Overview

At Children’s Village Daycare we live by our 10+ Goals and Approaches. We strive to provide children and their family’s with a rich learning environment, by living up to these Goals and Approaches.

A) Promote the health, safety, nutrition and well-being of the children

Goals Approaches
1) Positive eating environments are provided with portion sizes that are responsive to the children's cues or hunger and fullness. i. Children will be encouraged to serve themselves in a relaxing eating environment, that is responsive to individual capabilities. ii. Each room will have snacks available for staff to provide children in response to hunger cues.
2) Children with varied dietary needs are taken into consideration for meal planning. i. Menus and Allergy sheets will be posted in the kitchen and each program room. ii. Kitchen staff will ensure all dietary needs will be labelled appropriately when bringing snacks and meals to the program rooms.
3) Children have the opportunity to experience a sense of competence, autonomy and agency. i. Educators will incorporate opportunities and time to practice self-help skills and self-care skills based on each child's capabilities.
4) Children are valued as individuals and are viewed as competent and capable. i. Face to face interactions with the children are done at the children's level. ii. Children will be responded to in a warm and sensitive manner.

B) Support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents, child care providers and staff

Goals Approaches
1) Children feel safe and included with adults and children in the centre. i. Educators will greet every parent and child that walks in warmly and share information at drop off and pick up time. ii. Educators are engaged with the children being attuned and responding to children's varied cues and communication (verbal and non-verbal). iii. Educators are attuned to the physical and emotional states of each child and responds in a warm and sensitive manner. iv. Educators are engaged in authentic, reciprocal communication with children where children participate as both initiators and equal partners.
2) Families are recognized as experts of their children and should feel that they belong, and are valuable contributors to their child's learning i. Educators establish and maintain positive relationships with families and work together with them to work towards goals for children's learning, development, health and well-being. ii. Educators see the unique characteristics and strengths of each family. They engage with families as co-learners about and with their children through conversations and HiMama.
3) Children's Village Day Care gives every educator the opportunity to be a valuable contributor so they can engage in meaningful work and feel a sense of belonging. i. Educators are seen as capable, curious and rich in experience. ii. Educators collaborate with each other to create engaging environments and experiences to foster children's learning and development. iii. Educators are encouraged to follow the steps in conflict resolution to maintain healthy relationships. iv. Educators will continuously reflect and seek ways to improve their own communication strategies & techniques for facilitating responsive, authentic conversations with children, families and staff.
4) Children's Village Staff communicate effectively with co-workers in all aspects of the program. i. Educators will communicate with each other respectfully to model positive communication skills.

C) Encourage the children to interact and communicate in a positive way and support their ability to self-regulate

Goals Approaches
1) Children are encouraged to participate in meaningful interactions and communicate with peers to problem solve and express themselves. i. Educators will help facilitate successful communication between children.
2) Educators will be supportive and encouraging when guiding co-regulation skills with the children. i. Educators recognize and support children's developing and varied regulation abilities by offering calming strategies in all domains (biological, emotional, communicative, cognitive, and social). ii. Educators understand they cannot co-regulate if they are not regulated themselves.

D) Foster the children's exploration, play and inquiry

Goals Approaches
1) The room will be arranged to offer a variety of activities. i. Educators will offer opportunities to support engagement and expression such as: group time, creative, dramatic play, sensory, language, science, block play, or music and movement. ii. Educators will provide meaningful materials that spark interest, imagination and joy. iii. Materials will be exchanged with the changing interests of the children.
2) We believe children are competent, capable of thinking and rich in potential. i. Educators engage with the children, facilitating children's efforts to take reasonable risks, test their limits and gain increasing competence. ii. Educators create safe and stimulating spaces for intentional active play that is adapted as needed to support children's varied abilities, offering challenges that are within each child's ability to master.
3) Children become engaged learners when they are offered materials they can observe, manipulate and question. i. Children will have access to materials that have real meaning that encourage investigation and problem solving. ii. Children will be provided with materials that engage them in active, creative, and meaningful exploration and inquiry. iii. Provocations and invitations will be used to spark new interests.
4) Screen time/media can be used as an educational tool. i. T.Vs are not to be stored in rooms. ii. Screen time will be limited to no more than 20-30 minutes 1 time per week unless parents have requested their children not participate in screen time or it is otherwise approved. iii. Educators will not use screens as a distraction while completing other duties in the classroom. iv. Educators will remain present while screens are in use to enhance the learning experience. v. Screentime for theme days, rainy days or special rewards must be approved by office staff. vi. Music played in rooms must be child oriented. (each room will have its own Spotify account with music lists approved by office staff) If playing an app (YouTube music) with videos the screen must be covered or directed away from the children.

E) Provide child-initiated and adult-supported experiences

Goals Approaches
1) Children's experiences should be valued and should include their perspective. i. Educators will use observations and interactions with children to determine what activities to provide next.
2) Educators will engage in activities with children to support their learning in meaningful ways. i. Educators will participate in meaningful interactions with children focusing on the questions and theories they investigate through their play.

F) Plan and create positive learning environments and experiences in which each child's learning and development will be supported

Goals Approaches
1) Both indoor and outdoor spaces will invite children to investigate, imagine, think, create, problem solve, and make meaning from their experiences. i. Educators will utilize both indoor and outdoor spaces as the third teacher, allowing children access to materials that are open-ended and spark curiosity. ii. Educators will create a space that fosters inclusion, participation and a sense of belonging.
2) Observations are documented and used in the classroom plan. i. Educators will be provided time to review documentation, both individually and in their groups to plan for the classroom. Full time educators in a room will be given time to meet as a team to discuss how the room is doing and strategies on how children can be better supported. ii. A minimum of one documentation for each child in attendance should be done each week. iii. Educators will document children's learning using a combination of Learning stories, Lillio activity reports, provocation sheets and documentation grids using the continuum of development. iv. Every educator will introduce at least 1 provocation per month (indoors or outdoors) documenting the childrens learning and providing next steps to expand their learning. v. Every full time educator in a room will complete at least 1 learning story per month, every support educator(float) will complete 2 learning stories per year.
3) We believe in an all inclusive program. i. Educators will plan for and create positive learning environments and experiences in which each child's learning and development will be supported. ii. Educators will respect all co-workers and families regardless of age, culture, religion, disability, or gender. iii. The Classroom Support Mentor will be available to support children's development and support educators in meeting children where they are at, utilizing the inclusion coach available through the Municipality and supports from the Children's Treatment Centre.

G) Incorporate indoor and outdoor play, as well as active play, rest and quiet time, into the day, and give consideration to the individual needs of the children receiving child care

Goals Approaches
1) Children can experience a sense of pride and belonging as they participate at their own pace throughout daily experiences and interactions. i. Educators will plan daily routines with limited interruptions and transitions to maintain a sense of calm and provide large blocks of time for children to engage in complex play and inquiry. ii. Educators will design environments that are attuned to children's varied sensitivities, arousal states, and need for maintaining a calm, focused or alert state. iii. Educators will listen and learn from children as much as children listen and learn from educators. iv. Staff will recognize children as competent, capable and rich in potential by supporting their development of self-help skills. Educators will encourage children to attempt tasks independently, while providing guidance and assistance when they experience difficulty.
2) Children benefit from a stimulating outdoor environment. i. Educators will be engaged with the children outdoors. ii. Educators will provide outdoor experiences that spark curiosity, invite investigation and provide challenges that are responsive to individual capabilities.

H) Foster the engagement of and ongoing communication with parents about the program and their children

Goals Approaches
1) The staff will ensure that the parents receive information regarding their child on a regular basis. i. Documentation is visible for the children and parents. ii. Positive communication is provided daily through HiMama. iii. Learning stories will be posted for parents to see and provide feedback.
2) Parents will be encouraged to contribute and share their own experiences and interpretations. i. We encourage building connections between home and the program by having an open door to parents when they want to visit with staff and observe their children. We encourage communication between parents and educators at drop off and pick up time. Parents are also encouraged to share through the HiMama app.
3) Educators will ensure families feel included in all aspects of the program. i. Educators will find ways to intentionally integrate the unique perspectives and gifts of families throughout all elements of the program in meaningful and authentic ways.

I) Involve local community partners and allow those partners to support the children, their families and staff

Goals Approaches
1) Children demonstrate a sense of belonging when they recognize, explore and make connections between home and the early childhood setting, with their community and with the natural environment. i. Educators will connect with families and community partners to ensure experiences and environments provide equal learning opportunities for all. ii. Educators will help the children celebrate the connections they are making between our community and their world.
2) Educators will collaborate with community partners and other professionals within our community. i. Educators will work with outside agencies to help provide support for the holistic needs of all children.

J) Support staff, or others who interact with the children at the child care centre in relation to continuous professional learning

Goals Approaches
1) Staff must continually strive to foster creativity, create rich learning environments, encourage curiosity and provide opportunities for children to think and work together. i. Educators will be given the opportunity to engage in rich learning experiences whenever possible. This will be done through webinars and staff meetings that focus on training and workshops that are provided in the community. ii. All RECE's will fulfill the requirements of the CPL program and renew their membership on time to stay in good standing with the College of Early Childhood Educators. iii. The Peadagogical Mentor will be available to support and enhance the the development of educators, working closely to assist in such daily occurences as documentation or the environment set up.

K) Document and review the impact of the strategies on the children and their families

Goals Approaches
1) The program statement is a living document that will be updated and changed regularly. i. Each educator will meet with the supervisor/mentor yearly to review goals and approaches and share observations. These meetings will also include staff evaluations that focus on work habits and interactions with children and parents. ii. Educators will visit these strategies bi-weekly during team meetings to assess ways they are bringing this document to life in their classroom. iii. Educators will use this document for self-reflection as a means to review their program and teaching style to see what they are excelling in and how they could improve.