Category Archives: Early Learning and Care

Where Are They Now?: Rebecca’s Journey (Updated)

RL1Previously published in the Spring-Summer  2006 issue of ACCESS Integration.

Rebecca, born on February 1st , 1990, has Down Syndrome and lives with her mother, father and older sister, Monika.

Rebecca has been integrated into regular child care settings since she started day care at the age of two and a half at Dow’s Lake Day Care. It was there that support from Children’s Integration Support Services began.

Rebecca started her school years at St. Patrick’s Elementary School and attended the Barrhaven Child Care Centre school age program. When she first started at the day care, integration was a new concept and a “learn as you go” approach was taken by Rebecca’s family and teaching team.  Rebecca’s parents were very appreciative of the team that was assembled to help and for the ongoing support of their Resource Consultant. Continue reading →

Children with Multiple Handicaps

Throughout Canada, changes are being made to facilitate and provide a positive inclusion experience for all children with special needs.  In our society, it’s important that we emphasize the dignity and value of each child.  The myth that only “some” children can be included is false, all children can be included with the proper community support. The key to a successful inclusion experience is team work and communication.  We need to remember that the parents\guardians are such a vital part of our team.

Here are some strategies that I’ve used as a preschool teacher.

Basic guidelines:

  • Project a positive attitude when working with the children.  Optimism is catchy.
  • Be flexible, be prepared to make changes, adaptation to the program and/or toys to ensure a positive inclusion experience.
  • Consult with the parents\guardians, your Resource Consultant and therapists about the different methods of carrying and positioning their child.

Continue reading →

Time Saver, Cost Saver, Super-Sized Fun Activities

Are you looking for activities that will save you time and money but that are big on fun and learning? Let us introduce 3 more activities from our featured series. All materials for the activities can be found at home or purchased in dollar stores.

FASTENING AND UNFASTENING

This activity can help to develop fine motor and language skills.

Purchase a collection of containers such as: small coin purses, small tin toy lunch boxes, cases for eye glasses, pencil cases, plastic/tin containers with hinge lids, salt/pepper shakers, etc., with a variety of fasteners such as: velcro, zippers, snaps, latches, magnets, fasteners, screw tops, etc. Continue reading →

How Does Learning Happen? The Four Pillars of the Ottawa Story

25-yearsTwenty five years ago, our community had a vision that saw each child as a child first. They wanted a supportive and inclusive system that was flexible as well as responsive to the changing needs of families, children and teaching teams. The hope was to reduce or eliminate social isolation which was experienced by so many families with a child with special needs. By making this happen one child and one child care program at a time, supportive relationships were formed so that each child would reach their optimum development and experience the true meaning of belonging. Continue reading →

Stimulating Language at Mealtimes

MealtimesMealtimes can be a great opportunity for children to increase their vocabulary and learn some of the skills that are necessary for engaging in conversations, such as listening to others and taking a turn to talk.

Here are some general suggestions.

Get your children to help prepare part of the meal
There are many opportunities for learning and using vocabulary such as ‘wash’, ‘spread’, ‘tear’, ‘mix’, ‘stir’, ‘rinse’, and ‘peel’. At mealtime, ask each child to tell the rest of the family what they did to help. Continue reading →

Inclusion Ideas Corner – Getting More Out of Mealtimes

Acorn Early Learning Centre

As Early Childhood Educators, we have an extremely important role when it comes to teaching children self-help skills. Providing opportunities for the children to serve themselves snack, lunch, milk and water is something that we value at Acorn Early Learning Centre.

Each day during lunch, two of the children are picked to be the helpers. Their responsibilities are to wash and set the tables as well as hand out facecloths to each of their peers at the end of lunch.  The children serve themselves both their meals/snacks and pour their milk/water.  Continue reading →

Behaviour Guidance Tip – “Sorry Doesn’t Fix it”

Did you know that when you ask a child to say sorry following a situation, you are teaching them an automatic response. Often that response reinforces the behaviour and does not teach them how to rectify the situation.

Although it is important to model and teach manners, a child needs to experience a true sense of empathy in order to be compassionate to others. Continue reading →

Time Saver, Cost Saver, Super-Sized Fun Activities

Are you looking for activities that will save you time and money but that are big on fun and learning? Let us introduce 3 more activities from our featured series. All materials for the activities can be found at home or purchased in dollar stores.

TACTILE EXPLORATION

plush

Freeimages.com / Silvio Mechow

Find a large box with a lid. Cut a square hole in the side and cover loosely with fabric or paper so that the children can’t see what is in the box but can still reach in. Continue reading →

Promoting Peer Interactions Amongst School Age Children

When promoting peer interactions, it is important to understand that children at different ages interact differently and the quality of friendships changes as children age. The following are some characteristics of school-agers to keep in mind.IBR

  • Kindergarten and Grade 1 – Will play with anyone.
  • Grade 2 and 3 – Boys and girls avoid each other.
  • Grade 4 – Emergence of ‘best friend’.
  • Grade 5 – Boy groups more solidly established.
  • Grade 6 – Friendships are based on mutual understanding and affection.

Continue reading →