Our Program
The program at Grace Church on-the-Hill Childcare Centre mirrors research, theory, and practice, aligning with the Ministry of Education's policies, pedagogy, and curriculum. In our ongoing pursuit of curriculum exploration and pedagogical advancement, we consult various Ministry documents, such as:
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• Ontario Early Years Framework
• Ontario Early Learning Framework
• Think, Feel, Act: Lessons from Research About Young Children
It is our goal to help children become active and engaged learners who learn and explore the world around them with all of their senses. We provide child-initiated and adult-supported activities which foster children’s exploration, play and inquiry. Play is how children learn to make sense of the world. Our play-based approach to learning capitalizes on a child’s natural curiosity and exuberance, stimulating physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Through play, children enthusiastically and confidently explore and construct ideas about the world and develop skills such as problem solving and creative thinking.
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Emergent curriculum is a curriculum that develops from exploring what is relevant, interesting, and personally meaningful to each child. By observing children at play and documenting their knowledge, our educators carefully select learning experiences that allow children to learn about themselves and the world around them through investigation and discovery. We plan our curriculum based on the children’s individual interests and developmental goals. We engage the whole child, understanding that each learner is a unique individual who brings mind, body, emotions, relationships, and life experiences to learning.
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Ongoing evidence of each child’s learning is documented through weekly observations, photographs and portfolios and serves as a form of reinforcement of the leaning process for RECEs, families and children. It is through careful reflection and interpretation of observation and conversations with children and also their families that lead RECEs to carefully plan a curriculum.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
At Grace Church on-the-Hill Childcare Centre we value a diverse, connected childcare community in which all members feel known, understood, respected and supported as active participants. We believe that all children have a right to live and learn in an equitable environment. We provide an inclusive atmosphere which embraces diversity and attempts to represent it through everyday learning experiences and opportunities.
We believe that every child needs to see themselves represented in their classroom setting. We put great effort into ensuring that our educational materials and experiences are inclusive, diverse and reflective of the families in our Centre. We are conscious that we are respectful and appreciative of all differences including appearance, age, culture, ethnicity, race, language, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family environment and developmental abilities.
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As children come to us from all backgrounds, we also strive to establish a foundation for second language development and new knowledge by supporting home culture and first language learning. We do our best to respect and support each child’s and families native language through books, songs as well as introducing some known words from home. Hearing familiar words throughout the day comforts children and helps to bridge the gap between home and the childcare setting.
