Discovery Street Early Learning and Childcare Home
19 Francis Street E1A 7R2 Dieppe, NB, Canada

I can honestly say children probably teach me more about life then I teach them. I realized this week how children are unapologetic about how much they enjoy joy and doing things that make them happy. They unapologetically seek out experience that make them happy without ever feeling guilty about it. This week I watched and marvelled at how much they really enjoy experimenting with various art mediums. It was interesting to see how much focus and engagement they would ...put into their process art. But what was most interesting was the overall behaviour afterwards. Once they where finished exploring the art materials they would all go off and play and their play appeared to be more imaginative and purposeful and they were also very calm and just appeared to be overall content and happy. I woke up this morning feeling tired and a little edgy feeling my brain needed rest and calm. So I decided I would try to see how I would feel after tinkering with clay. It truthfully did me the world of good I feel so calm and just ready to enjoy my day. Plus I got to start making some little ducks to go along with the book five little ducks. I’m really grateful to the children for showing me how joyful and rewarding art can be and how it’s okay to seek out our joy

We have a worm farm

Did you know that the perfect time to find wormlets ( or baby worms ) is in the fall. I didn’t know that until this morning when I read it in a book. A very sweet little girl upon hearing this excitedly told me: I know! when we go play in the backyard maybe we can look to see if we can find baby worms. So that is what we did and guess what? We did find some baby worms !! How exciting ! ... I typically don’t associate fall with worms but with spring. If I had chosen not to fellow the children’s lead and their ongoing interest in worms I would not have loaned books from the library on worms. I learnt just as much as they did today about worms and it was exciting and fun. Apparently wormlets take 6 weeks to grow into adult worms. I think we will try indoor worm composting and see if our little wormlets will grow. If you have any tips or suggestions please share .

Did you know that play is child-led, process not product, creative, spontaneous and FUN? We love this blog from More Good Days: Parenting Blog about play-based learning! https://gooddayswithkids.com/2014/09/24/play-based-learning/ #didyouknow #play #IPAaotearoaNZ #IPA #tkaro

PLAY and SELF DIRECTED LEARNING Believing in Play, as a tool, that children utilize unbeknownst to them as a method for self directed learning can be scary even for educators like myself that are fully convinced that play is the key to learning. It’s scary because as a mother myself I want my children to grow into independent adults capable of not only being truly happy but also productive members of society in however they choose fit.... And essentially that is what is scary. It is scary to put our faith into something that appears so frivolous. Play in it’s apparence not only seem so frivolous but we are also convinced as a society that great achievements come only from hard work; that they don’t come from someone who chose to practice so hard because it was also joyful and playful to them on some level. Play is beyond frivolous it is one of the ways in which our neural connections grow and strengthen. Essentially one of the ways our brain develops and grows ( In the first photo shared you can see an example of the amount of synapses that are created between infancy and adulthood). Each neuron forms synapses with other neurons. These synaptic connections in the brain is fundamentally our computer hardrive. Synaptic growth is greatly dependent on environmental input from the child’s experiences and interactions. All this to say that when a child is truly engaged in an activity his neurons are creating synaptic connections. The brain is growing and computing all sorts of information it’s receiving from the act of doing something it truly enjoys. We can look at this past week paint activity as an example. Considering the children were actively engaged in painting on the mirror I can infer that either new synaptic connections were being made or strengthened. The next day a new experience was introduced with the markers on the mirror. Again the children are actively engaged and the experience is slightly different with new information being explored and experienced. Here I can infer either more synaptic connections or even synaptic pruning is happening. Synaptic pruning is when the brain eliminates synaptic connections that the child no longer needs because the child made a new discovery that eliminates a false belief (hypothesis) and replaces it with a stronger synaptic connections because the child reached better understanding with his new experience. On the third day, the children, brought the paint bottles back to the mirror not only displaying their continued interest but permitting themselves the opportunity for repetition of the activity and hence reinforcement of the synaptic connections made in the previous days. Play is much more complicated than it appears and it’s an absolutely brilliant tool for self directed learning.

I cant wait to share this books with the kiddos tomorrow. The children in I sing all day long. We absolutely love to sing songs and I love these books as they naturally bridge singing and reading. The rhythm, rhyme, and repetition of singing supports and encourages speech and listening skills and lay the foundation for later reading. My personal favourite is down by the bay. Its such a fun song to play with my family could testify to that

One of our most favourite activities is to take advantage of our local walking trials. I just love how attentive the older children are towards the younger ones it completely warms my heart On the way back from our walk my daughter, Hannah, was really upset and I was having a hard time figuring out what was wrong. Then a little voice said you know I think her hands are cold... she then reached out her hands and covered Hannahs and Hannah immediately stop crying . I get to experience these loving acts daily between the children in my care and the joy it brings me is monumental

Do you have rules in your house? Were assuming you have at least some.. Did you come up with them or did your kids? Teacher Tom explains to us how theres powe...r in kids coming up with their own rules, or as he calls them - agreements. Instead of having to say "no hitting, no taking things from others" you can instead remind them of what we agreed on together which is so much more effective. This excerpt comes from a video where Teacher Tom unpacks the power of information statements and how they stop children from simply responding to us as adults and instead encourage them to think for themselves. It will challenge you to think through all your language habits and come up with new ways of enagaging with kids. Definitely worth checking out! Full video here: https://parenttv.com//the-power-of-informational-statemen/. Dont forget you can use a free trial to check out #ParentTV.

I have two different excerpts from two different books. The photo on the left is an excerpt from Free to Learn authored by Dr. Peter Gray and the Excerpt on right is from Balanced and Barefoot from Angela J. Hanscom. Im inviting you all to read both Excerpts and I would love to hear what comes to mind? How did they make you feel? What are your thoughts and opinions?

Im so grateful that I started looking more deeply into the concept of empathy and caring. When I started exploring these concepts more in depth I never imagined it would lead me to learning about co-regulation. Reflective practice has propelled me to seek better understanding of various concepts and the more I learn the more I build confidence in my practice. Since I have started consciously applying co-regulation with the children I have come to observe them practicing co-regulation among themselves and what I see between them is empathy and caring and that makes my heart swell with joy .

I see co-regulation as modeling empathy. The more I practice co-regulation the more Im modeling empathy. One of the ways children learn is through observing and modeling after their parents and educators. Therefore, if I can emphasize with them they in return can be emphatic towards others.

As educators and parents we certainly do not want to reinforce bad behaviours and this fear of ours can bring ourselves to ignore our children when they actually need us the most. If there is one thing I strive to remember is that NOBODY CAN LEARN WHEN THEY ARE IN THIS STATE ( HIGH STRESS/ TANTRUM). SO NO REINFORCEMENTS CAN BE MADE. ... I also strive to remember that by co-regulating with them Im also paving pathways to secure a positive attachment with them.

During the past few days I shared information I gathered on how we can secure a positive attachment with children. In the next few days we will look more closely at helping children acquire the skill of Self-Regulation.

Below are some examples as to how we can actively take steps as educators and parents to secure a positive attachment with children.

When a child is in a good mood and being pleasant its easy as caretakers and parents to show up for them. Showing up for them becomes increasingly difficult when children arent feeling safe or when their inner alarm is going off. When this happens children typically respond in two ways either they become very reserved and quite or they have a tantrum. In either of this states their brain is in stress and is incapable of learning. Our roles here as educators and parents... is to show up for them and co-regulate with them it isnt to ignore their behaviour in attempt to stifle it. Doing so only makes them feel more insecure and more stress. We tend to perceive tantrums as a childs attempt at manipulation this isnt the case. They are simply expressing their discomfort and they need our help to live and process the uncomfortable feelings. This doesnt mean giving into children when certain limitations need to be established but it also doesnt mean ignoring them when they are having a tantrum. Co-regulation is an important tool to master to help you and your child navigate tantrums. See more

During my research to better understand empathy, 2 key concepts became apparent that they where essential to promoting empathy. they are: Secure Attachment Co- Regulation ... Tomorrow I will unpack the steps we can take to ensure we are establishing a secure attachment with our children and the following days I will unpack the steps to co-regulation.

Last year I participated in a workshop where we learnt about Reflective Practice. In reflective practice we develop a research question and investigate and explore concepts. I thought I would share with you slides from my investigation into emphathy. I will share a few per day for the next few days

I urge you all to Pause to think about the implications of her statement especially in our current times. Dr. Mine Conkbayir has a PhD in neuroscience and states in her interview that stress kills the neurones in childrens brains. A lot of things that may not seem like a big deal for us Adults is actually causing tremendous stress for children and therefore stifling their brain development. STRESS BRAINS CANNOT LEARN!!!... PLAY IS FONDAMENTAL FOR HEALTHY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Creating opportunities suited and tailored to each child is meaningful to me. I really try to discover the essence of each child that comes here and provide them with opportunities that meet up with them and allow them to shine. This happened today as I have a little fashionista that loves to paint. I asked her if she would like to create her own dress with paint and she was very eager and proud to do so. She isnt finished her creation yet but this is the dress so far I cant wait to see the final product.

Happy Canada Day !!! This is a Canadian flag that was proudly made by my son Noah last fall. I still remember him picking up the maple leaf and exclaiming in excitement that he was going to make a Canadian Flag .

This guy really wanted to make healthy popsicle. He couldnt have succeeded anymore then he did . He is beyond proud of himself and really enjoying his popsicle this morning

I was surprised with sundresss from one mom, homemade bread from another and a surprise call from another mom all in one day. Feeling overwhelmingly grateful to have such amazing and loving families. I wouldnt be able to do what I do without their unwavering support and belief in me. Im forever grateful that they are in my life and most of all that my children get to spend their days with their wonderful children. Its a gift and a privilege to care for their children and Im so honoured that they trust in me Thank you

So Excited!! Cant wait to start reading these

This article isnt overly overwhelming and really straightforward. Sharing for anyone whose seeking to better understand why PLAY especially UNINSTRUCTED PLAY is so important. https://playlearnthrive.com/the-power-of-play/

Im sharing this because I find myself often throwing out the term of loose parts without necessarily explaining it or just assuming its fully understood by all. In the photos provided by the The Curiosity Approach you can clearly see how fantastic loose parts are just how amazing children are in their capacity to imagine and create things.

This morning was all about hide and seek and FLOWERS!! I just love how they started using flowers as loose parts creating new species of flowers with two different kind of flower and how they decided to bedazzle their foot wear with flowers. Look they will stay on my shoes because of the straps.... wow even when I run they stay on! ... Our youngest got inspiration and decided she should also bedazzle her boots with dandelions.

Im an educator but beyond that Im a mom. When my daughter gets upset her two older brothers always come to her rescue and embrace her in a hug. My oldest son shared with me today how special it makes him feel when he can help console his sister.... he said: mama it really makes me feel good and makes me feel special when I can help Hannah feel better. I honestly dont think I have ever felt more proud as a mom

My beautiful sister shared this with me today and this sentiment speaks volumes to me thank you Lisa Downing for seeing where my heart lies. Thank you for your abundance of kindness and your unwavering capacity to see the beauty in everyone

The feeling of safety comes first. It is the prerequisite to feeling calm, alert and ready to learn. #ShankerSaturday

From the moment I read the new restrictions this has been on my mind constantly...my heart aches every single day for every single child. I desperately want whats best for them. Im so relieved and grateful that professional are stepping forward and voicing their concerns. In an open letter sent to Quebec Premier Francois Legault on Friday, 13 pediatric specialists and public health experts asked the province to relax rules on distancing for kids. They say keeping kids ...apart from each other can harm them in ways that might not be obvious. I was concerned with our childrens development, the impact of the measures that are applied right now, says Dr. Veronique Groleau, a pediatric gastroenterologist, about why she signed the letter."

Shes not a very fast runner but she definitely loves it I love our morning walks its a new favourite of mine. On Monday we discovered the longest dandelions ever! The steams where like 12 inches long! ... On Tuesday we admired blue herons and many other species of birds as we walked along the marsh On Wednesday it was slugs And today it was just the joy of being amongst the trees and the running soooo much running.

I heard this little girl exclaim OUFFFF WOW !! as she was peering into a bucket. She so happened to discover a big spider and her babies. It amazes me just how much there is to discover when you step outside. Theres always something waiting to be discovered and admired.

We found slugs this morning during our morning walks. To say this little sweet girl was captivated would be an understatement.

At the beginning of March when we were very limited to what we could do I made sure to bring my children out for daily walks. Back in March my daughter Hannah would take about 5 steps then sit down as she was tired. Fast forward to today and this little trooper can walk a good 30 minutes without stopping! Yesterday she was literally running through the trials and giggling away . The other children ran along beside her laughing and encouraging her. They kept on saying its so much fun to run with Hannah

With everything going on I have become increasingly interested in resilience as more than ever I want to help children foster this important skill. Its easy to see why resilience is a critical skill, but how can we foster it? The answer might be more fun than you think: learning through play.

We found this bee outside and we think its a drone honey bee because it didnt appear to have a stinger and was very docile. We where surprise to read that drone honey bees are unable to feed themselves and rely on the nurse bees. So we are wondering what hes doing on the dandelion? Anyone willing to share their BEE KNOWLEDGE WITH US?