Reflecting on Communities of Practice (CoP) and Circles of Support (CoS) for Early Childhood Education #ECE Continue reading
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Stick and Stone Inspires Reflection: Using Children’s Literature for Professional Learning
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. One of the greatest joys of my life has been sharing my favourite children’s books with my grandchildren. Inspired many years ago, by the amazing duo of Margie Carter and Deb Curtis, I have been using children’s literature as prompts for reflection with early childhood education students and teachers. In … Continue reading
Where is Me? Reflecting on Self-Identity in Early Childhood Education
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE As we begin a new year, my heart goes out to fellow early childhood educators who are continuing to struggle with caring for children and themselves during trying times. I am not surprised with the strength and resilience shown by educators and children. I have never underestimated the capacity of … Continue reading
The Beginning of Beautiful Friendships: Circles of Support for Early Childhood Education
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I am proponent of emergent curriculum. Emergent curriculum emerges from the interests of children. I have a continuing desire to help others move forward to embrace this empowering pedagogy. The question of what I teach (emergent curriculum) has been framed by how I teach it. When I began this journey, … Continue reading
Elevating Early Childhood Educators by Going Beyond Questions to Reflective Inquiry
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE For my entire career in the early learning sector, I have been focused on how to support others to update outdated practices with the goal to improve day to day interactions with children and their families. Early on I approached this professional goal with bluntness and judgement. Now I recognize … Continue reading
Materials as Languages in Relationship to Children’s Interests
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Rosalba Bortolotti, RECE. Our last post introduced our perspectives on the Studio Approach to Early Learning influenced by the ‘ateliers’ in the infant-toddler and preschools of Reggio Emilia. In North America the term studio refers to what is known as the atelier in Italy. “It is at once an … Continue reading
A Seasonal Pedagogy: Seeking Multiple Perspectives in Professional Learning
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. The York Region Nature Collaborative has been offering a series of Land as Teacher webinars. On February 13th, I had the honour of co-presenting Land as Teacher: Foundations for Early Learning, the fifth offering in the series. Rather than a presentation, it was a dialogue about contexts and perspectives between … Continue reading
A Seasonal Pedagogy: Documenting Stories within Stories
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
The Importance of Rituals and Traditions in Early Learning: Now More Than Ever!
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Nicole Pierce RECE. In the time of COVID as children return to early learning environments after being in isolation in their homes, how will they feel? Will children feel a sense of belonging in this new normal of physical distancing, mask wearing, toy sanitizing and hand washing? They will … Continue reading
Continuous Professional Learning for Early Childhood Educators: Reflective Practice and Collaborative Inquiry
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. When I started this series focused on the six pedagogical approaches of How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years (2014) it was my way of giving back to early childhood educators who were looking for professional learning opportunities during quarantine especially those in my home province of Ontario, … Continue reading
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 