By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. One of the aspects of my work in early childhood education that I am grateful for is the opportunity to visit programs for children, both indoors and outdoors, from infant and toddler spaces, to preschool and kindergarten classes, to classes for grades one, two and three, as well as before … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Four years ago, I entered the realm of social media for the purposes of professional learning. It has been an amazing experience as I have expanded my knowledge, my network and I am in a constant state of cognitive dissonance which I embrace! Recently, a Facebook friend posted on the … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. There are many perspectives on philosophies and theories and how they should guide early learning practice. Program models and approaches have been been influenced by historical, contemporary, and postmodern views of children, families, and learning. The many program models and approaches in practice in the early learning world are complex in … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have long been fascinated with the use of metaphors as a tool to support reflective practice. I find the idea of a wall to be particularly useful in reflecting on reflection. As a faculty advisor to ECE degree students in their final year of study, I find myself saying … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I spent a number of my formative years as an early childhood educator working in a community based child care program. I worked collaboratively with the other teachers and the administration team. We had a culture of mutual respect and I felt valued as a member of the community. However, … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. With the start of another school year, early childhood programs, are once again faced with choices – to theme or not to theme? Themes are like worksheets, they represent a school model. I have written about worksheets in previous posts from both a mathematical lens and a literacy lens. I admitted … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. The worksheet debate rages on! Even with research and alternatives that are play-based and hands-on, their use is still being defended. The fact is worksheets are not developmentally appropriate for preschool and kindergarten. I hadn’t expected the last blog post I wrote on worksheets to be shared more widely than any … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. After three decades of fascination with all things early childhood education, I still wonder where the future path will lead? What will the the field of early childhood education look like 25 years from now? Morrison (2004) asked that question over a decade ago and made some predictions including a move … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. A year ago I wrote a blog post about the volunteer work I was doing with the York Region Nature Collaborative and I liken it to a dream. Last week at the Rhythm of Learning in Nature #Rhythm2015 dreams were realized, slightly altered, but nonetheless meaningful. I am so grateful for those 20+ … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been reading a lot about tinkering lately. Tinkering is about hands-on experiences, learning from failures, and unstructured time to explore and invent. And through the processes of exploration and invention lies the potential for innovation. When this image appeared on my newsfeed recently, I thought back to the theorist that most influenced my practice as an … Continue reading
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