This year, teachers in the Early Childhood Center have adopted a new form of documentation of a child’s learning in class. This form of documentation comes through the innovative app called SeeSaw. This app allows teachers to document learning that many times is missed on the youngest learners. Normal documentation is mostly found in the form of worksheets, assessments, illustrations, and writings of children. Children in PK4 classes do not show their best learning through these mediums. They are best able to convey their learning through collaboration with other students, building, role-playing, and creating. SeeSaw allows a teacher to take photos and videos of children in the process of learning and immediately categorize the learning into areas like mathematical concepts, reading readiness, fine and gross motor skills, social skills, etc. They can then send it to one parent or the whole class depending on whom they choose to send it. Children can also have an active role in the application by providing audio, adding labeling to the picture with their finger, and eventually being responsible for their own documentation. SeeSaw is a game changer in how teachers can document, and parents can receive a constant stream of communication about their child’s learning without adding extra time to a teachers’ workday. It’s a win-win for everyone!
At center time, Zoe wanted to make a pumpkin out of Legos, so we got out the book and she found the picture she needed to look at the pumpkin. This is a picture of her finished work. She made the whole illustration matching the colors and sizes of the characters in the story to the Legos she used. I then labeled each character and documented it on seesaw. It was a great visual to show conceptual learning at work!