In Junior Kindergarten we consider Alberta Health's Growth and Development Milestones (which can be found here, https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=abo8756 ) as we carefully observe children in play and during social interaction with peers. Instructors and EAs document activities through photos and note taking, and if documentation and observation reveals a child may need a little help meeting specific milestones, we set goals that can be focused on within the classroom. These goals may especially benefit one, but will be fun and also benefit all. For example, if it is noted that a child in JK is needing extra gross motor practice to reach a specific AB Health Growth and Development milestone, it may be decided to add extra Obstacle Course time to the JK routine. Or, goal oriented play in the gym and outside will begin. If, after time and practice, Instructors and EAs see no, or very little improvement in the child's gross motor skill(s), documentation is shared with our incredible Peace Collaborative Services team who then may decide to assess, or offer more tips on how, as a class, we can bring more gross motor work into play.
In Kindergarten classes is participating in the implementation of the Early Years Evaluation Teacher Assessment known as the EYE-TA. The EYE- TA is an authentic assessment that is utilized to collect data about a child's development in the 5 key domains that are predictive of later reading development. The 5 domains that are assessed using the EYE-TA, include:
- Awareness of Self and Environment: A child's understanding of the world and his or her ability to make connections with home and community experiences.
- Social Skills and Approaches to Learning: A child's attentiveness during classroom activities and his or her ability to interact with peers while respecting the classroom rules.
- Cognitive Skills: A child's basic math and pre-reading skills and his or her ability to solve problems.
- Language and Communication: A child's understanding of spoken language and his or her ability to express thoughts and feelings.
- Physical Development: Fine motor - A child's ability to perform small movements that require hand-eye coordination. Gross motor - A child's ability to perform large movements that involve arms, legs, and body.
The EYE-TA allows for meaningful observations to be collected about all learners within the classroom environment. The report that is produced from the collection of observations by your child's teacher will be shared with you as your child's first term report card.
Additional information about the EYE-TA can be found at www.thelearninqbar.com