- Full name and date: The Early Childhood Educator early childhood educators of BC- standing strong together. Spring 2020
- Main Focus of Journal: COVID-19 and Early Childhood Education focus: healthy spaces in early care and learning
- Your opinion on the publication in general: This publication is well laid out and has interesting content. The content was very relevant to what is happening in the world today. The authors of the articles seem to be very committed to this project as their articles were due the same week that the global pandemic was announced and all the authors wrote informative and thoughtful articles that cooperated the pandemic in some way. I like the page “our children speak” at the start of the journal. This page show cased children’s art work and their words. To me this page is a very powerful image of how children are viewed by the staff that work on this journal.
- Title and author: Our Children Speak: Documenting and Sharing Children’s Thoughts, Feelings and Opinions about the Coronavirus by Natalie Lucas.
- Key points: This article for me had three main points. The first one that was evident was the need for educators to stay connected with children and their families while their centres are closed. Secondly that educators continue to provide support for families when they are having discussions with their children about the pandemic. The final key point is for this educator in particular to gain information about how the children in her centre are understanding the pandemic through documentation.
- How the article added to your knowledge: I was drawn to this article because I am very curious about how children are understanding the international pandemic. This article is a good reminder of how we all can help children express their emotions about their world changing dramatically. As a parent to two school aged children my focus has been keeping them connected to classmates and teachers. As I was reading this article it dawned on me that early learning children also need to continue these connections and it is not as easy as it may be with a nine year old who understands the technology. These connections are important for children of any age and really people of any age. It is easy to get stuck only thinking about the people that are being immediately impacted by the virus. It is also easy to think only about your own community (circle) because our circles are much smaller now. This article expanded my awareness of the community we have between children, families and educators in the Early Childhood field. These families were very involved in their child’s learning and exploration when they were creating the documentation featured in this article.
- How this article will influence you: I am always reminded of the fact that children pick up on way more than we think they are paying attention to. This article reinforces that fact for me. It is evident in the children’s art work and their dialogue about the Coronavirus that children are listening, obtaining, learning and understanding things that they hear and see. Especially evident in Garrison’s image of the COVID-19 virus were he drew a pretty accurate picture of what the virus looks like. This activity that the educator has facilitated for children and their families to work on while at home has inspired me to ask more of families and encourage them to become more involved in their child’s learning. I think families often don’t know how to be involved in this part of their child’s day when they are at childcare but if given the opportunity I think families would value the experience. I like to consider myself as an educator to have family first philosophy and I think this would add to that part of my practice.
Category: Professional Resources Assignment
- Name and date of Journal: The Early Childhood Educator early childhood educators of BC- standing strong together. Spring 2020
- Main Focus of Journal: COVID-19 and Early Childhood Education with a focus on healthy spaces in early care and learning.
- Your opinion on the publication in general: This publication is well laid out and has interesting content. The content was very relevant to what is happening in the world today. The authors of the articles seem to be very committed to this project as their articles were due the same week that the global pandemic was announced and all the authors wrote informative and thoughtful articles that cooperated the pandemic in some way. I like the page “our children speak” at the start of the journal. This page show cased children’s art work and their words. To me this page is a very powerful image of how children are viewed by the staff that work on this journal.
- Title and Authors of article: Health and Outdoor Environments in Early Childhood Education: Dwelling in Complexities by Iris Berger and Nancy Van Groll
- Key Points: I feel like the main idea of this article is to reflect upon and gain knowledge on how to “revise all known categories of intimacy and care”. How do we safely do this without compromising on quality care.
- How this article added to your knowledge: I learned when reading this article that the word “crisis” is derived from the Greek word meaning a “decisive stage, in which a decisive change is imminent”. When reflecting upon this definition I have changed my preconceived knowledge of what a crisis means. I have learned to interpret a crisis as an opportunity for a shift. This shift can be positive if we have a positive mindset. The concept of a crisis has always had a negative feeling for me but now I realize it can be positive depending on which way that shift lands. The current crisis could be used as a “teachable moment” some questions that were posed in the article are “What can we learn at the time about who we value? Who is in danger? Who is deemed essential? Who is compensated for taking risk?” . These questions are the basis for thought and reflection through many different lenses including and early childhood education lens. The authors state that “the current crisis is not only a health crisis but also an ecological, social and political one” which is evident in current events. People all over the world are suffering in many different ways as a result of COVID-19. It is important especially when working in the field to remember this, nobody’s story is the same not even now. The argument is posed that it makes it difficult to respond to many layers of the current crisis in the ECE field when ECE across Canada is not viewed as a “public good”. This view causes the field to be “fragmented” within the country.
- How this article might influence you: A sentence or idea that struck me in this article is that as a society “we romanticize wild-ness, but at the same time, crave to control it.”. This refers to the outdoor or nature aspects of early learning. We all have fenced, manicured yards which are regulated by licensing and safety protocols. I believe there is something to be said about children experiencing nature in an uncontrolled environment. I will take this image with me throughout my practice in the future and try my best to facilitate this type of nature experience. I think this is the appeal of a nature based childcare program.