Toddler Observation #1

For 4 of my 8 hours of toddler observations I visited ECDC. I thought that the observation rooms were fantastic! It was great to watch without disturbing/distracting the children. What I found interesting among all of the age groups that I watched was the sense of child independence. The work that they did in their classroom was chosen by each individual student. I am sure that there are group work and activities, but I neglected to witness them. The children seemed very self-sufficient in choosing the things they wanted to do and were very independent. I was some children were reading, while some painted, others were playing instruments, while some were doing puzzles. They each had their little "cliques" of students who followed each other around and worked together. I suppose I was expecting more of a structured, teacher-centered environment.