-First of all, I think that any daddy good-byes go smoothly compared to mommy good-byes. From my experiences with infants, and by personally having to go through drop-offs and good-byes, I can say that majority of the parents who do drop off are mothers. The bond between a mother and an infant is unbreakable, which causes good-byes to be that much harder between mothers and infants. On the other hand daddy goodbyes are less dramatic and often times, as I have observed, daddies seem to have an easier time to hand their infants to the caregiver and leave.
In this instance though, I believe that Laura's good-bye with daddy went smoothly because daddy included Laura in the good-by transition. Laura was given time to enter into the classroom and engage in the conversation and transition between daddy and her caregiver. When Laura was given this transition she was able to gage what is going to happen. And as was mentioned in the passage, it seems as if Laura has gone through the routine, so she was able to predict the good-bye.
-All the little actions the father acted communicated to his Laura that he was going to leave, and that he is going to give her to her caregiver, whom he trusted to care for her. He helped Laura transition from daddy to her caregiver, from being, presumably, at home to the classroom.
When daddy and the caregiver comes into contact, Laura is still in the hands of her dad, and she can see and hear the information being shared, probably about what happened at home. The passage says that daddy helps Laura take off her jacket and hat, which signifies that Laura is getting herself ready to go in the classroom, and since daddy didn't take anything off it signifies that he is not staying. More conversations continue and just the fact that Laura is present, in the conversation, it tells Laura and shows Laura the trust that daddy has with the caregiver. By just saying bye and kissing Laura it tells Laura that he is going to leave. And by handing her to the caregiver, and not just sitting her on the ground, tells Laura that the caregiver will care for her and be there for her wants and needs.
-Teacher Ivetta was "surprised" with the good-bye because "it has only been a few days since Laura has started experiencing the departure of her mom positively, (p.37)." Since this was dads first time dropping Laura off, it was a positive first drop off. Laura didn't cry at or fight either daddy or Ivetta.
Ivetta probably thought that the kiss was significant because Laura initiated the kiss. Since Laura initiated the kiss, you can tell that she understands the symbol of the kiss. "I gave the kiss because I know that my dad is going to go."
-I don't think that Laura is fully adjusted to the classroom only because it takes more then just a successful drop off for an infant to fully adjust, each routine should be a success, the infant should be able to anticipate what will happen next. The infant may cry as a fight to not go according to the routine, but if the infant cries because he is not comfortable with the classroom and the caregiver then I would say that he is not adjusted.
I would say that Laura is adjusted to her caregiver enough that she trusts her with giving her her wants and needs.
-Laura has recognized parts of herself. Has she recognized herself? I would say, no. I don't think that she has recognized herself as a whole body. The main part of her body that she has recognized is her hands. She sees the reflection of what her hands can do, that it extends from her body, that her hands are moving. She can see that her hand can grab an object, and bring the object to her body. Laura talks to herself, probably, to assure or reassure herself that, "hey this is mines, this is on my body, this on my body is moving."
**My daughter Lyna at about 6 months.
-Teacher Ivetta and mother, together, might talk about Laura's body in regard to this episode. They may touch on issues of recognizing parts of her body. They may talk about body part vocabulary to share with Laura. Also in this episode Laura seems to enjoy expressing herself through babbling and exclaiming herself. Teacher and mother could talk about labeling her expressions and guide her through her surprises by talking about what is happening. Through conversations with Laura teacher and mother can help her build vocabulary to use during her day to day routines.
By: Jadelynn Davis
Hi Jadelynn,
ReplyDeleteWithin your posting, you recognize the power of relationships. How do you think relationships contribute to how you think and act as a teacher? Is relationship become central to how the teachers think and act with Laura? How might you use what you read in the Diary of Laura as a mirror on your own practice? What are you thinking about in terms of what frames your practice? How might the framing of your practice influence how you come to understand the process of documentation? (We are just starting to talk about this - so this might be a question you consider throughout the semester...."
Cheers,
Jeanne
While reading through the diary entry of Laura and the mirror I never thought to use this experience as an opportunity to introduce Laura to the different parts of her body. I to am not fully convinced that Laura has identified the person in the mirror being herself and her reaction being more of surprise than discovery
ReplyDeleteHey Jadelynn,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that this bond between mother and child affects the way you interact with fathers? In the mornings at my program, I greet each child on their level, and share a hug. Because i work with 4-5 yrs, would you compare this to the action on Laura's dad handing her to her teacher? Why is this first interaction so significant? Would not having both teachers there at the child's arrival affects the child transition?
Hey Jadelynn,
ReplyDeleteI to experience the same reaction when it comes to drop of time at my preschool with mothers and fathers. I do think that a bond between a mother and their child is unbreakable and that a child has a stronger connection to the mother than he or she does to the father. I believe the transition went smoothly as well because the father engaged in a conversation with the teacher which showed Laura that he trusted her as well as started to build a relationship with the teacher.
Thanks for sharing the pictures of your daughter, such a great picture to relate to what Laura was doing in this scenario!