$10 per day childcare - celerbation or concerned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So want to say “for now” to all those answers from politicians and advocates like the AECEO and OCBCC for this … based on historical precedent of what happens when the government is responsible for the majority of funding I find it hard to trust promises like “ratios won’t increase” also do not see funding being distributed equitably to see improvement to wages across the board - large licensed centres are going to end up eating up the majority of funding because well they are the least financially viable model of childcare and have the highest overhead model and overtime easy to hypotheses that there will be less and less for the tiny amount of licensed home childcare that is currently is represented in the licensed model let alone if the “unregulated sector” starts to try to migrate over placing more demand on said funding that’s been allotted which is based on the currently model that only meets 25% of the actual childcare used in Ontario. 

 

Again based on precedents of history - hate to keep saying it but look at Quebec …. despite the sector being unionized for 25 years now their home childcare sector, under this same model being represented here, gets the scattered crumbs that are leftover and preCovid had started roaring strikes because 25 years in and home childcare was still making LESS than minimum wage because they were getting away with paying them daily rates vs hourly wages and the length of the days just kept increasing as parents worked longer hours and had longer commutes you know to help pay for these programs … and this is despite the reality that home childcare has the least amount of overhead, provides the lowest ratios/group sizes for children and the access to a responsive attentive primary caregiver throughout their early years journey that all the brain and trauma informed research shows is vital to success in the early years. 

 

Currently licensed programs cannot properly staff programs NOW where are they gonna get all these new staff from to open up new spaces or to be home coordinators for agencies?

How quickly are we gonna see more and more centres who currently only hire ECE because they believe that’s what high quality program should be having to resort to hiring unqualified staff a because of shortage and b because they can pay them LESS and the burden of the pressure from the government not funding enough in wages to keep up that practice - which is gonna put more responsibility on the ONE RECE required per group because with the CECE and protected practice laws the non qualified staff are not SUPPOSED to be doing program planning, discussing development with parents and array of other “only a RECE” can do

As always people get hyped about the sound bytes and then are greatly disappointed by what actually rolls out! 

 

FDK is almost 20 years in between the pilots and than the full roll out is STILL underfunded and looks NOTHING like what was promised

Based on conversations with peers I it is likely that majority of home childcare providers will WAIT and see what actually rolls out before being concerned about this … I am willing to guess that any families going on wait lists NOW for this new program will likely have children in university before they actually opening up spaces for them! 

 

I would also bet money that the majority of these 86,000 spaces being promised  of which 15,000 are already been already created in 2019 and counted in this promise will be for SCHOOL AGE children and not the 0-4 age group which they do NOT tend to open up  too many of at a time in comparison! School age care is the ONLY care that can actually balance an operational budget because their ratios are so much higher than current infant and toddler or even preschool programs which is why programs choose to focus on those age groups with school age and preschool spaces being in abundance and toddler and infant spaces in great demand in the licensed sector!

 

And I have to say it once again if parents cannot access this 'social support' $10/day program to let a parent stay home and DIY their own childcare or get their nanny, extended family member or neighborhood home childcare costs covered via the program too than it’s NOT gonna fit the definition of ‘universal’. At best based on the current landscape it is going to be a very expensive investment that is only reaching 25% of the children in Ontario and that just does not seem like a EQUITABLE investment in the early years or respecting CHOICE for Ontario families!

 

Can’t help but be concerned about the future generations that are gonna come up through this model specially when again the research that shows that Quebec’s long term studies on the actual social/emotional and mental health outcomes for their program users has been alarmingly poor So sure the program got more parents into the workforce cause both can work but at what TRUE COST to children and families living there cause there’s more valuable things in life than lost INCOME.

 

Hug your little ones tight and if you believe in a higher power pray that today's announcement about Ontario joining the Federal government's $10/day platform turns out to actually be beneficial to the CHILDREN it is meant to serve as building blocks for their life long learning path! 

 

For the first time in two years I ironically now have something to be grateful for with the pandemic having closed my own early learning program and my health having forced me to retire from practicing early childhood education for the time being - I can advocate from the sidelines without the stress of having to live through this uncertainty of roll out first hand! 

 

Changes in childcare have never run smoothly as they rolled out and sadly far too often caused more stress and work for those on the front line than benefiting them! 

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

 

 

No one will 'fall behind' if we just revisit how we measure the finish line!

In a world wide pandemic I wish that every government wasn’t so focused on children and schools “falling behind” and instead focused on children, teachers and parents MAKING IT THROUGH so at the end of this they can return to normal with a healthy body, mind and soul and able to “continue on and slowly catch up” to where they ‘should’ be by graduation. 

 

Right now I worry so much about the role this past year is taking in mental health and how we’ve made that so much worse putting so much focus on what children are “loosing” because they cannot be in school, and how burdensome it is for parents to have to support remote learning and so forth! This is not conducive to having a strong mental health in order to actually learn and retain anything for academic success moving forward! The rise in anxiety is so high right now!

 

I get academics and benchmarks are important but in the grand scheme of what life is like right now the added stress and anxiety trying to make everyone do stuff that’s not developmentally appropriate especially in the under 12 age group with the “online classroom” is just insane - asking parents and teachers and everyone to try to multi task so much and trying to figure out how to make children not meant to sit still in front of a screen for 180 minutes or up to 6 hours depending on their age and not just zone out or loose control of their emotions in the frustrating effort! 

 

At 51 years of age I consider myself a life long learner - I love learning but barely remember what I learned in elementary school and what I needed to actually know academic wise I know I RELEARNED when it finally became relevant to me in my life because I had the building blocks for life long learning because of the teachers who took the time to make learning meaningful and not mundane! 

If the choice is between mental health and academic benchmarks mental health should ALWAYS come first and not sacrificed on the alter of “falling behind” - if it’s too hard take a break, get outside, cook or bake, curl up and read a book your child actually LIKES not one their forced to read cause curriculum says so - reading should be FUN not FORCED! Spend time doing hands on stuff like art , music or fun science experiments. Walk barefoot through the grass! Watch clouds go by and play the what do you see in them game!  

 

What I DO remember most about elementary school - the school trips to African lion Safari or the farm or the science centre, playing with friends at recess on playground and the made up games we created with things like a nylon and tennis ball or a skipping rope, the science fair, book fairs, the school plays and fall carnival fundraiser - basically the stuff where any learning was also HANDS ON and involved all my senses and where I made positive memories and so the learning was reenforced by the social emotional connections I made so that formed long term memories from them to recall and later build on! 

 

IMO right now we would all be better off if we removed the academic pressure and just focused on social emotional health and learning through hands on play activities. Turn OFF the screens! Provide children PLAY PROMPTS using materials found in any home regardless of socio economic privilege! Children won’t “fall behind” if we just take a year off and revisit the way we measure success in these formative years - they can easily catch up if they return to normal routine with their mental health and well being still in tact!

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Spring fun 🤩

 Having a discussion today with fellow educators on how to expand children’s interest and exploration of emerging sings of spring colour and their shadows - creating cool “sun-catchers” that they can actually PLAY with so that they can move the colour and source of light and shadows of different effects is awesome! 

Photo credit Sabina Sawula 

#earlycbildhoodeducation #earlyyears #earlylearning #learningthroughplay #playbasedlearning #spring #colours #sciencenaturediscovery #stemeducation 

Protecting Play in the Covid Era

 

Love the wise wisdom of Sally over at Fairy Dust Teaching as always ... the Covid era requirement to physically distance goes against everything in our nature as advocates of the early years, of how children learn and the vital role of PLAY for all learners but specially for young learners!

Physically distancing flies in the nature of all of that but if we are forced to be doing it in order to be open and offering program we definitely need to get creative in ensuring that our programs are still based in true play invitations and in a manner that is still welcoming and able to move and flow with children's interests and needs - our children do not belong in a 'taped box' on the floor!

Sally has a great blog post to go with this here:

 

Some of the other 'space definers' I have used in my own program to create individual play invitations are mirrors (if you apply duct tape to the back of a mirror it helps to create an inexpensive break resistant option as if it does get dropped the pieces all stay stuck to the tape) .... not only do they define a play space but they also provide explorations in reflection, depth, patterning and more learning through explorations!

 

Another option for defining play spaces are the slip mats for in a sink that have 'squares' in them .... they create natural 'grid and patterning' invitation for children when loose parts are added to them! Can also be added to the top of a light table as well!

 

Another add on idea is the good ole ice cube tray with loose parts added .... here the children are exploring with water and pipettes to create lots of color recipes! 

Final offering today for individual invitations to play is the under the bed rubbermaid container ... they are perfect for water, sensory and small world play invitations and they stack and store out of the way when not in use!

 

Have an amazing day!

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Do young children REALLY need E-learning right now?

I am seeing a lot of stress and anxiety from my educator colleagues right now about the pressure to provide “elearning” to their students currently out of their program due to Covid closures!

I want to preface my following statement with the knowledge that I truly value the importance of early learning, the FDK program and well vital role of public education in general. Education matters!

However RIGHT NOW, for the majority of Ontarian’s or Canadians, I believe this is the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. So much fear and anxiety and added pressure of being home with multi aged children and not able to get out and do the things we’d would normally do to relieve that energy the create  ... the thought of trying to do formal “e learning lessons” with them well sorry but I honestly don’t think the majority of kids are going to be in that mental state right now to even process that method of learning! Nor are parents in the mental state to support them in that learning process - it’s just going to add more stress and anxiety to an already tumultuous situation for many 😞

Right now I personally think it’s more important for children and parents to be taking care of their MENTAL health than their academic progress! If you loose the first the later won’t matter and with the first you can CATCH UP on the later, later when life is back to normal!

Play board and card games, take this time to teach your kids to cook and bake as a family, read some books together, do art and sensory fun stuff like long baths there’s never time for when life’s busy and we rush through routines, make music and dance!

IMO right now in this unprecedented pandemic let the focus for parents to be to CONNECT with their loved ones and make POSITIVE MEMORIES to get them through this time! Please do not add mandatory e-learning to their already full plate ... there are lots of free only home school options for those who DO want to volunteer to continue to formally feed their brains ... but here is so much VALUE in PLAY TOO!

Let families choose to PLAY right now!

Let them learn THROUGH their play!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Calling all Wine Lovers

A huge thank you to the lovely Kay for sourcing me this amazing stash of wine corks to add to my loose parts collection ... corks are great for sensory play in water for sink or float discoveries, making impressions in play dough, for imaginative play as children use them as pretend food, money, make up daubers and more  in their role play. They build with them in block centre and pattern with them with other loose parts! In the art centre they make great paint medium for dabbing!

 But first they have a soak in Purify essential oil to help remove the wine aroma from them!

If you’re a wine lover remember to save your corks too for your community early learning program and support the reduce, reuse, recycle by up cycling these beauties into endless hours of play ♻️

Have an amazing day

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

*this post contains affiliate links 

Cognitive Load Theory, How Do I Apply It?

After the webinar the other day on Challenge and Risk in the Early Years I was interested in learning more about Cognitive Load Theory - this is a nice little Coles Notes video on the theory for those who are looking to learn more.

From Wikipedia the following:

In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the used amount of working memory resources. Cognitive load theory differentiates cognitive load into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. 

Intrinsic cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic, extraneous cognitive load refers to the way information or tasks are presented to a learner, and germane cognitive load refers to the work put into creating a permanent store of knowledge, or a schema. 

Cognitive load theory was developed in the late 1980s out of a study of problem solving by John Sweller. Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners. Much later, other researchers developed a way to measure perceived mental effort which is indicative of cognitive load.Task-invoked pupillary response is a reliable and sensitive measurement of cognitive load that is directly related to working memory. Information may only be stored in long term memory after first being attended to, and processed by, working memory. Working memory, however, is extremely limited in both capacity and duration. These limitations will, under some conditions, impede learning. 

Heavy cognitive load can have negative effects on task completion, and it is important to note that the experience of cognitive load is not the same in everyone. The elderly, students, and children experience different, and more often higher, amounts of cognitive load. 

The fundamental tenet of cognitive load theory is that the quality of instructional design will be raised if greater consideration is given to the role and limitations, of working memory.

So what does this mean for early childhood educators?

Recognizing that there is a clear difference between adult and child knowledge. These differences are due to developmental increases in processing efficiency. Children lack general knowledge, and this is what creates increased cognitive load in children. Children in impoverished families often experience even higher cognitive load in learning environments than those in middle-class families with more general knowledge and life exposure. These children often do not hear, talk, or learn about schooling concepts because their parents often do not have formal education. When it comes to learning, their lack of experience with numbers, words, and concepts increases their cognitive load. 

 

We need to help reduce the cognitive load for young children so that they have maximized working memory and ability to transfer learning over into long term memory! 

We can do this in the environment by eliminating extraneous images and sounds. We need to reflect on the 'why' behind all the images and bulletin board displays and other visual and noise creating items we add to our classrooms and do they add to learning or distract from it. Striving to create a calm, quiet inviting space for learners to explore and investigate.

With regards to 'signalling principle' we can remember to ensure we engage the children's full body and senses in the things we really want children to 'retain' the learning from as this deepens the connection in their brain from working memory to long term memory. Make sure that images and print words are simple, relevant and clear.
 

Gesturing is a technique children use to reduce cognitive load while speaking. By gesturing, they can free up working memory for other tasks. Pointing allows a child to use the object they are pointing at as the best representation of it, which means they do not have to hold this representation in their working memory, thereby reducing their cognitive load. Additionally, gesturing about an object that is absent reduces the difficulty of having to picture it in their mind

Have an amazing day

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Challenge and Risk in the Early Years Summit

 Early Years Summit: Challenge and Risk in the Early Years

Speaker: Alistair Bryce-Clegg

 Alistair spoke about how we need to be providing children with challenge and risk not just in outdoor play but also cognitively inside our classrooms as well.

Children today will experience far more challenges in their life than our parents or their parents before them. They live in an ever changing world where science and technology are constantly experiencing innovation and paradigm shifts. Gone are the days where children choose one career choice in highschool and stick with it through their entire career - changing workplaces and technologies require workers to be adaptable and life long learners and the skills to thrive in this environment are instilled in the early years as the brain is developing and being hard wired in its thinking and problem solving patterns. 

The challenge for early childhood educators is that skills such as resiliency, creative thinking, problem solving and conflict resolution and other life skills are not tangible 'pass or fail' academic skills like 2+2 equals or ABC recitals .... it is our role to advocate for how this learning happens through documenting children's 'investigations' of the world around them, recording their trials and failures.  

Cognitive Load Theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design ... there is working memory and long term memory. Working memory has a finite amount of space in the brain to work where long term memory is almost infinite as pathways are built over time to store things we practice and master.  Cognitive Load Theory proposes that the more skills we give children to help with long term learning the better they can than later draw on those when exposed to something new in their working memory to help solve problem and critical think about it. 

About the Speaker

Alistair Bryce-Clegg enjoyed a successful 10 year career as the Head teacher of three-form entry Infant school and Early Years Unit in Cheshire. Alongside his headship he established a consultancy career specialising in the education of children in the Early Years. Demand for his consultancy became so great that Alistair left headship and established ABC Does

Most of his time is spent supporting practitioners in their settings or delivering keynotes and training, specialising all aspects of Early Years practice and management for both the maintained and non-maintained sectors nationally and internationally.

Alistair is also an award-winning author and product designer, whose work has been published in a number of books and magazines.

Alongside support and training for a range of settings and schools, Alistair also works internationally and with Local Authorities across the UK.

He has a Masters in Education and is currently studying for his Doctorate in Early Years education.

His website is abcdoes.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/abcdoes/
Twitter: twitter.com/ABCDoes
Instagram: instagram.com/abcdoes/

Grain Free & Tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies

So this week Ian the Elf has sent us with the challenge to bake something tasty for a community helper ~ so we opted for some tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Ian the Elf ~ Share a Treat to Eat

Policeman, Firefighters and soldiers where no cape

But they work real hard to keep us safe

Protecting us for a better tomorrow

Our many unsung community heroes!

So this Christmas season is the perfect time

To let them know that they really are divine

They work long hours away from home

Often leaving their families home alone

So why not make them a special treat

Something ooey gooey and fun to eat?

Let them know they are appreciated

And for all their work they should be congratulated!

These cookies are just yummy ~ so easy to whip up. The recipe makes about a dozen which is perfect for the daycare group size but if you want more for leftovers you will need to double or triple it!

 

Grain Free and Tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Makes 12 cookies

 

What You Need:

• 1/3 cup coconut flour ~ more if needed to get consistency correct
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt - optional

What You Do:

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Mix the coconut flour, salt, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract together thoroughly with a whisk. Will start out runny but firm up as coconut flour soaks up your liquids. If it feels too runny add more coconut flour a tbsp at a time until it is a cookie dough thickness
• Add dark chocolate chips and mix to distribute evenly.
• Roll into balls and spread evenly on parchment lined or greased baking tray ~ makes about a dozen cookies should do the trick.
• Pat down with your hand as they do not really 'spread out' like a normal wheat based cookies
• Bake on the centre rack for around 10-15 minutes ~ depending on the texture you want ~ less for chewy and more for crisp. 

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life