CHDV 210 Curriculum Activities Self Evaluation Form Name: Brianna Schnaubelt Curriculum area: Outdoor Please reflect

on these questions as you evaluate each of the 5 activities that you present. Review the rubric carefully to be sure that you have included all components to earn the highest score possible.

Why did you choose this particular activity? (DRDP, conversation with child, etc.)
I chose this activity because I wanted to do a creative outside activity that incorporated

all of the things going on in the classroom at the time. The egg hunt provided me with the physical aspect for this activity, as well as it was Easter time so we already had lots of Easter themed stuff going on for the children. Also, providing a new material during outside time gave the children something new and exciting to do outside. "Facilitate access and exploration by providing materials, space, and time for young children to explore movement (Epstein, 93)."
The shapes are what I stuffed the eggs with because we were doing shapes on the DRDP

for that week, and the activity with the shapes was to give the children time to explore them and learn about them. Also, since, "The ability to accurately name, describe, and compare shape, size (scale), and volume is important for children to acquire during the preschool years (Epstein, 56)."

What were the strong points of this activity?

The strong points were the children's physical activity and excitement over the egg hunt.

We had been talking a lot about Easter, and many of them celebrate it at home and were already gearing up for an egg hunt at home. We called the egg hunts we did in the classroom "practice" egg hunts.
The other positive was being able to fit quite a few curriculum areas in one activity, and

getting shapes involved in a outdoor activity was fun. "Effective teachers know the subject matter covered in their program's curriculum and how children typically develop with regard to each domain addressed (Epstein, 5)." The children seemed to enjoy cracking the eggs open, finding, and then playing with the shapes just as much as they enjoyed finding the eggs.
Another positive to this activity was simply that is was outdoors. The children love

outside play time and taking them out in small groups during the work hour provided them with time to run around and enjoy outside without too much commotion.

"Locomotor skills, for example, often mature on their own, and children spontaneously practice and improve them as long as teachers give them opportunities to explore and discover (Epstein, 94)."

What were the weak areas?

The main weak area was the sun bleaching part to the activity. I originally added it into

my lesson plan because I thought that just playing and exploring the shapes after the egg hunt wouldn't hold the children's attention, but it did.
The bleaching aspect was a weak part because none of the children wanted to leave the

pattern they made, they wanted to keep removing it from the paper and start over. Also, having to leave shapes on the paper meant less for the next group to do the activity, etc.

What specific changes did you try out when you presented the activity a second time?
I basically just took out the sun bleaching part. To my surprise the children enjoyed just

exploring the shapes, so that was good enough for me! "Encourage children to combine (compose) and take apart (decompose) shapes to create ne shapes. Engage them in discussions about these transformations (Epstein, 55)." By just letting them explore I was able to discuss the shapes better with them while they moved them around into different patterns to make new discoveries about them.

Evaluate the success of these revisions. How might you improve next time? (Focus on your teaching skills)
I feel these revisions were very successful. The children enjoyed the activity just as much

without trying to get them to do an art project with it.

Did your curriculum activity meet your stated objective? Support your answer with specific examples from your observation of the childrens involvement in the activity.
Yes, for the most part the children met all of my objectives. As we were sitting and

exploring the shapes most of the children were able to name their shapes, or were able to learn what shapes were what, all of them made patterns with them on their papers, and all of them refined gross motor movement as they ran around egg hunting, "Running, because it is faster and contact with the ground is not continuous, requires even more strength and balance than walking (Epstein, 95)."

 They only objective they didn't meet was the sunlight one because it was taken out of the

activity.

Based upon your informal assessment of the children during this activity, how would you build upon this activity? What would be the next curriculum activity you would plan in this area to enhance the childrens learning and why would you choose this next activity?
The next activity that I would plan would be the sun bleaching. It is still a fun and

engaging activity, but just didn't work paired with everything else going on. I think it would be a good lesson plan on its own though that would allow the children to build on their shape knowledge and on the sunlight.

Works Cited Epstein, A. S. (2009). The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children's Learning. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.