Our relationships with children and families are established through sustained and positive interactions. The building of these relationships is demonstrated with both verbal and physical gestures; smiles, eye contact, warm tone of voice, etc.

All children and families are greeted upon arrival and welcomed into the program on a daily basis. We build trusting and positive relationships with the children by ensuring that the environment is safe, being attentive to the children and acknowledging their interests, guiding their behaviour and providing activities which are inclusive and developmentally appropriate.

We use daily interactions with the children and families as a method to develop/expand communication/ language skills. The interactions occur during planned and unplanned experiences, routines/transitions and free play. The use of song singing, imaginative/dramatic play, puppets, story telling, reading books, show and share and other prosocial activities are incorporated in the program.

We promote positive relationships with the children & their families by role modelling. We encourage the children to be respectful of one another and their ideas and comments. We use opened ended questioning techniques, a positive tone of voice and ensure that our words/body language match when communicating and interacting verbal/ nonverbally.

Diversity, multiculturalism and inclusion are an important aspect of our program. All of our activities are inclusive and based on both individual and developmental norms.

Our staff use emergent curriculum as a basis for planning experiences for both indoor/outdoor play that encourages creativity, stimulates curiosity and promotes a sense of wonder. Specific opportunities are available based on knowledge of individual children, child development, family and ethno cultural goals and needs.

The indoor and outdoor learning environment includes age appropriate materials and resources that promote global development and learning.

The indoor environment is reflective of all developmental domains. These include creative arts, sensory experiences, reading, math, computer and science centers. Music is available on a daily basis with a compliment of an organized weekly music program.

The indoor learning environment includes a variety of curriculum areas. These includes fine motor, art, painting, large muscle, blocks, construction materials, science, technology, library, music, daily living, sand and water play. The children freely explore the materials and learn from “hands on experiences”. We extend the children’s learning through child inspired learning experiences, open ended questioning techniques, scaffolding and by adding provocations to their play experiences. The environment promotes language and reading readiness with the exposure of letters, pictures, books and story telling.

The outdoor play emphasizes large muscle development and activities by providing experiences that include running, jumping, cooperative games, bike riding, and play structures. Exposure to nature both outdoors and bringing nature indoors helps them gain respect, curiosity and wonder meant for the beauty of natural play experiences.

All play areas both indoors and outdoors are age appropriate accommodating individual learning styles and reflective of varying cultures and diversity. All play materials are rotated on a regular basis to stimulate and sustain the children’s interests and meet their individual needs. The program follows a daily schedule with regular routines and transitions. It includes a balance of structured and unstructured scheduled blocks of time as well as a balance of both active and quiet play. Flexibility is incorporated within the schedule cognizant of the needs of individual children.

Child inspired or spontaneous learning occurs when children become curious about situations around them. Examples include; when the arborists were cutting down two trees in the park adjacent to the center, or when the children notice the birds eating seeds from the feeders outside the playroom windows and the squirrel came along and also tried to eat from the feeders or the worms on the sidewalk after a rain storm. We use these natural occurrences as an opportunity to encourage curiosity, and extend the children’s learning.

Group times are implemented on a daily basis. The use of smaller group size encourages the children to share their ideas, role play, sing songs, or play games. On a monthly basis the children are involved in Show n Share. Each child is encouraged to bring a special item from home to share with the other children. We use this time to ask the children questions about the item and encourage others in the group to also ask questions.