Story by Janet Huffman, Childcare Consultant in Fort McMurray. Photos from Kiddo’s Kare Dayhome.
My curiosity was peeked when I saw the pictures that were shared from Kiddo’s Kare Dayhome. I wanted to know more about the provocations that were being explored. Where did this interest start? What learning do we see? What dispositions do we see in the children? What will happen next?
I met with Cristina from Kiddo’s Kare dayhome and we talked through all of the above and how our role
as educators to make the learning visible to families and community.
Outdoor play is a big part of the day for the children in the dayhome. They explore the trails, the greenspace and meet friends at the park regularly. In Flight we look at this under the holistic play-based goal of diversity and social responsibility. The children are learning to appreciate the natural world and recognize patterns and changes in nature. In speaking with Cristina at Kiddo’s Kare Daycare, she spoke about how the children were noticing the changes in colours and she was curious how she could bring the outdoors in to expand on the learning and discovery. One child in her care told me the trees were getting cold and when they get cold they change colours. What a reflection for a 4 year old!
Last week the children did a scavenger hunt while out for their walk. Cristina spent time with them to
create a container to hold the treasures. What a great way to incorporate math skills (matching) and problem solving (finding more than 1 of an object) while enjoying the outdoors!
When playing at the park, Cristina made a spiral in the ground. One child spent time and gently filled the spiral with leaves. What persistence they demonstrated in starting and finishing a project!
Back in the dayhome Cristina prepped over the weekend with some Fall objects at the store. She set up the provocation in her tuff tray for the children. Using the natural Fall colours she supported exploration to occur and added to the interests when the children wanted to paint. There was so much happening to
support the development of children: fine motor activities, perhaps discovery of new words and objects, participating with each other and of course all through play.
This little exploration into a few photos really highlights for me how we as educators do many things in
our practice, but we don’t always have the language to connect it to learning or Flight.
When I look through the Flight lens, I reflect that Cristina sees the children as Mighty Learners and
citizens and that they are capable and competent to lead their learning. She walks alongside them as the
co-learner and co-researcher and then demonstrates the co-imaginer of possibilities when she expands on the provocation.
On a regular basis we see the dispositions to learn from the children: Playing and playfulness, persistence,
participation, caring and seeking. When we scaffold these dispositions to the holistic play-based goals of
Well-being, Play and playfulness, Communication and Literacies and Diversity and Social Responsibility
we see childhood and learning through a different lens. We highlight the capabilities of children and how
they learn when it is meaningful and engaging.
