COVID-19 has shifted the way that we communicate and connect. As we try to avoid close social contact, we are forced to get creative about the way that we keep parents, children, and our program staff in the loop.
In recent months, our focus has largely been on keeping each other up-to-date about changes to practices and routines in order to meet the new guidelines for early learning programs. And, while communication about logistics is necessary, we should also make an effort to ensure that we are keeping each other informed about children’s learning, development, and play. Parents are still looking for updates about their child’s time in your care, and by using documentation, or displays of children’s learning, we can share in a way that allows for reflection, exploration, and collaboration.
“Documentation” is a term from the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. In its simplest form, it refers to a demonstration, with evidence, of children’s learning.
A Walk in the Woods: image from The Compass School
In their article, The Contribution of Documentation to the Quality of Early Childhood Education, Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard explain that “documentation typically includes samples of a child’s work…photographs showing work in progress; comments written by the teacher or other adults working with the children; transcriptions of children’s discussions, comments, and explanations of intentions about the activity; and comments made by parents.”
You do not have to work in a Reggio classroom to incorporate a display of demonstrated learning into your program. Anyone who works with young children, regardless of their program’s approach or curriculum style, can incorporate this practice. NAEYC shares that documentation has the power to “drive curriculum and collaboration in the early childhood classroom setting.”
The purpose of documentation is to make learning visible, by using evidence to show the projects, play, interactions, and learning that children are engaging in.
What does your Imagination Look like? (image and project from Art Bar Blog)
Mona Lisa Style Portraits (image and project from Sherree Wolfgang as on the website Dan & Sherree & Patrick)
A Walk in the Woods (image from The Compass School)
Pete the Cat Investigation (image and project from the instagram page, reggio_inspiration)
Documented learning displays can be hung high on the wall, for parents and teachers/caregivers to refer to, or it can be hung at the children’s eye-level so that they have an opportunity to reflect back on their learning and play.
For more examples of documentation, check out Good2Know Network’s Pinterest board, Documentation & Parent Communication.
COVID safety requirements have added limitations to the time we can spend chatting with parents during drop-off and pick-up. Creating displays of children’s work and learning can be a way to help parents feel connected to their children’s time in your care. Depending on how you have structured your routines to meet COVID-19 guidelines, you might consider putting your display in a window that parents can see from outside the classroom (as in the photo to the right), or taking photos of your displays and sending them via email so that parents can view them from home. Either way, adding a question for parents to respond to will remind them that you are their partner in their child’s learning and development.
Meeting COVID guidelines can also interfere with the time that teachers and caregivers would typically spend collaborating with one another. Documentation can be a way to share updates about what different groups of children or different classrooms are doing, and encourage educators to build upon one another’s ideas and feel connected to their program’s learning community.
When we display documentation at the children’s eye-level, we give them the opportunity to return to their previous ideas and experiences. They are reminded of the past and can create connections with the present. They can also see some of the different ways that their peers were interacting with each other and the environment, encouraging them to learn from each other and themselves. It’s a great way to reinforce the interpersonal skills that are so important in early childhood, despite the need for small groups and social distancing.
Image from early learning blog, Interaction Imagination.
COVID safety requirements have added limitations to the time we can spend chatting with parents during drop-off and pick-up. Creating displays of children’s work and learning can be a way to help parents feel connected to their children’s time in your care. Depending on how you have structured your routines to meet COVID-19 guidelines, you might consider putting your display in a window that parents can see from outside the classroom (as in the photo to the right), or taking photos of your displays and sending them via email so that parents can view them from home. Either way, adding a question for parents to respond to will remind them that you are their partner in their child’s learning and development.
Meeting COVID guidelines can also interfere with the time that teachers and caregivers would typically spend collaborating with one another. Documentation can be a way to share updates about what different groups of children or different classrooms are doing, and encourage educators to build upon one another’s ideas and feel connected to their program’s learning community.
When we display documentation at the children’s eye-level, we give them the opportunity to return to their previous ideas and experiences. They are reminded of the past and can create connections with the present. They can also see some of the different ways that their peers were interacting with each other and the environment, encouraging them to learn from each other and themselves. It’s a great way to reinforce the interpersonal skills that are so important in early childhood, despite the need for small groups and social distancing.
