By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I love loose parts. I love playing with loose parts and sharing loose parts with other educators. My hope is when adults mess about with loose parts that there will be recognition of the possibilities and importance of loose parts provision for children. I have presented many loose parts workshops indoors. … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Over the many years that I have been an early childhood educator, I have been fascinated with developing trends. I always found it very interesting to reflect on what topics are being written about and spoken about the most. A trend in fashion, can be something that comes and goes. What … Continue reading
By: Cindy Green B.Sc., RECE. I am grateful to my long time friend and colleague, Diane Kashin for inviting me to accompany her on a journey to present in, and visit Adelaide, South Australia. Upon return from our adventures there are so many experiences that we continue to reflect on regarding the multiples perspectives evident in … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Many, many years ago, when I discovered emergent curriculum and specifically the Project Approach I was teaching early childhood education at a large community college. I wanted my students to understand how a topic worthy of further investigation can emerge from hands on experience. I wanted the topic to be something … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Teaching cannot be separated from learning in Reggio-inspired practice. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with educators at various stages of their journey and while I am often teaching, I am always learning. Recently, during the second of a series of eight sessions with 100 educators … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been thinking about pedagogical documentation and specifically learning stories. Learning stories are based on the work of Dr. Margaret Carr and Wendy Lee of New Zealand. I first heard about learning stories about ten years ago at a conference that featured Margie Carter and Deb Curtis from Harvest Resources … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Pondering about early learning is something that I do on a regular basis. Usually what motivates me are stories from colleagues and friends or posts shared on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, as most of my friends and followers on social media are educators. I could talk for hours with anyone … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Looking at the photo below, that my cousin sent me recently, I found myself thinking about the past and my early outdoor play and learning experiences. I remember as a very young child having great times playing outside without structure and without supervision – making mud pies, playing in the … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. As I child I remember playing with my mother’s button collection, dipping my hand in, smooshing them about, dumping them on the floor of my bedroom and then playing for hours. Sometimes, I counted them, or sorted them, but I also remember creating elaborate stories with the buttons representing different … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. On October 12th, I was in Denver, Colorado at the Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT) and participated in a “Messing About” workshop that incorporated the exhibit, Cultivating the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins. The day before, I had the opportunity to tour the Boulder … Continue reading
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 