By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE We are – and we must be convinced of this – inside an ecosystem: our earthly journey is a journey we make along with the environment, nature, the universe. Our organism, our morality, our culture, our knowledge, our feelings are connected with the environment, with the universe, with the world. … Continue reading
By Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been doing a lot of thinking about inquiry lately. In my capacity as the chair of the York Region Nature Collaborative I was invited to take part in a pilot environmental inquiry project with the York Region District School Board, which involves two different full day kindergarten classes. The … Continue reading
By Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. A few weeks ago, Rosalba Bortolotti the director of Acorn School posted an announcement on Facebook that the school was closing. This wonderful site for joyous learning and teacher research has been instrumental in my own journey as a Reggio inspired educator and I wanted to thank and pay tribute … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. In 2012, I ventured into the unknown when a group of students encouraged me to enter the world of social media for the purposes of professional learning, communication and collaboration. Previous to that I was not aware of what the significance of the passage of one century into another would have … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been an ardent proponent of emergent curriculum in early childhood education well before I became Reggio inspired. In the early nineties I became aware of the work of Elizabeth Jones and John Nimmo and used their textbook, Emergent Curriculum as the foundation for the curriculum courses that I taught to … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I am fortunate to have colleagues and critical friends in my life that motivate me to think. As an early childhood educator and teacher of teachers, thinking about practice and theory, leads to new knowledge and understandings about the way children learn, the way adults learn and the way I learn. … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. The concept of play-based learning is not new and the idea of playing in and with nature while getting a lot of attention these days is not a current fad or trend. It has been long suggested that play is the vehicle for learning and there is no better classroom than … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have recently been delving into “How Does Learning Happen?” Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years (2014) and thinking deeply about how I can use this document to guide my practice. This is a document that asks educators to challenge the status quo. It suggests we engage in critical reflection because as … Continue reading
We are proud to be working with the York Region Nature Collaborative to support two amazing upcoming events. On April 25th at the beautiful Swan Lake Centre in Richmond Hill a workshop featuring early childhood educators and full day kindergarten teachers incorporating forest school practices will take place, Forest Schools: Enhancing your Outdoor Environment with Forest … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. It is heartening to see that there is much interest in the Reggio Emilia Approach and a genuine desire expressed by many to begin the process of becoming Reggio inspired. Thinking about our practice as a journey has me pondering. Metaphors are a useful tool to promote reflective thinking about … Continue reading
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 