my mind. If you know my background, it is fair to say how much Tots Corner has influenced my thinking in so many ways, I wouldn't even know where to start!
Tots Corner Early Learning Centre
Starting at EtonHouse Bundang was an experience I will definitely take away as one of those challenges in life that make you a stronger person. The school had renovations done before we were about to start and we were given a brand new classroom that was rather large and blank at first, yet the potential to be so much more over time. Obviously as teachers you envision what you could turn this space into and the excitement of the process takes over. As I mentioned in a previous post, the children who started in our class had little to no transition and we realised this was going to be a whole new ball game.
Families shared their concerns over the physical space of the classroom, lack of color, stimulation, windows etc. Yet there solution to the 'problem' was to change to another classroom, acknowledging the families thoughts, we kindly reassured them that we were not changing classrooms. We were determined to bring our vision to life and stand by our decision, they just had to give us time.
The weeks went by and the children were understandably still trying to settle into our class. Not only this, but build relationships with us and feel safe and secure in a whole new chapter of their life, school. Some children had come straight from what they had always known and trusted, home. The transition from home to school is a huge gap to fill and for such young children, relationships are central to their sense of belonging in a whole new environment.
As mentioned establishing reciprocal relationships was a priority for us in being able to move to the next step with these children and their families. It was indeed such a long process, but worth every inch of perseverance.
My co-teacher is Chloe and has spent the last 5 years in Canada where she studied early childhood education and also taught at a pre-school in Toronto. She has recently come back to Korea to be with family and we both started together at EtonHouse Bundang. Chloe is a talented musician and artist and this is reflected in our classroom environment. Our strengths lie in opposite directions, therefore when they are combined, it really is rewarding and we are always grateful that they placed us together! We agree to disagree and I am a tidy freak and she is not, haha. So I would say traits like that in our personalities keep us grounded and continue to shape who we are.
An inquiry of 'color' became the beginning of it all, not only were we inviting experiences for children to explore the idea of colors. It brought to life the transformation of our classroom environment.
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