Category Archives: Video

Connect to Nature

Posted on by
Reply

We have known how beneficial the outdoor is for children. According to BC Early Learning Framework (2019), “Environments are integral to well-being and learning” (p 22). In addition, there are three elements that weave environments (Early Learning Framework, p. 22):

  • Space and place
  • Materials
  • Time: rhythms and flows

The weather finally got sunny this weekend, so I’d like to show you how these three elements look like in my neighborhood, The Abyss Trail.

  • Space and Place
Music: Balloon Musician: @iksonmusic
  • Materials
Music: Discover Musician: @iksonmusic
  • Time: rhythms and flows
Music: Evergreen Musician: Gabriel https://icons8.com/music/

I was amazed by how the scenery has been changed in the fall. What I have received from nature is not just the beautiful scenery and crisp air, also the energy from the land and plants. All of those precious gifts allow me to relax, recharge, and sort my mind. As a way to engage with the world, I took some photos of art that was created by nature. The first and the second art were probably man-made. I was curious how come the moss only grew along with the pattern. The third one looked spooky, which was perfect for Halloween, I like how those fallen leaves decorated the entrance of the trail. Likewise, even just the shadow could make beautiful art as the fourth photo present. I had a lot of fun while walking the trail and appreciated the natural art, and kind of understood why Andy Goldsworthy is obsessed with it.

As a future educator, I would like to create more opportunities for children to connect to nature, allow them to choose their own natural resources, and give them time to make anything that is meaningful to them. In addition, supporting and encouraging them, or participating in their plays/ experiments if they want me to.

References

Andy Goldsworthy. (n.d.). Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/artists/andy-goldsworthy/

Government of British Columbia. (2019). British Columbia early learning framework. Victoria: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Children and Family Development, & British Columbia Early Learning Advisory Group. 

Adventures in the Great Outdoors – Powell River StrongStart

Posted on by
Reply

By Kate Boyd and Danielle Cazes

We would like to acknowledge that this was filmed on the traditional territory of the Tla’amin peoples, where we are grateful to work, play and learn.

Kate Boyd has been an Early Childhood Educator for twenty years, working in Young Parent programs, Supported Childcare and currently in StrongStart. She lives In Powell River with her family and enjoys volunteering in her community and exploring the great outdoors.

Danielle Cazes has been in the Early Childhood Education field since 1991. She is currently part of an amazing Strong Start team in Powell River, where she is privileged to participate in play-based, outdoor learning with children and families

“Children’s worlds are small, detailed places – the crack in the sidewalk receives their full attention, as does the earthworm flipping over and over on the pavement after rainfall. They have access to elements of the natural world that many adults don’t acknowledge. When we, like the children, tune ourselves more finely, we find the natural world waiting for us: cycles of light and dark, the feel and scent of the air, the particularities of the sky – these are elements of the natural world and can begin to anchor us in a place.” (Pelo, n.d.)

This quote brings us back to thoughts of our own childhoods and attachment to place.  As you watch and listen to the blog post, we invite you to explore the space with the wonder of a child.

Danielle and Kate

Reference

Pelo, A. (n.d.). Rethinking Schools. A pedagogy for ecology. https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/a-pedagogy-for-ecology/

Curriculum as Connection Through the Acts of Pedagogical Listening

Posted on by
Reply

By Rachel Phillips

This post was originally published on Rachel’s student blog in February 2020.

From the moment I leave my front door, I can hear the sound of the water rushing down, the sound is encompassing, and immediately connects me to its natural surroundings. I cannot recall the last time I was out for a walk on my own. Carving time out to allow for this escape into the woods, just beyond my yard, required my full intent. It’s myself, my dog Katie, and my thoughts on values I embody as an Early Childhood Educator: respect, relationship, connection, curiosity. 

My thoughts are inspired by the pedagogy of listening described by Carlina Rinaldi and foundational to the vision of the Early Learning Framework [ELF] (Government of BC, 2019): “Listening as sensitivity to the patterns that connect, to that which connects us to others; abandoning ourselves to the conviction that our understanding and our own being are but small parts of a broader, integrated knowledge that holds the universe together” (p. 48.). While I’m walking, searching for inspiration, and listening to the many streams, rivers, and sounds of rushing water, I realize that respect, relationship, connection, and curiosity are values that we share as educators that can only be achieved through the act of listening, our abilities to form relationships depend on it. 

The curriculum scholar and author Ted Aoki (2011) has influenced many educators in reconceptualizing curriculum. In Curriculum in a New Key he writes about what listening means for a teacher, suggesting her responsibility to the children: 

“But she knows deeply from her caring for Tom, Andrew, Margaret, Sara and others that they are counting on her as their teacher, that they trust her to do what she must do as their teacher to lead them out into new possibilities, that is, to educate them. She knows that whenever and wherever she can, between her markings and the lesson plannings, she must listen and be attuned to the care that calls from the very living with her own Grade 5 pupils.” (Aoki, 2004/2011, p. 161.)

Early Childhood must have educators who are listening. Children’s trust in us is cultivated through how well we listen. Listening to the child’s hundred languages forms strong connections, and opens new possibilities for learning. When children feel heard, valued, and supported they can connect to their learning through these relationships and meaningful work. Educators need to notice more about the child than what appears obvious, and what might be shared in verbal language. In a culture of research, educators can listen to the hundred languages of children, and (un)intentionally enact what they value by being compassionate and inviting a sense of wonder. 

“Educators are not imposing their ideas on the children, but truly recognizing the children and their efforts. In a way, it is like viewing a child through new eyes. It is challenging to really listen and get to know a child anew and to resist previous ideas of who that child is. Through carefully and intentionally noticing children and what they do, educators have an opportunity to wonder at what they are seeing and hearing.”
(BC Early Learning Framework, 2019, p. 57)

References

Aoki, T. T. (2004, 2011). Curriculum in a new key: The collected works of Ted T. Aoki (W. F. Pinar & R. L. Irwin, Eds.). Lawrence Erlbaum, Routledge.                         

Government of British Columbia. (2019). British Columbia early learning framework (2nd ed.). Victoria: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Children and Family Development, & British Columbia Early Learning Advisory Group. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/early-learning/teach/early-learning-framework