How are we able to ensure we are being responsive to the needs of the children and families in our program? During our time together we will look at how our continuous professional learning, reflection and questioning can support us in our Quality journey. We will discuss the Caregiver Interaction Scale as well as additional strategies that can assist us in our ongoing reflective practice. Time will also be allotted to discuss your additional QCCN related inquiries.

With Pierre Harrison, B.Sc., M.Sc. and B.Ed.

PLAYLearnThink has been promoting play based and inquiry-based learning for over 20 years.

Research around children’s development tells us that play is essential to a child’s physical health and emotional well-being. Play stimulates all aspects of a child’s development, i.e. the physical, social, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Through play children, armed with curiosity and a spirit of inquiry, explore their environment and build knowledge about the world around them. In doing so they prepare the foundation on which they will build a life of resilience, creativity, self-confidence and life-long learning. Play is also essential for the continued growth of adults. That’s why PLAYLearnThink workshops incorporate playful ways of engaging participants. Whether working as a group on a challenging task or experimenting with various materials, the focus is always the use of play to nurture imagination and foster creativity which leads to great feats of problem solving and a heightened self-esteem.

1. Overview of the importance of play in the healthy development of children - This section is an engaging presentation on play and learning through play. It includes what we know from research and practice. It touches upon different topics such as the benefits of self-directed play, exploring risk, nature play, resilience and the adult’s role in supporting play. I also share videos and stories from personal experiences and touch upon what is happening in various parts of the world.
2. Loose parts play - Participants will play and create with a multitude of materials (loose parts) and tools. They will plunge into the joy of self-directed, spontaneous play and thus feel firsthand what children experience during free play.
3. Debrief

With Joel Seaman

An early learning community provides equal voice to all involved – teachers, students, families. Each member’s unique perspective is honoured, valued, celebrated, and reflected in the space. As a learning community, the focus is not on arbitrary rules and discipline, but on co-created expectations, self regulation, teamwork, mutual respect, and accountability. During this webinar, you will explore why building a community in your early learning environment is so important, how to go about building a community, and the different roles of the educators and children.

Supporting Smooth Transitions with Children in Before and After School Programs

This network will focus on supporting children during their initial first few months in before and after school programs. Discover practical strategies to ease children’s transitions, build rapport, and create a sense of belonging. Explore with us transition techniques and activities that promote positive relationships among children, families, and educators.

Please note this network is only applicable to educators here in Niagara Region.

Building relationships and connections in school age programs matters. Relationships underpin the work of educators, and both Ontario’s early years and middle years frameworks emphasize the importance of relationships, with research highlighting the beneficial impact that positive relationships have on children through their childhood and into adulthood. This 3-part series will explore how educators working in school aged programs can develop supportive, trusting relationships with children and their families, and intentionally build strong, supportive relationships with the multiple partners they engage with.

Series Objectives:

• Participants will identify how building and maintaining positive relationships within school age programs reflects Ontario’s early learning and middle years frameworks.
• Participants will select and implement age appropriate and culturally responsive strategies to integrate within their school age programs, to create welcoming environments that support positive relationship building.
• Participants will uncover the unique challenges of developing relationships within school age programs and strategize how to overcome them.

With Victoria Armstrong

EarlyON programs are bubbling with endless possibilities for curiosity, creativity, innovation and connection. Through intentional research questions, we can deepen our understanding of who children are, the competencies they hold, and the ideas they have as we listen and observe carefully, think with one another, and respond thoughtfully.

Outdoor Cooking and Nature Recipes

Exploring Culinary Delights in the Wild: Blend the excitement of outdoor activities with the joys of cooking in nature. This network will explore creative ways to incorporate cooking into outdoor activities. Join us to share recipes, plan outdoor cooking events, and discover how to turn nature’s offerings into delicious adventures. Please note this network is only for agencies/programs here in Niagara Region.

With Acclaimed Author Barbara Kaiser

We’ve all been there: a child is beginning to melt down or heat up! What do you do next? In the heat of the moment, has your response ever escalated a child’s challenging behaviour? Children’s behaviour can escalate quickly. Your feelings about that escalation can erupt just as quickly. De-escalation – helping children calm down – takes time and only happens intentionally. This webinar explores the stages of escalation and ways you can respond that will support and help children to be able to return safely to the group.

With DSBN and Niagara Catholic DSB Early Literacy Partners

Are you interested in learning more about the importance of playful, joyful practices that foster early literacy learning? Join us as we bring to life our favourite picture books, explore the power of mark making, and enjoy the fresh air while tapping into literacy experiences outdoors! Educators will experience ways in which literacy learning happens all around us and in many different playful, intentional contexts using a variety of materials. You will leave with practical tips and inspiring ideas to enhance your early years program, both inside and outside the classroom. These sessions are for educators of preschool and kindergarten age children.

Sponsored by District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board

With Acclaimed Educator, Author and Researcher Susan Stacey

Morning: Emergent Curriculum – Debunking the Myths and Creating a Shared Understanding
This workshop will explore the common myths and misapplications around Emergent Curriculum: what it is, and is not, how it translates into daily practice, and the educator’s role in the process, including the Cyle of Inquiry. We will think through and practice the journey of Emergent Curriculum, from observations and reflective dialogue to thoughtful responses to children’s ideas, questions. and theories. Through investigation of examples from real classrooms, we will create a shared understanding of Emergent Curriculum that can be taken forward into your practice.

Afternoon: A Hands-on Exploration of Pedagogical Documentation
What is the difference between documentation and pedagogical documentation? What are the many ways in which Pedagogical Documentation might be used as a tool for understanding children’s theories and ideas, for creating questions for ourselves that lead to our own professional growth, and for communicating with families and society at large the brilliance of young children’s thinking? We will explore these questions as we move through the process of creating a rough piece of documentation and engaging in dialogue with each other about the thinking involved.

Please note: Event registration fee does not include book. Copies of Pedagogical Documentation in Early Childhood Education: Sharing Children’s Learning and Teachers’ Thinking may be purchased by May 8 2024 and Susan will happily sign the book during lunch time. Click here to order book (opens in a new webpage).

With ECCDC Training Team

This workshop will provide a hands-on opportunity to engage in a Makerspace in an outdoor environment, also known as a Natural Makerspace. Participants will explore what a Makerspace is and the common materials involved, the difference between an indoor and outdoor Makerspace, the benefits of a Natural Makerspace, and materials to consider in the outdoor environment. Educators will also have the opportunity to discuss barriers they may face in a Natural Makerspace and ways to overcome these barriers.

With Jacob Rodenburg

How do we activate, empower, and inspire children to adopt a sustainable future? We show them. Jacob Rodenburg has spent the past 30 years fostering environmental stewardship in children. During this time, Jacob has created over 90 curriculum linked outdoor and environmental programs. Join this session to explore how to enhance environmental awareness and learn ways you can provide students with practical, hands-on environmental activities from schoolyard naturalization to environmental science projects

In this café, we will consider our early learning environment and how to support the inclusion of all the children in our program. We will take a deeper dive into utilizing the Environmental Rating Scales, Environmental Reflection Form and Resource and Inventory Lists to assist us in providing environments rich with learning opportunities. Time will also be spent answering any of your QCCN related questions.