By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Cindy Green, RECE. It has been almost two years since Cindy and I spent a wonderful few days collecting loose parts with intention to share at a conference with 400 Upper Canada Child Care educators but over twenty-five years since we first started our dialogue about loose parts. Loose … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. In my last blog post, I wrote about outdoor play and encouraged early learning teachers to look beyond their fenced in playground in the hopes that children may be given the gift of place. I referred to a quote that I read many years ago from Loris Malaguzzi that asks … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I would like to make a confession. When I was a practising early childhood educator, I would take children outdoors to a fenced in playground for one hour in the morning and another in the afternoon because outdoor play was required by legislation. It was not my favourite time of … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. One of the greatest joys that I have had in my long career in early childhood education is as of a result of the opportunities to engage with others in professional learning. Many years ago, in conversation with friends Evette Serota, Rosalba Bortolotti and Heather Jackson in the park outside the … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. When I first began teaching early childhood education about three decades ago, there were many discussions about the language that we use to name what we do. I remember that our conversations related to moving away from using the term, “activities”. At the time, early learning teachers were setting up activities … Continue reading
Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Of all the professional learning experiences that I have taken part in over the years, none have been as meaningful as those designed as collaborative and emergent experiences. On the top of my list is the Rhythm of Learning in Nature with the York Region Nature Collaborative which this summer takes … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Pedagogical documentation can be viewed as a “process to explore all of our questions about children” (Ministry of Education, 2014, p. 21). It is a slow process that requires time but above all it needs to become a mindset – a habit of practice. Documentation becomes pedagogical when it is interpreted … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. To begin with I would like to wish all the followers and readers of this blog a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! A new year is the time for reflection and resolutions. For me, 2017 will be the year that I continue my quest to make meaning from the theory and practice … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have been reflecting on the principles and philosophy of the Reggio Emilia Educational Project but I am going to make a concerted effort not to label my reflections as Reggio inspired. Yes, it is true, for many years, I have found the work of educators from Reggio inspiring but I … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. On August 11th, 2016, I helped organize a workshop attended by 100 educators: Global Perspectives on Reggio-inspired Practice in Context: Global Perspectives. There were four presentations, two of which represented a United Kingdom context, Debi-Keyte–Hartland and Hayley Peacock from Little Barn Owls Day Nursery and Farm School. Suzanne Axelsson, a preschool … Continue reading
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 