EARLY LEARNING CENTRE LEARNING

EXPERIENCE
Student Name: Amanda Martino
Group: Infants
Purpose:
Reason for
developing learning
experience. This
could be in response
to an observation,
discussion with the
site supervisor,
Ontario Curriculum
Objective, etc.
Observation
- Document what you
saw and heard
- Document nonverbal
communication
(i.e., body
language, facial
expressions and
voice tone)
- Document in detail:
who, what, where,
and when
- Documentation
should be written
in past tense,
objective, and in
anecdotal format
OR
Discussion
Document the
discussion between

Date: Jan. 26, 2017

Age

Purpose

Discussion:
This weeks activity is based off a previous
conversation I had with my field supervisor last
week in placement. She explained that the students
will be exploring shapes, in order to further advance
in their identification skills. From this, I have
decided to bring two sets of play toys that each
come with a variety of mini 3D plastic pieces. The
activities involve placing the correct shape object
into its corresponding fitting hole size; it also
includes other small fun sensory ways of engaging
the students with added nobs, buttons and sounds.

you and your site

supervisor that led
to the planning
OR
Curriculum
Objective
Describe the
curriculum objective
youre aiming to
meet/enhance
through this
experience
Learning
Experience
What are you
planning in response
to your purpose?
- Label your
experience (e.g.
Painting with cars).
- What are your 3
objectives for this
experience? (i.e.
What interests are
you extending?
What strengths
and opportunities
for growth are you
enhancing/supporti
ng?)
Please Note: You
should refer to
appropriate
pedagogy to
support your
discussion around
strengths and
opportunities for
growth (e.g.
ELECT, How Does
Learning Happen,
Ontario FDK

Learning Experience: Shape Sorting

From the ELECT document

Objective 1: Cognitive Developmental Domain

a) Problem Solving (4.2)
o Solving through trial and error (retrying
to fit piece in holes of activity)
b) Spatial Exploration (4.4)
o Looking for any dropped toys/pieces
o Identifying objects from a different point
of view (using different sides of toys)
o Using body to explore their space by
crawling with the toy that rolls
o Exploring objects by dropping contents
into containers and then dumping them
out
c) Object Permanence (4.6)
o Searching for pieces that fall into the
play object or have been moved out of
sight
d) Sorting (4.9)
o Grouping/categorizing like shape pieces
together or into correct holes

Objective 2. Physical Developmental DomainGROSS MOTOR (5.1)

a) Reaching and Holding
o Reaching for object or from adult by
extending arm and holding with palmar

Curriculum, etc).
Describe the
experience:
- Who will be involved
in the experience?
- Where will the
experience take
place? (e.g.
Indoors or
outdoors? In the
dramatic centre,
the creative table,
etc).
- List the materials
and resources you
will use
- Describe the
implementation of
the experience,
with a step by step
description
- List and describe 2
teaching
strategies. How
will you use them?
Why have you
chosen these
strategies?

grasp (whole palm)

b) Releasing Objects
o Dropping pieces into bin or throwing
pieces
c) Sitting
o Sitting on own without or with very little
support
d) Crawling
o Crawling on hands and knees when
rolling object or playing with pieces
Objective 3. Physical Developmental DomainFINE MOTOR (5.2)
a) Coordination
o Holding and transferring object from
hand to hand
o Learns more about weight, size and
shape object takes
b) Pincer Grasp
o Using forefinger and thumb to life and
hold the small shape pieces
o Using this grasp to grip onto nobs
surrounding toy and turn them
Objective 4. Physical Developmental DomainSENSES (5.3)
a) Visual Discrimination
o Scanning the various shapes and
identifying them by sight through their
visual attributes
b) Auditory Exploration
o Hearing and recognizing the different
sounds in which the buttons make

Describe the Experience:

Who- All present infants, ECEs in room to watch
and/or facilitate
Where- Indoors, infant room, sitting on the carpet
mat
Materials: Two shape sorting play toys, eight mini
shape pieces in one, eleven mini shape pieces in
other
Implementation:

1. Bring out the activity in the afternoon or any

time following the room educator
accomplishes their lesson on shapes for the
day
2. Receive childrens attention through vocal and
physical gestures
3. Place the two shape sorting toys onto the
carpet mats and dispense each individual
shape piece on the ground, ensure all the
objects can be seen in an attractive way.
4. Allow infants to come close, sit them down in
front of the activity if needed and let them
explore the shapes and details incorporated
within the activity.
5. Give time, as many students will need to work
at their own pace; continue to facilitate and
engage with children.
Strategies:
1. Guided Practice providing enough space,
materials and time assists the child when
practicing this new learning experience seeing
that learning will not occur on a fixed
schedule. If the child is progressing, the ECE
may wish to provide varying degrees of
difficulty that the toy has to offer; it is most
beneficial when the conditions vary only
slightly. Children will initially learn through the
repetition of placing perhaps the same shape
into the designated hole and then move onto
a more complex one once they have acquired
this motion.
2. Hand-Over-Hand - to provide further
assistance, the educator may use direct
contact with the infant by placing their hands
over the childs. eventually over time, he or
she will get a sense of how to perform this
process on their own to complete the task and
advance in a new skill.