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mumofone
15-07-2015, 08:40 PM
Hi all, Im finding the whole planning and next steps for a baby im caring for really difficult. My plan for the first month (they are only with me one day a week) was to watch and observe them (they are doing all the basic expected things as per EYO) and just build a bond with them so they felt secure with me. All ok so far. I have done observations for each area C&L, PSED and PD each week so I basically now have 4 seperate obs for each main learning area but I dont know what to note down as next steps.

One idea I had was to introduce a treasure basket but is this "planning" or is this a "next step" and what area does this fall into (C&L, pSED etc?)

Argh so confused and I feel like this should be easy!

greenfaerie
15-07-2015, 09:29 PM
I look after a part time baby and I found it the same at first. I found it helpful to just sit and read through Development Matters, really familiarize myself with the pathways and see where I think the little one could go with encouragement.

Some "Next Steps" wrote themselves, an activity that I'd observed would show that baby was close to doing something, but not quite there or she'd love something we did, so I'd plan something similar but slightly different. Then last week I was really stumped and none of the next steps on observations seemed right, so I just went back to her tracker to see what I hadn't noticed, and planned some things to see if she was ready to do them yet. Like dance to music or object permanence.

I write anything down on Individual Planning/Next Steps sheets, if I think of something and then do it I write it down, because I like to know I have written evidence of what I've done. (I have an awful memory)

Generally I don't do anything too rigid and just take the baby's lead on things. A few attempts at edible painting/crayoning have told me she's not ready for that yet. She really really seems to want to eat paper. :) I've found that some like to and some don't at that age!

Edit: As for which area an activity falls under I read DM and see what fits, it can sometimes be something I didn't expect! And I use Individual Planning and Next Steps together on one sheet at this point. It's all planning for an individual child what I want to do to help them progress.

Edit 2: Disclaimer that I'm new and could still be doing everything horribly wrong! Though I hope not...

QualityCare
16-07-2015, 03:26 PM
Look at what baby can do then what would be the natural progression from that i.e is baby sitting unsupported if not next step would be to encourage them to sit unsupported, then to lean forward to pick up a toy, can baby crawl next step if not encourage movement, then provide space to practice crawling, does baby clap if not next step play clapping games do you see what l am getting at the next step is to encourage the next natural development from what they can do remember the saying they can't run until they can walk it applies to all next steps whatever age

mumofone
16-07-2015, 06:53 PM
I look after a part time baby and I found it the same at first. I found it helpful to just sit and read through Development Matters, really familiarize myself with the pathways and see where I think the little one could go with encouragement.

Some "Next Steps" wrote themselves, an activity that I'd observed would show that baby was close to doing something, but not quite there or she'd love something we did, so I'd plan something similar but slightly different. Then last week I was really stumped and none of the next steps on observations seemed right, so I just went back to her tracker to see what I hadn't noticed, and planned some things to see if she was ready to do them yet. Like dance to music or object permanence.

I write anything down on Individual Planning/Next Steps sheets, if I think of something and then do it I write it down, because I like to know I have written evidence of what I've done. (I have an awful memory)

Generally I don't do anything too rigid and just take the baby's lead on things. A few attempts at edible painting/crayoning have told me she's not ready for that yet. She really really seems to want to eat paper. :) I've found that some like to and some don't at that age!

Edit: As for which area an activity falls under I read DM and see what fits, it can sometimes be something I didn't expect! And I use Individual Planning and Next Steps together on one sheet at this point. It's all planning for an individual child what I want to do to help them progress.

Edit 2: Disclaimer that I'm new and could still be doing everything horribly wrong! Though I hope not...


Thanks greenfaerie :-) Yep I sat and read DM cover to cover last night but was still none the wiser!

mumofone
16-07-2015, 06:57 PM
Look at what baby can do then what would be the natural progression from that i.e is baby sitting unsupported if not next step would be to encourage them to sit unsupported, then to lean forward to pick up a toy, can baby crawl next step if not encourage movement, then provide space to practice crawling, does baby clap if not next step play clapping games do you see what l am getting at the next step is to encourage the next natural development from what they can do remember the saying they can't run until they can walk it applies to all next steps whatever age

Thanks Qualitycare, yep the baby can move about fast and effectively but is not what I would call "crawling" as its known! The next thing would be her walking but that could be months off so I feel like I cant work that in yet so i feel like im in limbo at the moment because this current stage can last for ages. She can reach out and grab toys, sits unaided, albeit a bit wobbly, she claps and waves, she babbles mama baba etc. Shes just started pulling up (like on my leg and the sofa) so I guess she may start cruising next but how do i make that a next step...

blue bear
16-07-2015, 07:05 PM
Next steps and planning with a baby can be the same thing, my next steps tend to be more things that I can do to help baby onto the next area of development. So with a crawling baby I'd be thinking, putting toys up on things to encourage pulling up,variety of resources to encourage exploration, being aware of baby's safety when exploring.

When I'm stuck I open the development matters on my ipad, press the search and write in what I've seen such as crawling and it will highlight all the places crawling comes up in the book, you can look in the right hand columns for ideas to promote next steps.

greenfaerie
17-07-2015, 07:48 AM
I have a fisher price toddler table and the legs had been clicked off. When I observed the baby starting to cruise I next stepped on the ob that I would put the legs back on to encourage her to pull herself up more. I don't write next steps on every ob, just the ones that I can see a clear point for improvement in my setting (like the toddler table) or if I observed something that needs more encouragement.

I was overwhelmed with DM at first, but now I'm really familiar with it. I was observing A LOT to get starting points in the early days and then I was reading DM to see to which areas of development I could link what I'd witnessed. It's always a happy coincidence when you can link multiple aspects and areas to one ob. :)