Responsive Dayhomes
Creating responsive dayhomes requires integration of multiple mediums of learning. Outdoor play, indoor play, loose parts, meaning making and learning stories, and art integration all offer ways to extend learning and provocations with children and allow them to create their own play experiences. This page includes some wonderful resources that can help inspire you, the educator, to connect with the children you work with and together, create memories as you explore.
Creating Intentional Outdoor Environments
Outdoor play is an important part of childhood. It's exciting to see children in their natural environments, exploring, playing, and learning. Although it can sometimes be a challenge to truly appreciate the magic of the outdoors, it does not have to be that way. By utilizing reflective practice, intentionality, and effective communication methods with parents, you too can begin to love the outdoors.
The role of a responsive dayhome is to make sure that both indoor and outdoor environments are responding to every child's unique needs. By using materials and loose parts that invite deeper levels of exploration, curiousness, imagination and play, children's learning can become evident through observations and documentation such as learning stories that highlight their own art work, words, discoveries and questions. This page provides you with a few resources that will hopefully make you feel a little more confident about being outside while rethinking the inside, no matter the weather!
Weather Guides.pdfBegin by Being Prepared!
To be able to have fun outside in gloomy, sunny, or cold weather, you first need to be prepared. Start by initiating communication with parents about the clothing items that should be brought into your dayhome. Once downloaded, printed, and displayed in your dayhome, these posters will act as a reminder to both parents and children about the clothing items that needs to be brought in. Remember to switch out the posters depending on the current season!
Making Sense of Our Outdoor Learning.movReflecting on your Current Outdoor Practices!
Creating responsive environments that provide children with intentional and meaningful outdoor experiences requires us as educators to question our practices and daily routines. This video will provide you with the opportunity to define what reflective practice looks like for you. You will have the chance to pause and critically think about your own work, while also exploring outdoor provocations that have been implemented by other dayhome educators!
6 Steps to Provoking and Extending Children's Interests in the Outdoors.pdfProvoking and Extending!
Creating responsive environments that provide children with intentional and meaningful outdoor experiences requires us as educators to question our practices and daily routines. This video will provide you with the opportunity to define what reflective practice looks like for you. You will have the chance to pause and critically think about your own work, while also exploring outdoor provocations that have been implemented by other dayhome educators!
Sensory Bins - Capstone Toolkit.docxBringing the outside in, and the inside out!
Imagination is one of the driving forces behind play. When children are able to engage their senses into their creative and unguided work, magic happens. As they smell, touch, hear, see, and sometimes even taste the wonderful materials of the world at their fingertips, the connection between themselves and everything in the sensory bin strengthens. This document will inspire new ideas and recycle old ones with recipes and images, and offer resources to help you with your sensory bin activities throughout the seasons!
Disclaimer: Open document with Microsoft Word for proper formatting of pages.
Making Meaning of Children and Educators' Learning
Lisa's Learning Story
This learning story captures some essential moments of growth from both Ilse, the educator and the children that were in her care. The significance of this learning story is that it is coming from a third party observer, which allows for a focus on the growth of both the educator and the children.
Learning story Marianne.docxExample Learning Story
This learning story focuses on the educator's learning, growth and reflective practice within the time, space, materials and participation that she offers to the children in her care. This story puts an emphasis on the children's learning and reactions towards each of the provocations.
Example Learning Story.docxExample Learning story
In this story you are able to see what the educator looks for as she is observing the children in her care. She may ask herself, what is this child showing me about their interest? Where is this interest stemming from? Where can I go from here to further support the children's learning?
CDDH Art Website
In collaboration with Mount Royal University's Child Studies Department, we have compiled a unique virtual art showcase featuring artwork created by dayhome children, educators, and students from the Early Learning and Child Care major of Mount Royal University.