Early Learning Center Observation

The Harris Early Learning Center is located in downtown Birmingham on the north side of town. The building and the surrounding grounds are very well kept. The doors are secured and locked at all times. Parents have a special key card to access the school. I on the other hand had to be buzzed in. As I walked into the Harris Learning Center, I observed about ten children participating in a small group tumbling lesson in the large common area. The instructor was very engaging and gave attention to each child. I paused by the open door to the classroom; one of the teachers smiled and welcomed me to the classroom. There were about 18 children in the classroom, an even mix of boys and girls. The children were busy finishing breakfast and helping to

The children had the option to choose which center that they wanted to play in by removing a velcro picture of themselves and placing it on the center’s board The children played in the different centers for about 30 minutes. As the children played in the different centers, one of the teachers would call the students up individually to work on either an art activity or a journal entry. After center time, the teacher called the students to large group time by playing a cleanup song. The children sit on individual spot rugs. They have an assigned area. There are two teachers in each classroom at the Harris Learning Center. The teachers take turns leading large group time. The teacher plays a “good morning, welcome to school song” and then plays a song that the children exercise to. The teacher will then teach a lesson that correlates to the weekly theme, read a story to the children, and calls on individual students to share special news. The children are very engaged and attentive. I am impressed by both of the teachers’ classroom management strategies during group time. The children are encouraged to take turns sharing ideas and everyone gets a chance to share. After group time the students were