By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Stories spiral in and out of my mind when I visit the pond near my house. These stories are woven together by threads of relationships. There are stories within stories that relate to my professional and personal growth in my final season. The pond is the backdrop to a documented … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Rose Walton, OCT, PhD Candidate. This post is the second in a series about rants. A rant is an argument that is fueled by passion. The early childhood education sector has suffered from a position of silence. Ranting helps us find our voice. Ranting makes visible our passion for … Continue reading
By: Cindy Green, RECE (with contributions from Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE). As an antidote to the last blog post where there was focus on ranting while reflecting on words that cause agitation Cindy offers some thoughts on being mindful, grateful and joyful. Then as promised there will be a return to the ranting as this … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Gill Robertson, ECE. This post is the first of what I hope will be a series of co-authored blogs. This post is a rant and was inspired by words that rankle and undermine the view of ourselves as professionals and children as competent. “Cute” is one of those words. … Continue reading
For many years I have had a dream. I dream about expanding opportunities for young children to be in and with nature on a regular basis. I have been dreaming since 2008. It was in 2008 that I was given a guided tour of Swan Lake, a remarkable and magical property in my hometown of … Continue reading
We began the 5-day session by joining in a circle in the open concept eating, gathering room at Tawingo College, a beautiful 150-acre campus that also has an Outdoor Kindergarten. We were invited to introduce ourselves by stating our name, followed by an animal and then a sound associated with this animal. Shortly after this … Continue reading
About a year ago, Louise and I, along with Rosalba from the Acorn School and numerous other educators began a journey of professional learning that focused on the principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach as well as drawing inspiration from the philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins. We began the journey when we conceptualized the … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Many years ago I declared myself Reggio inspired. Now along with others, and in collaboration with Acorn School, under the pedagogical leadership of Rosalba Bortolotti, we are declaring a dual allegiance and making it known that we are now Hawkins inspired as well. Since 2013, when a contract was signed … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Embracing Reggio principles in practice, I am committed to research. I see research as an opportunity to act upon our knowledge in a way that is collaborative, creative and critical. Collaboration can be rich. When I have the opportunity to write, co-facilitate professional learning and together with others, mess about … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been teaching adults in the college classroom and beyond for many, many memorable years. Professional collaboration has resulted in the provision of personally transformative professional learning experiences that have gifted me with opportunities to engage with inspiring educators from all over the world in real and virtual time. … Continue reading
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 