Continuing to Explore Adaptive Expertise
As a year 2 Teacher Candidate I have taken part in professional learning, reflective practice, and communities of learning to strive towards best practices as an educator. This learning supports me in my practicum experiences and my work with school-age children to support their ongoing growth and development. Ongoing professional learning is critical for educators…
Book Study – Supporting the Developing Brain With Culturally Relevant and Responsive Teaching Practices: A Reflection on Practice Informed by Culturally Relevant Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
The developing brain is fascinating and recent research on the impact of the early years on the brain is the reason I entered the education sector and became a Registered Early Childhood Educator in Ontario. The brain growth that happens in the first 2, and even the first 5, years of life is remarkable, making…
Book Study – Is Everyone Really Equal?
“Antiracist education recognizes racism as embedded in all aspects of society and the socialization process; no one who is born into and raised in Western culture can escape being socialized to participate in racist relations. Antiracist education seeks to interrupt these relations by educating people to identify, name, and challenge the norms, patterns, traditions, ideologies, structures, and…
Becoming an Adaptive Expert
“Teachers are conceived of as responsive and adaptive experts for whom the engagement, learning, and well-being of all students is the basis of their professional identity” ~ Timperly In September of 2020, I began the Teacher Education program at the University of Ottawa to expand my work as an educator. I began this program to…
Myself as a Nature Based Early Learning Advocate
“The greatest thing you can do for a child is teach them to love learning, and teach them to love the world” ~Myself Over the last 13 weeks, I have expanded my knowledge about nature based learning. I have dedicated my time over the last 13 weeks to reading research articles about the benefits of…
Importance of Outdoor Play (According to Research)
“Growing up, many of us have been told to go outside and find something to do. Today, especially in a school setting, it seems children are being told less and less to go outside and are encouraged to stay inside and study more” ~The Importance of Outdoor Play and its impact on Brain Development In…
Nature-Based Learning Philosophy Statement
“My philosophy is: if you can’t have fun, there’s no sense in doing it” ~Paul Walker View of the Child I believe in the perspective of Loris Malaguzzi that every child is competent, capable, curious and rich in potential. I value the role of nature-based learning to encourage competence, capability, and curiosity. I believe nature-based…
Risky Play and Mental Health
“Being well played, while seeming frivolous, is in fact quite vital to a happy and healthy physical, emotional, and mental state” ~Meredith Sinclair Risky play is a thrilling and exciting experience that also involves some type of a risk of injury. Many educators are uncomfortable with forms of risky play, including rough and tumble play,…
Being a Play Worker
The profession of playwork, does not remove the role of the adult in children’s play, rather it changes it, and for the better ~ Brian Sutton-Smith Playworkers are advocates for play in the UK. Many north american educators would also consider themselves play advocates. Playworkers differ from child care workers because they indirectly enhance play. …
Tree Climbing
“To climb a tree is for a child to discover a new world” ~Friedrich Froebel I am constantly looking for different ways I can explore nature to strengthen my own ecological identity. One way I had never explored nature before is through climbing trees. Most children climb trees in their school-age years and if the…
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Miss Izabel - Educator, Advocate, and Learner 