Week 1 Documentation of Learning Portfolio

Before our first meeting of the children’s program, I did not know what to expect

in regards to the environment that we would be using. At first, I was surprised and not

sure how our space could be used for the children’s program. But once we met and

discussed the space, I was really excited for all of the possibilities. My teachers

reminded me to put my self in a child’s shoes and look at how they may see the space. I

feel like children would be in awe of this space and be able to engage in so much

discovery there. The space resonates with my image of the child, which is that children

are curious and eager to learn. Together, in this space, the children and the educators

will be able to explore so many possibilities and learn so much from one another

(Malaguzzi, 1993).

Personal Photograph: The Mount, Peterborough, ON, Sept. 3, 2019

Week 2 Documentation of Learning Portfolio

This week in the children’s program we took a deep look into what we would like

our vision to be for the children’s program. After great collaboration with my

classmates, we stated that we wanted our program to be inquiry-based. We want the

children to be able to explore freely and share with us what their interests and

curiosities are. We want there to be co-learning, connection to nature, and to include

natural materials and loose parts.

We also discussed what we would like our community of this program to be. We

want it to be inclusive, accepting, as educators we want to be approachable, trusting,

and we want the children to feel like we have creating a safe and warm environment for

them.

So far, on this journey of creating the children’s program, I have really enjoyed

all of the collaboration that takes place. I feel that I have lots of support not only from

my classmates, but also from my faculty. When we have that feeling of support, it

makes us feel more confident going forward in our journey.

Week 3 Documentation of Learning Portfolio

This week in our meeting we created flags, that will be displayed during

the children’s program. I put the words “growing together” on my flag because

I believe that children are capable and competent and that we learn with

them. We co-construct knowledge together. On my flag I drew the sun and

had it shine down on the flowers. I purposefully made the flowers different Personal Photograph: Robbie’s Flag, Peterborough, ON, Sept. 17, 2019

sizes to symbolize that we are all unique and that we all grow at different rates (Malaguzzi,

1993).

This week we also had great discussion and collaboration around the article

“Decolonizing and Co-Constructing Contexts that Welcome Indigenous Practices and

Knowledges in Early Childhood Education”. In the article it said that decolonization is up to us.

This reminded me how in a previous week at the children’s program, we talked about using our

voices in regards to voices our personal philosophy in the workplace. This is a great life lesson

because we not only need to use our voice in the workplace, but also in all areas of our life. This

program has really challenged my thinking in regards to what I think best practice is in the early

learning environment and how I can use my voice to foster change when needed (Callaghan, K.,

Hale, F., Leonhardi, M.T., & Lavallee, M. (2018).

Lastly, this week we started looking at all of our materials that we have to work with for

our open house next week. I was so excited to discover what we had to work with. It is

overwhelming right now because we have not set up our environment, but we had great

discussion on our vision of how we would like everything to flow.

Personal Photograph: Supplies, Peterborough, ON, Sept.17, 2019.

Week 4 Documentation of Learning Portfolio

This week in the children’s program we were getting ready for our open house, for week

5, and we did a mock up trial run of how we would like our environment set up. Myself and a

few of my colleagues are in the parent group during the open house. We came up with an idea

to engage the families and it involves a cork board. We want to invite parents to write down

their inquiries, interests, concerns, questions, and/or comments. They will write them down on

sticky notes and we will put them on the cork board. With this activity, we want parents to feel

like we value their thoughts and opinions and we want to hear what they have to say. This

feedback will help us to better our program because it is for the children and the families and

we want their voices heard and listened to. For example, if they are interested in family events

that are taking place in their area, we could give them a resource that connects them to the

events. Our faculty also gave us a great idea to make families feel welcome. She said that we

should have students outside greeting families and walking them into the building. This is a

great gesture that will go along way with making families feel welcome.

During our set up, we all had different ideas of how we thought that the

environment should look. We were able to share our thoughts and work

together to create a space for the children. When we disagreed, we took a vote

on what the majority wanted and this helped us to make our decisions

together. We are already growing as a team and I’m looking forward to

strengthen this bond as a out time at the children’s program continues.

Personal Photograph: Cork board, Peterborough, ON, Sept. 24, 2019

References

Callaghan, K., Hale, F., Leonhardi, M.T., & Lavallee, M. (2018). Decolonizing and Co-Constructing Contexts that Welcome Indigenous Practices and Knowledges in Early Childhood Education. The Peer Reviewed Collection, 2 (1), 1-10.

Dietze, B. and Kashin, D. (2016). Empowering Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.

Malaguzzi, L. (1993, June). Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching Begins. Child Care Information Exchange, 3/94, 52-56.

Personal Photograph: Children’s Program set up, Peterborough, ON, Sept. 24, 2019