Notes+from+Evening+Session

Notes from the session meeting:

· Scrapbooks mean once it is stuck in, it may not be chronological · Ringbinders allow pages can be ‘ordered’ and moved. · Ringbinders allow art can be hole punch and stored · Clear folder used as a temporary storage methods and then over holidays parent puts into scrapbook (which is kept at home where children can revisit) · Use two books – scrapbook for art work and clear folders for documentation · Clear file folders used as main portfolio method · Art kept in a separate folder – up to parent to work out what to do with it. · Hoping to purchase a special rack that will store the portfolios so that children can access the portfolios and feel better about the ownership. · Use notebooks to record notes about interactions about child – reduces the scariness of needing to complete an A4 page.
 * __Format/type of Portfolio__**

· ERO stated portfolios had to be accessible by children. · Stored just about children’s height but children can access · Stored in the office · Keep artwork in the office if it is related to a learning story so parents know it is a piece of art to go in portfolio · Portfolios used as a settling activity so children’ access a priority for this reason alone. · Portofolios become wall portfolios.
 * __Portfolios Storage Methods__**

· Learning stories, magic moments, photos · Photos are child friendly so they can see – learning and revisiting is visible. Too wordy and not so for children as photos – getting the balance · One sheet used to stick on the magic moments on so that the folder doesn’t fill up too much · Children can choose what goes in and asking for work to go in.
 * __Content of Portofolios:__**

· Parents responsible for what goes in it and for maintaining it (learning stories etc given to parents). · Collective responsibility rather than parental responsibility. · Parents take books home to do · Can be time consuming to stick in scrapbooks and match photos with stories · Sometimes profiles updated during session, at session meeting or at home · Teams look after the folder and documents. Separate art folders, team member rostered on observation each week. · Collective responsibility so that all adults get to know the children on session · Mixture of doing learning stories on session or take notes home to work on · Duty team members contribute to the portfolios. Needs to be managed to see equity across entries in all the books. · Duty team completes the learning stories. Parents either take the time on session to do it or they take it home. · Use home computer to type it using a prepared template. Do it in own time then return to playcentre. · Have a group stories folder for all the group stories. Each child in the group gets a copy in their folder then a copy placed in the group folder too. · Trying to find easier ways so that the stories can be done on session rather than at home. This helps to assist new people coming into the session so they can see what is written and also reduces the time pressure on parents.
 * __Maintenance of Documentation__**

· Restrict budget · Choose not to print the ‘cute’ photos or the photos that have a number of copies of the same images · Print photos at the centre rather that a chemist or photo shop · Photos stored on computer so people can access if they need an extra copy · Parents print out own photos · Print smaller size photos · Each session has a photo office and each session has a memory stick. This person is responsible for looking after the photos and matching them up to the learning stories. They have a budget of $25 per term. There have been no unclaimed photos under this system. · Use Picasa to layout out – a time saver http://picasa.google.com · Print photos before the session takes place. This prompts rich team meeting discussion on the play and learning on session. Photos coupled with the written notes. · Print eight photos to a page, printed on photo paper · With use of a multi-function printer, group stories are printed then copied and put into portfolios · Get disc at end of year with all the children’s photos · Print on plain paper. Each child gets a learning story at least once a time. · Photograph the art to go with the learning stories · Some in the centre type the learning story at home, then emails to the family as well as print. By emailing to families, they can then forward on. · Try to capture the child’s perspective rather than top-down pictures with lots of heads. · Printing photos managed by immediacy. Look at images on camera, work out which can be discarded and only print what someone is going to write about. Maybe print 5-10 photos per session this way.
 * __Photo Management Ideas__**

· How to update portfolios in a timely fashion · Can focus children detract from the great play that happens as people focus too much on these children. What about using a monitoring system to ensure everyone gets observed and documented about. · How to include child’s voice in portfolios · Can be hard for those children who stay close to parent and aren’t known well by other adults so limits the documentation · Each learning story can take up to an hour by the time it is written up, printed. How do we minimize this time? · Can be a problem that the emphasis is on the pretty looking nature but this can detract from ensuring that the learning is clear and focused. · Ensuring that there is a range of learning opportunities. Trying to get a range of different learning areas ie: a creative imaginative child has a book full of stories on her imagination but little on any other areas such as carpentry, and or even dispositions such as compassion. · Try to have the children involved in taking photos themselves. · Asking children for permission to take photos (ethics) · Can be problems when people take work home to complete but even with the best of intentions, it doesn’t always come back. · How to get meaningful learning stories.
 * __Reflections for discussion__**

· Update over holidays · Tick off at front of session diary to ensure that every child has stories each term · Co-operative approach to managing portfolios where all in centre take responsibility for everyone · Keep details of all children on a spreadsheet and tick off when a focus child · Share kai at end of session for both adults and children. Then review session and look at the portfolios. · Have a focus children list on the wall so you know which children need observation · Learning story index folder: all children listed a-z, and includes brief notes on notice, recognize and respond – a brief learning story and shows progression of learning. Deals with consistency so teams can see the patterns in activities and learning. · Do a group photo once a year for each folder. · Each term, parents are asked for four goals for their child and this is stuck on the outside of the portfolio for the term so team members can see the latest goals and aspirations. · File format guidelines stuck on the outer of the computer so everyone can follow and can track storage of photos – they are all stored the same. · Monitor all children to see they get stories.
 * __Ideas/Solutions__**