During the half of this practicum, I introduced a sketchbook to the children, naming it Little Jewel’s Idea Paper. I took them almost all the time when I was at the daycare, whether indoors in different rooms or outdoors in the backyard. I encouraged children to add ideas to the paper, and from time to time, we would read this Idea Paper out loud, and I always invited different children to look at the ideas of the others. Soon, they started to volunteer to add their ideas to the paper or ask me to add their ideas.
At the very beginning, the children wanted to keep those ideas to themselves by trying to tear them off and put them in their cubbies to take them home. However, I explained that I could also take a picture of the ideas they presented and send it to their family, but I needed their ideas so that other children could also learn about them. Gradually, children became more willing to keep the ideas at daycare and not take them home.
And about the ideas themselves, many of them were from when we were in our backyard, so there were a lot of ideas about how to draw leaves, what leaves have, how leaves feel, etc. Usually, I would sit by the children and write down the words they’ve said during the drawing process. Regarding materials, I usually give them pencils or crayons and occasionally Sharpies. I see those easy-to-grab materials as simple and convenient to put down the ideas when necessary.
When I left Little Jewels by the end of my practicum, I left this Idea Paper in the art room and talked with my mentor educator about it to encourage children to continue it even after I was not there.