Ontario - ELECT

[playfelt]

Have been reading up on the ELECT document that Ontario has brought out for use in early childhood and our childcare association has had a couple workshop days on how to apply it to homecare. The document of course is somewhat ambiguous and other than caregivers shouldn't plan weekly themes anymore but instead let the kids pick the topics I am not getting a lot of concrete infor. I had hoped to have a better idea of what to expect before giving up an entire day to do a workshop as in I wanted to know it was going to benefit me with these wild new changes I should be making but I did not get that sense from what I read.

Would be interested to hear what other caregivers in Ontario are hearing from their associations, agencies, daycare centres, etc. since in theory even home daycare is supposed to be adopting the program outlines for the coming school year.

[mimi]

Haven't heard anything from my association. I will contact them on Monday to ask if they have any info on this. Thanks playfelt.

[Artsand crafts]

I found this information in the web. It is well explained there:

http://www.children.gov.on. ca/htdocs/English/topics/earlychildhood/early_learning_for_e very_child_today.asp x

Does anybody know if there is any of these workshops in Toronto or close by?

[Momof4]

Thank you playfelt and thank you Artsandcrafts, I've bookmarked the link and want to read every word later. My opinion of letting the children choose the themes for JK and SK is buying into the entitlement that the children have in our society, which is very evident in our young generation. Why can't the government just let teachers TEACH children any more? Children should have choices whenever possible, but they should also learn when they have to follow rules and do the things they must do and school is a good example.

I am fond of my weekly themes and I sit down at the beginning of the year and plan the entire year for themes, write them on my calendar and on my website and weekly I plan the crafts, songs, get the books from the library and plan the field trips when applicable. I am the teacher! I am doing the work. It's my goal to plant a lot of seeds of learning in those little minds so they will have the basics to draw upon later in their school years.

I do like the emphasis on family involvement in the first part of the document that I just skimmed. Parents have to do the work from the very beginning and be involved in an ongoing basis all through their child's development. The attitude that they are in school now so the parent's work is done is too prevalent and completely wrong. I know, I raised 4 of those little people and I was helping with projects all the way through high school.

[cfred]

New and improved doesn't always equate to 'better'. Like Momof4, I like the themes, and frankly, so do the kids. I don't plan mine out in advance though...we're a little more fly by the seat of our pants. Sometimes themes will come up unexpectedly that blend beautifully with an event within our daycare. Can't we just let kids be kids? Let them play and learn through play and look to us to direct them? Isn't that our job as adults? To direct them through life, lead by example and give them the tools to eventually be able to direct themselves. That's kinda what I thought we were supposed to be doing.

I think the government just likes to assert their presence and look like they're doing something useful....

I'll read the rest of that document over naptime more thoroughly, but I was annoyed and needed a little vent.....

I'm done now.

[playfelt]

For me the document was just a whole bunch of fluff with no substance as to how it was all to be accomplished. It was totally open to interpretation.

I did read at one point where it is meant for 2 1/2 and up so for those of us that only take 3 and under it won't really effect us much. Which then makes me wonder why my association has held two workshop days on using it. As I said want a whole lot more info before I start giving up entire Saturdays to be told what I already know or maybe even don't care to learn - as some have said I do what works for my daycare and my group.

[notaunicorn]

I am looking at the newletter now and seeing the upcoming workshops again for ELECT. Wondering if you have any answers yet? sent a email to CCPRN asking a few questions and waiting for the reply.

[Skysue]

Like most workshops its just a change in style in order to implement there curriculum to stay funded by the government.

If they meet there quota initiatives they get funded again for another year.

[playfelt]

I am looking at the newletter now and seeing the upcoming workshops again for ELECT. Wondering if you have any answers yet? sent a email to CCPRN asking a few questions and waiting for the reply.

No info either but would love to get my hands on the handouts from the first two sessions and see if I can make sense of what has been shared so far. There doesn't seem to be a lot of people looking to share and I can't blame them as they gave up a whole day or two days to get them. If anyone that did attend is on the forum a synopsis would be great.

[notaunicorn]

this was my email with reply by CCPRN:

[I]reading the newletter and see the Elect training, have a couple questions.



1) it says open to those without any training in the framework - does mean within the Elect prinicples or any formal childcare training?

2) It means with the ELECT framework



2) Thurs Sept 12 is an overview of all the elect domains or just one?

All elect domains

3) How often are the domains scheduled? Would I be able to get all 6 in a year or no?

I have no idea when I will offer these workshops again.

4) Will this help home daycares become registered/accredited should the Gov decide to implement such changes in the future?

Unsure J



This training is a sharing – I am not an expert. That said- I think it will be very worthwhile.

I definitely suggest you take the observation at Parent resource centre – I have no control over them offering it to us again… my training is meant to prepare you for that (to bring those who missed last year’s workshops up to speed).[/I


so - newsletter gives 2 things for ELECT : 1) ELECT principles and 2) ELECT domains and play based learning. Both 2 hour workshops. So this is not the ELECT thingy we need/should do? this 2 things are just a peek into what the workshops are? or am I just too tired from this week to get it\??

[playfelt]

Here is what I saw at the one Saturday workshop (I had been asked to set up my felt for sale as people arrived to give them something to look at/buy while waiting for everyone to arrive.)

They were setting the chairs up in a circle I assume for people and in the middle were things like a pile of blocks, a fisherprice farm set and animals, a few other toys. I was only there till it started so have no knowledge of what actually took place. But from what I read in the ELECT document and what I have seen when they advertise full day kindergarten and talk about play based it all looks pretty much like we do it anyways. Now having said that there are two groups of caregivers that this is not usual for and those are the ones that program every second from the time the children arrive till they are gone and have very little time set aside for the children to choose what to do next and the opposite spectrum of those that just put a bin of toys out and sit back and let the children "play". Most of us are somewhere in the middle which if I interpret the document shared above is where we should be.

To a certain extent it seems to be something being offered with the idea of it being a way to show that independent caregivers are "just as good/trained" as those that work in licensed centres. Daycares are to be using the ELECT principles as of now I thought ie Sept 2013 with it spreading/filtering down to agencies etc. as soon as possible. - ie anyone they can control will be expected to at least appear to be using the program/concept.

Ok where does that leave the rest of us - well first off I would like to see a document specifically designed for us for children under age 3 and not what was set out for ages 3-5 which is what we have now. For those with no formal training I think it would be a great way to get some sort of framework in the mind of what they should be looking for/including in their daycare. For those with training in child development/ECE/etc. I haven't seen anything yet that is different and unique other than the teachers in JK/SK are expected to do less teacher led lessons and allow more time for the children to set the pace/goals/topics/ etc.

My plan is to just muddle along as I do now. IF they ever get to the point where they are licensing independent providers they will need to make the training easily available to everyone and it will have gone through several revisions by then and hopefully an addendum that would actually apply to daycare age kids.

Not telling you not to go don't get me wrong as I think any workshop that makes you stop and think and either shows you another way to do things or validates what you are already doing is a good workshop. Just not sure I need to spend an entire day doing it. For me I have enough experience, previous workshops, various placements, etc. that just getting the handouts and reading is usually all I need to get started. No different than reading any teacher's manual, program resource guide etc. or book on parenting, etc. If you attend you get a certificate so that part is nice.

I would like to read the handouts to see just how off base I really am on this. My training is as a teacher so when I went to teacher's college the JK program was just starting - yes way back when, and the Jk/K programs were all about introducing kids to group as many did not attend daycare. They learned to get along, their shapes, how to count, seasonal themes, skills needed to go on to grade one and learn to read. Then like everything the gr 1 curriculum became the K curriculum and it kept filtering down to the point we were expected to cover an awful lot of academics at the daycare stage so the kids would be ready for JK/K. Now it appears they are seeing the fallacy of their thinking and again letting little kids have more time to learn and grow at their own pace before tackling so much desk type academic work. At least we can dream that is why they are doing it.

[mela]

Can someone provide some examples of this whole ELECT thing cuz I am so confused. Thanks

[playfelt]

Mela do you have a copy of the actual Elect document? When you get to the end of it there are tables of the kind of skills to be looking for.