By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. When I began this blog six years ago, I had just started on a journey of professional learning through social media. Prior to 2012 I was not engaged on any platforms. Now I manage three Facebook pages, Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research, Resources to Support Early Childhood Development and York Region Nature … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. It was about fifteen years ago that I embarked on a journey to research, write and defend a doctoral dissertation on emergent curriculum. I wanted to write about a topic that reflected my practice as an early childhood educator and focused on an unresolved problem. I graduated with an early … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE and Cindy Green, RECE. I (Diane) don’t remember when I first heard the word pedagogy but if memory serves me well, I started to really think about the term when I began to study the Reggio Emilia Approach to early learning in the late nineties. I kept coming across the term … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Pedagogy is defined as the method and practice of teaching. For early childhood educators it is about the understanding of how learning takes place and pedagogical approaches employed to support learning. It is different than curriculum which is the content of the learning (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014). An emergent … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. and Gill Robertson, ECE. This post is the first of what I hope will be a series of co-authored blogs. This post is a rant and was inspired by words that rankle and undermine the view of ourselves as professionals and children as competent. “Cute” is one of those words. … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. The joy of discovery can span over time. As a child, I loved finding hidden treasures in my explorations in nature. As an adult, I have retained this compulsion to search for nature’s bounty and my favourite place to do it, is on the beach. It might be a rock that’s shaped … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. In my last post I discussed the importance of dramatic play and why it should not be taken for granted. Art like dramatic play is an essential experience for children but it is one that is often hijacked by adults and turned into a product-oriented, adult-directed craft. When I visit programs … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Dramatic play is one of the most important forms of play (Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990). Children enjoy and will do it spontaneously. It supports them in combining their ideas and thoughts to bring meaning to their world. If dramatic play is missing or not encouraged, an important piece of childhood … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Years ago, I was profoundly influenced by the legacy of Frances and David Hawkins. David Hawkins along with his wife Frances, an early childhood educator, were “committed to the idea that in order to best serve children, teachers need to be dedicated learners as well” (Lynch, Shaffer, & Hall, 2009, … Continue reading
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I have made this confession before – when I worked directly with children I did not embrace outdoor play and learning. I could have never imagined that as retirement is looming over the horizon that I would be advocating for outdoor play and learning. I am volunteering with the York Region … Continue reading
