Suggested Portfolio Pages Completion Schedule for the 2009 - 2010 School Year September: “My New Class" (and as every new child starts throughout the year) or “Here I Am" for Infant or Toddlers October: "What I Know" (Cognition) AND Copy of written Developmental Evaluation / Progress Report November: "My Social Life" (Social Development) December: "My World" (Social Studies) January: “Math” (for all Preschool and PreK students) "I'm Growing Up" (Skill Development): all infants & toddlers February: “Language Arts” March: "I'm an Artist" (Art) Include a sample of the child’s open-ended art work April: “Science” “I’m So Funny!” (may be used for infants, toddlers and Twos) May: “Self Help” OR “Graduation” (This page should be completed by the current teacher anytime a child transitions into a new classroom) AND Copy of written Developmental Evaluation / Progress Report June: “My Own Work” (may include either picture or the actual work) July: “The Great Outdoors” August: “My Big Muscles!”
Transcript
Suggested Portfolio Pages Completion Schedule
for the 2009 - 2010 School Year September: “My New Class" (and as every new child starts throughout the year) or
“Here I Am" for Infant or Toddlers October: "What I Know" (Cognition) AND
Copy of written Developmental Evaluation / Progress Report November: "My Social Life" (Social Development) December: "My World" (Social Studies) January: “Math” (for all Preschool and PreK students)
"I'm Growing Up" (Skill Development): all infants & toddlers February: “Language Arts” March: "I'm an Artist" (Art) Include a sample of the child’s open-ended art work April: “Science” “I’m So Funny!” (may be used for infants, toddlers and Twos) May: “Self Help” OR “Graduation” (This page should be completed by the current teacher
anytime a child transitions into a new classroom) AND Copy of written Developmental Evaluation / Progress Report June: “My Own Work” (may include either picture or the actual work) July: “The Great Outdoors” August: “My Big Muscles!”
Developmental Portfolios Mini-Skool is proud of the fact that every child attending one of our schools has his progress documented in a Develop-mental Portfolio. Just what is a Developmental Portfolio? • A tool for collecting and showing a child’s growth and achievement over time • A resume of childhood • An excellent way to record milestones reached, skills developed and all of the fun that a child has while attending
one of our programs. Beginning in our infant programs and continuing on through preschool graduation, our staff thoughtfully documents through words and photographs each child’s progress and achievements. These portfolios are always available for par-ents to peruse because they are prominently displayed in each of our classrooms. As a child transitions from one class-room to another, the Portfolio graduates with him, thus giving his new teacher a record of his progress thus far. When a child graduates from preschool, the Portfolio is sent home, thereby giving his family a permanent and very individual-ized account of his years from birth - five years. What goes into a Developmental Portfolio?
• Work samples such as art work, writing samples and the like • Photographs of the things children have made, activities they have been involved in, milestones they have
reached. A thorough written description accompanies each photo • Oral accounts of a child’s verbal recall of special activities and events that have been recorded word-for-
word by the teacher • Milestone checklists and photographs documenting progress in all developmental areas: cognitive, social,
emotional and physical. Each child should have the following in their portfolio:
Cover page: Title and picture of the child My First Day: should include when they started, how old they were, what room they were in and who the teach-
ers were. You might also note something about the child’s personality. I am an Artist: should include either pictures of the child doing art or an art project that they completed I am Growing Up: should show a picture of the child succeeding with a new developmental milestone such as:
Dressing themselves Writing for the first time Walking Jumping rope Riding a trike
My New Classroom: should include picture of children as they transition from one classroom to the next. Can include the child with his friends, his teachers or just in his classroom.
Exploring the Great Outdoors: should include picture of the child involved in some sort of outdoor activity which is helping to develop a specific skill
I Can Do It Myself: include picture and notation of the date that the child has mastered a skill he has been working on
Pouring their own milk Serving themselves Dressing themselves Tying their shoes
This is my own work: include a sample of something the child has written or drawn My World: include a picture of the child with his friends or family at a special school event including parent
functions, in-house or out-of-school field trips, etc. Mathematics: include a picture of the child involved in some sort of math activity. My Social Life: take a picture of the child playing with his friends Science: take a picture of the child involved in some sort of science activity, cooking project or experiment Language Arts: write something word-for-word that a child said while using their imagination or take a picture
of them doing some sort of language art activity such as puppets, reading stories, etc. I’m so Funny: include something that the child said or did that made you laugh; you may wish to include a
photo of them making a funny face I’m Getting So Big: include a picture of the child showing growth or achievement of a developmental mile-
stone: Swinging on bars on the playground Taking first steps Pumping a swing Pedaling a trike Standing next to a measuring tape
Graduation: graduation photo What I Know: this could include pictures of the child learning a new skill. Below are some examples:
Stringing beads Hand writing Walking Feeding themselves Stacking Blocks Sorting Shapes or other manipulatives
Recommendations for Developmental Portfolios:
• Type words into document • Scan photos into document whenever possible • Make sure to check for spelling, grammar and professionalism • Avoid the “scrap book” approach-include written documentation along with the photos • Include personal things when writing about the child: special skills, personality traits, funny things they say • Follow the schedule included for monthly activities but you can include more than one item per month and
Art activities for young children encourage the development of a variety of skills. • Using art materials allows children to practice fine motor skills which are necessary for learning to write and
being successful in many self-help skills (snapping, buttoning, tying, etc.) • Art allows children to experiment with colors, lines, space and shapes and the combining of colors. In this
way, art is akin to both science and math • Art allows children to develop creativity. They are able to use a variety of materials in a process they control,
making a product uniquely and entirely their own. • Older children are able to show representations of their ideas and interests; they are truly able to allow others
to see how they view things. These ideas become more understandable to others as children gain skills to de-pict things more realistically.
Outdoor play is essential for both the well-being and health of children. The pleasure children experience when they take in fresh air, feel the warmth of the sun on their cheeks and watch a ladybug gently creep across the sidewalk is immeasurable. The time chil-dren spend outside every day is just as important to their development as they time spend inside involved in classroom activities. For teachers, the outdoors offers many unique and exciting opportunities for enriching their curriculum and supporting every aspect of a child’s development: • Physical development: Children need many opportunities for and activities involving large muscle development. Children de-
velop their gross motor skills as they run, climb, hop, leap, skip, swing and slide. These activities allow children to try out new skills and take risks. They also enhance their fine motor skills as they pour sand through a funnel and collect bugs.
• Cognitive development: As children spend time outside, it becomes a natural laboratory for a wide variety of scientific explora-tions. They observe leaves change color, watch snow melt in their hands, touch the bark of a tree and smell the rain after a shower.
• Social development: Children experience growing competence when they spend time outside. You can see the sense of pride a child experience when his is able to cross the monkey bars without adult assistance or keep a swing going by pumping his legs. Social skills improve as children share tricycles and shovels, wait for turns on the slide or swing and follow safety rules.
Developmental Portfolios Phoenix Children’s Academy is proud of the fact that every child attending one of our schools has his progress documented in a Developmental Portfolio. Just what is a Developmental Portfolio?
• A tool for collecting and showing a child’s growth and achievement over time • A resume of childhood • An excellent way to record milestones reached, skills developed and all of the fun
that a child has while attending one of our programs. Beginning in our infant programs and continuing on through preschool graduation, our staff thoughtfully documents through words and photographs each child’s progress and achievements. These portfolios are always available for parents to peruse because they are prominently displayed in each of our classrooms. As a child transitions from one classroom to another, the Portfolio graduates with him, thus giving his new teacher a record of his progress thus far. When a child graduates from preschool, the Portfolio is sent home, thereby giving his family a permanent and very individualized account of his years from birth to five years. What goes into a Developmental Portfolio?
• Work samples such as art work, writing samples and the like • Photographs of the things children have made, activities they have been
involved in, milestones they have reached. A thorough written description accompanies each photo.
• Oral accounts of a child’s verbal recall of special activities and events that have been recorded word-for-word by the teacher.
• Milestone checklists and photographs documenting progress in all developmental areas: cognitive, social, emotional and physical.
Each child should have the following in their portfolio:
• Cover page: Title, picture of the child and company logo. • My First Day: include when the child started, how old she was, what room
she was in and who her teachers were. You might also note something special about the child’s personality.
• My New Classroom: include photo of the child as he transitions from one classroom to the next. Can include the child with his friends, his teachers or in his favorite area of her new classroom.
• What I Know: include a photo of the child demonstrating an learned skill or a
special attribute. Consider including: o Stringing beads o Hand writing o Walking o Feeding self o Stacking blocks o Sorting shapes or other manipulatives
• My Social Life: document friendships or special social skills that are
developing. • My World: include a picture of the child with his friends or family at a
special school event including parent functions, in-house or out-of-school field trips, etc.
• I am Growing Up: include a picture of the child succeeding with a new
developmental milestone such as: o Waving bye-bye o Dressing self o Writing o Taking early steps o Jumping rope o Riding a trike
• Mathematics: include a picture of the child involved in some sort of math
activity: sorting, classifying, graphing • Language Arts: write something word-for-word that a child said while using
their imagination or take a picture of them doing some sort of language art activity such as puppets, reading stories, etc.
• I am an Artist: include both pictures of the child doing art and an art project
that they completed. Note: include only open-ended activities and not craft projects or those done following an adult model.
• I’m so Funny: include something that the child said or did that made you or
the other children laugh or a picture of the child making a funny face.
• Science: take a picture of the child involved in some sort of science activity, cooking project or experiment. Consider photographing the child experiencing nature outdoors (finding an insect, playing with leaves, etc.)
• Self Help (I Can Do It Myself): include picture and notation of the date that
the child has mastered a skill he has been working on o Standing unassisted o Putting away toys o Pouring own milk o Serving her own lunch o Putting on own coat or sweater o Tying own shoes
• Exploring the Great Outdoors: should include picture of the child involved in some sort of outdoor activity which is helping to develop a specific skill.
• I Can Do It Myself: include picture and notation of the date that the child has
mastered a skill he has been working on o Pouring their own milk o Serving themselves o Dressing themselves o Tying their shoes
• My Own Work: include a sample of something the child has written or drawn. May also include a photograph of something the child has built, constructed or designed.
• The Great Outdoors: include activities and events that occur on the
playground or other outdoor areas.
• My Big Muscles: include any large motor skill or activity. Recommendations for Developmental Portfolios:
o Type words into document o Scan photos into document whenever possible o Always check for spelling, grammar and professionalism o Avoid the “scrap book” approach. Include written documentation along with
the photos. o Include personal things when writing about the child: special skills,
personality traits, humorous antidotes o Every child must have at least one page completed every month. Although it
is strongly suggested that you follow the monthly schedule, you may go out of sequence in order to document a specific skill, activity or event.
Teacher’s Observation: Hannah knows how to take care of a book! When she picks one out before nap, she
always take it carefully back to her cot and looks through all of it. She turns the pages
from front to back. When finished, she gently places it back on the shelf where she
found it.
October 15, 2009
Teacher’s Observation: Kendall has developed
excellent computer skills! It is very apparent that she has control of the small muscles in her hands as she is easily able
to use the mouse to move the cursor on the screen.
—October 14, 2009—
Social development can be observed in a number of different situations depending upon the age and developmental level of the child. Possibilities include but aren’t limited to: • Making and expressing choices, plans and decisions • Participating in the routines of the group • Solving problems that are encountered in play and social conflicts • Taking care of one’s own needs • Using words to express feelings and ideas • Being sensitive to the feelings, interests and needs of others • Building relationships with other children and significant adults • Playing happily with others • Creating play situations and encouraging others to join in
Social development can be observed in a number of different situations depending upon the age and developmental level of the child. Possibilities include but aren’t limited to: • Making and expressing choices, plans and decisions • Participating in the routines of the group • Solving problems that are encountered in play and social conflicts • Taking care of one’s own needs • Using words to express feelings and ideas • Being sensitive to the feelings, interests and needs of others • Building relationships with other children and significant adults • Playing happily with others • Creating play situations and encouraging others to join in
Teacher’s Observation: Roberto has developed many wonderful friendships with the
children in the Twos classroom. Every morning when one of his friends arrives at school, he happily runs over and gives them a hug. He likes to have other children in our class join him in play. Today we observed him pick a toy off the shelf, take it over to a class-
mate, and handed pieces of it to him so the two of them could use it together.
November 9, 2009
Social development can be observed in a number of different situations depending upon the age and developmental level of the child. Possibilities include but aren’t limited to: • Making and expressing choices, plans and decisions • Participating in the routines of the group • Solving problems that are encountered in play and social conflicts • Taking care of one’s own needs • Using words to express feelings and ideas • Being sensitive to the feelings, interests and needs of others • Building relationships with other children and significant adults • Playing happily with others • Creating play situations and encouraging others to join in
Teacher’s Observation: Abrad and his best friend Cullen are an inseparable pair! They like
to complete most of their art activities together and often challenge each other to “Make yours look like mine!”
Abrad has a delightful sense of humor and loves to make everybody laugh—especially Cullen and his teachers!
His circle of friends is very wide and he is a true class leader.
Kelsey loves going outside with the other babies in the Bye-Bye Buggy. She especially enjoys stopping in the shade to hear a story. She listens intently and then happily claps her hands when the book ends!
—December 2010—
Insert Picture Here
Teacher’s Observation: Tanisha thoroughly enjoyed our class field trip to the fire station! Riding on the school’s bus for the first time was a real treat for her, too. Tanisha and her friend Monique squealed with delight when the bus
pulled away from the curb for the first time. It made me smile to watch them having such a good
Teacher’s Observation: Alex demonstrated understanding numbers when he was asked to build a tower of four blocks. Without hesitation he made a tower that was nearly bigger than he was! He was so proud and so were his
teachers!
—January 2010—
Teacher’s Observation: Hector loves numbers and counting! He routinely
demonstrates an intuitive sense of many mathematical concepts.
He discovered the abacus in our Math area and spent a great deal of time moving the beads from the
Kayla loves stories! She enjoys books of all kinds but lately has demonstrated a fondness for books about animals. When asked to point out differing ones to Ms. Maria, she not only did
as requested but also told her what sounds those animals make!
It is always fun for us to spend one-on-one
reading time with her. She’s a great audience.
April 2010
Teacher’s Observation: Molly has certainly developed the motivation to read! She demonstrates the ability to follow the
flow of print on a page—often tracing her fingers across the letters as she “reads” a story.
It is very obvious that she has a real love of books because when given the choice of any
place to be in the classroom, she almost always selects the Library Corner.
April 2010
Art activities for young children encourage the development of a variety of skills. • Using art materials allows children to practice fine motor skills which are necessary for learning to write and being suc-
cessful in many self-help skills (snapping, buttoning, tying, etc.) • Art allows children to experiment with colors, lines, space and shapes and the combining of colors. In this way, art is
akin to both science and math • Art allows children to develop creativity. They are able to use a variety of materials in a process they control, making a
product uniquely and entirely their own. • Older children are able to show representations of their ideas and interests; they are truly able to allow others to see how
they view things. These ideas become more understandable to others as children gain skills to depict things more realisti-cally.
Art activities for young children encourage the development of a variety of skills. • Using art materials allows children to practice fine motor skills which are necessary for learning to write and being suc-
cessful in many self-help skills (snapping, buttoning, tying, etc.) • Art allows children to experiment with colors, lines, space and shapes and the combining of colors. In this way, art is
akin to both science and math • Art allows children to develop creativity. They are able to use a variety of materials in a process they control, making a
product uniquely and entirely their own. • Older children are able to show representations of their ideas and interests; they are truly able to allow others to see how
they view things. These ideas become more understandable to others as children gain skills to depict things more realisti-cally.
•
Teacher’s Observation: Akari has developed into quite the artist! She
loves any art medium—but is especially fond of and talented with brush painting. She spends a great deal of time working on each piece and is
Teacher’s Observation: Cayden really enjoys science activities. He
likes to make predictions about what he thinks will happen when one item is added to another.
He demonstrates a real talent for thinking through problems.
He especially enjoyed making exploding volca-noes using baking soda and vinegar. The
delight on his face was obvious!
April 18, 2010
Teacher’s Observation: Jacob surprised the entire class when he picked up the bubble wand and blew lots and lots of bubbles! For weeks he’d been trying to master this but never
was able. Once he figured it out, there was no stopping him.
Teacher’s Observation: Anthony spends a great deal of time practicing
letter writing! He has an appropriate pencil grasp and forms all letters correctly when
following a model.
October 15, 2009
Outdoor play is essential for both the well-being and health of children. The pleasure children experience when they take in fresh air, feel the warmth of the sun on their cheeks and watch a ladybug gently creep across the sidewalk is immeasurable. The time children spend outside every day is just as important to their development as they time spend inside involved in classroom activities. For teachers, the outdoors offers many unique and exciting opportunities for enriching their curriculum and support-ing every aspect of a child’s development: • Physical development: Children need many opportunities for and activities involving large muscle development. Children
develop their gross motor skills as they run, climb, hop, leap, skip, swing and slide. These activities allow children to try out new skills and take risks. They also enhance their fine motor skills as they pour sand through a funnel and collect bugs.
• Cognitive development: As children spend time outside, it becomes a natural laboratory for a wide variety of scientific ex-plorations. They observe leaves change color, watch snow melt in their hands, touch the bark of a tree and smell the rain after a shower.
• Social development: Children experience growing competence when they spend time outside. You can see the sense of pride a child experience when his is able to cross the monkey bars without adult assistance or keep a swing going by pump-ing his legs. Social skills improve as children share tricycles and shovels, wait for turns on the slide or swing and follow safety rules.
Outdoor play is essential for both the well-being and health of children. The pleasure children experience when they take in fresh air, feel the warmth of the sun on their cheeks and watch a ladybug gently creep across the sidewalk is immeasurable. The time children spend outside every day is just as important to their development as they time spend inside involved in classroom activities. For teachers, the outdoors offers many unique and exciting opportunities for enriching their curriculum and support-ing every aspect of a child’s development: • Physical development: Children need many opportunities for and activities involving large muscle development. Children
develop their gross motor skills as they run, climb, hop, leap, skip, swing and slide. These activities allow children to try out new skills and take risks. They also enhance their fine motor skills as they pour sand through a funnel and collect bugs.
• Cognitive development: As children spend time outside, it becomes a natural laboratory for a wide variety of scientific ex-plorations. They observe leaves change color, watch snow melt in their hands, touch the bark of a tree and smell the rain after a shower.
• Social development: Children experience growing competence when they spend time outside. You can see the sense of pride a child experiences when he’s able to cross the monkey bars without adult assistance or keep a swing going by pump-ing his legs. Social skills improve as children share tricycles and shovels, wait for turns on the slide or swing and follow safety rules.
Teacher’s Observation: Today Kaden went down the slide for the first
time! He needed a little help from Miss Jessica initially but after that, his confidence grew and
