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
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. This will be the first of a series of blog posts about the recent experience in Adelaide, South Australia shared with my friend and colleague, Cindy Green. We were brought to this beautiful, remarkable city to present a series of four workshops for EChO, the Early Childhood Organization of South Australia. We … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have had the good fortune of visiting Reggio Emilia, Italy and participating in two study tours. I have also travelled to Sweden and to Colorado to see how inspiration from Reggio Emilia has been interpreted in those contexts. I am eagerly anticipating a trip to Adelaide, South Australia to visit schools … 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. One of the benefits of embarking on a journey of self-directed professional learning is the unexpected consequences of stepping outside your comfort zone. Four years ago, I was pushed into a state of disequilibrium by a group of students who encouraged me to take a look inside the unfamiliar world … 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
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 