Team- Administrator, Parents, ECE and Teacher
http://www.journeytogetherfdk.com/team/
A quote from Charles Pascal (Parent of the Full Day Kindergarten Program) shares for a quote for our website that beautifully highlights the team vision “…the kind of teamwork expected of the ECE/Teacher partnership. Founded on mutual respect for the equal and complementary gifts that each of you brings to the sandbox, you are creating something bigger than the the sum of these gifts for the sake of the kids…”
Tomorrow marks the date of the 5th and final phase for the Full Day Kindergarten Program. As educators prepare, set up and add final touches to the classroom, and curriculum plans, parents prepare their little ones for their first day of school.
Any educator with children remembers first hand just how worried and anxious you are to send your child off for their first day of school. So many uncertainties as you approach those gates or doors that lead to this new classroom and school environment. Will they be cared for? Will they make friends quickly? Is their teacher nice, warm, and welcoming? Is my child crying while Im not there? Is my child scared or uncomfortable in these new surroundings? All those who are familiar with the vision for the FDKP set out by the Province and Ministry know that parents are a vital part of our team. Help parents put their worries aside, build a relationship with the parents, and in turn the children by letting the parents in. As the children see their parent’s anxieties come down and they see a relationship beginning between their parent (a person they trust) and their new Educator, children will become more settled, responsive, respectful, and comfortable…and therefore ready to learn. Your parents can be a brilliant resource to a play/inquiry approach to teaching. For example, one of our parents in the past was a high school art teacher and offered to come in to give a lesson on painting still art to those children who were interested! So fun!!
At our school this year we have made some changes! My lovely teaching partner has decided to challenge herself by embracing our Moderate-Severe Special Needs classroom, with a natural environment and play/inquiry approach to teaching. I will not elaborate as Shirley would be the right person to speak to it, but please watch postings in the near future to see how it all unfolds…FDK and Special Needs come together, love it! so many possibilities!!
So we are officially beginning a brand new immediate team (Teacher and DECE) in FDK! Over the past few weeks we have been sharing successes, goals, challenges, schedules, flow of the day and curriculum strategies and found so many similarities to our approach. Our classroom is set, our weekly curriculum is prepared, and we are ready to build a community of learners!
Our team plan for the upcoming weeks includes, a clean slate classroom-the children will begin to co create with us, an eclectic arrangement of materials and resources, we plan to sit, to engage and get to know these new little people, to listen and assist…to be present. Being present and assess through play to find out where each child is and plan next steps, it also enables you to role model, sharing and problem solving strategies when needed. To build a community of learners that ask questions, and feel valued!
So bring on Phase 5!! We are ready!!
Journey Together FDK 